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There are a few tools that are required for assembly None of these tools are included If you dont havethem now would be a good time to borrow or purchase them They are very very handy wheneverassemblingfixingmodifying electronic devices I provide links to buy them but of course you should getthem whereever is most convenientinexpensive Many of these parts are available in a place like RadioShack or other (higher quality) DIY electronics stores

I recommend a basic electronics tool set for this kit which I describe here

Soldering iron One with temperature control and a stand isbest A conical or small screwdriver tip is good almost all ironscome with one of these

A low quality (ahem $10 model from radioshack) iron maycause more problems than its worth

Do not use a ColdHeat soldering iron they are not suitable fordelicate electronics work and can damage the kit (see here)

Check out my recommended basic soldering iron and where tobuy

Solder Rosin core 6040 Good solder is a good thing Badsolder leads to bridging and cold solder joints which can betough to find Dont buy a tiny amount youll run out when youleast expect it A half pound spool is a minimum

Check out my recommended basic solder and where to buy

MultimeterOscilloscope A meter is helpful to check voltagesand continuity

Check out my recommended basic multimeter and where to buy

Flushdiagonal cutters Essential for cutting leads close to thePCB

Check out my recommended basic diagonal cutters and where to

buy

Desoldering tool If you are prone to incorrectly solderingparts

Check out my recommended basic desoldering tool and where tobuy

Handy Hands with Magnifying Glass Not absolutelynecessary but will make things go much much faster

Check out my recommended basic 3rd hand tool and where tobuy

Good light More important than you think

Parts list

Image Name Description Distributor Qty

PCB Printed circuit board Adafruit 1

IC1IC2

L293DDual H-bridge

See note on usage page forreplacing with SN754410

L293D 2

IC3 74HC595NSerial to parallel output latch 74HC595N 1

IC1andIC2

16 pin sockets (OPTIONAL)

These are included in kits as ofJuly 2010

Generic 2

LED13mm LED any color

Motor power indicator3mm LED 1

R115K resistor for LED1

Brown Green Red Gold

14W 5resistor 1

R2 10K pulldown resistorBrown Black Orange Gold

14W 5resistor 1

RN1 10-pin bussed 10K-100K resistornetwork

100Kresistornetwork

1

C2 C4C6 01uF ceramic capacitor Generic 3

C1 C3C5 100uF 6V capacitor (or bigger) 100uF6V

cap 3

C7 C8 47uF 25V capacitor (or bigger) 47uF25Vcap 2

X1

5-position 35mm terminal block

(Or a 3-position and a 2-position)

35mmterminals 8

X2 2-position 35mm terminal block 35mmterminals 6

RESET 6mm tactile switch 6mm tactswitch 1

PWR Jumpershunt 01 jumper 1

36 pin male header (1x36) Generic 1

textFirst check that you have all theparts Look over the parts list hereand shown on the left

Also check to make sure you havethe necessary tools for assembly

Place the motor shield PCB in a viseor other circuit-board holder andturn on your soldering iron to 700degrees

The firt parts to go in are the tworesistors R1 (Brown Green RedGold) and R2 (Brown BlackOrange Gold) Bend the resistorsso that they look like staples asseen in this photo

Next slip the resistors into the PCBas shown so that they sit flatagainst the circuit board Bend thewire legs out a bit so that when theboard is flipped over

Resistors are not polarized thatmeans you can put them in eitherway and theyll work just fine

Using your soldering iron tip heatthe resistor wire lead and the metalring (pad) at the same time after afew seconds poke a little solder inso that it melts into a nice coneRemove the solder and then removethe soldering iron Do this for all 4wires

Check your work you should haveclean solder joints

Clip the long leads just above thesolder joint using diagonal cutters

Check your work you should haveclean solder joints

Clip the long leads just above thesolder joint using diagonal cutters

Next place the three yellow ceramiccapacitors C4 C2 and C6 Ceramiccapacitors are not polarized so youcan put them in either way andthey work fine

Bend the leads out just like you didwith the resistors

Solder all 6 wires then clip them asyou did with the resistors

Next is the 6mm tactile switchRESET and the resistor networkRN1 The tact switch is used toreset the Arduino since its notpossible to reach the reset buttononce the motor shield is on

The resistor network is used to pull-down the pins on the motor driverchips so that they dont power upthe motors before the Arduinosketch tells them to

The tactile switch can go in eitherway The resistor networkhowever must go in a certain wayMake sure the end with a dot isposititioned so it is at the same endas the X in the silkscreened imageof the resistor network (See pictureon left)

Flip the board over and solder in theresistor network and switch Youwont need to clip the leads as theyare quite short aleady

Next are the three integratedcircuits (ICs) IC1 IC2 and IC3When ICs come from the factorythe legs are angled out somewhatwhich makes it difficult to insertthem into the PCB Prepare themfor soldering by gently bending thelegs against a flat tabletop so thatthey are perfectly straight

The latest kits from Adafruit comewith 2 16-pin sockets for the L293Dmotor drivers They are OPTIONALand not necessary for operation

If you are not experienced withdriving motors ( your likelyhood ofwiring up a mis-specified motor ishigh) you should install these so ifthe L293Ds are destroyed you caneasily replace them

If you are experienced with drivingmotors you may want to skip thesockets as the decrease the chipsheat-sinking abilitiesICs must be placed in the correctorientation to work properly Tohelp with placement each chip hasa U notch at the top of the chip Onthe circuit board there is a printedout image of the chip outline andone end has a U notch Make surethe chip notch is on the same endas the image notch In this PCB allare facing the same way

Gently insert the three chips Checkto make sure none of the legs gotbent or broken

The 74HC595 goes in the middleand the two L293Ds go on eitherside

Solder each pin of the chips

The four middle pins of the L293Dmotor driver chips are tied to alarge heat sink and thus may endup getting bridged with solder asshown in the second image

Next are the three 100uF electrolyticcapacitors C1 C3 and C5Electrolytic capacitors are polarizedand must be placed in the correctorientation or they could pop Thelong leg of the capacitor is thepositive (+) leg and goes into thehole marked with a + The close-upimages shown here indicate withhole is the + one

Capacitors are not color-coded Thebody color can vary from blue toviolet to green to black so be sureto read the value on the sidedont depend on the color

After double-checking their polaritysolder and clip the three capacitors

Place the two 47uF remainingelectrolytic capacitors C7 and C8

These are also polarized so makesure the long lead is inserted intothe + hole in the silkscreenedimage

Capacitors are not color-coded Thebody color can vary from blue toviolet to green to black so be sureto read the value on the sidedont depend on the color

Solder and clip the two capacitors

Next is the 3mm LED used toindicate motor power LEDs arepolarized just like capacitors andthe long lead is the positive (+)lead

Make sure the LED is placedcorrectly otherwise it wont work

Solder and clip the LED leads

Next its time to make the headersfor the jumper servos and arduino

We use one stick of 36-pinbreakaway header and break itapart to make smaller strips Youcan use diagonal cutters or pliers tosnap off the pieces

Break the 36-pin header into 2 8-pin 2 6-pin 2 3-pin and 1 2-pin

headers

If you have an NG arduino youmay want 1 6-pin header and 1 4-pin header instead of 2 6-pinheaders

The 2 3-pin pieces go in the servoconnections in the top left cornerThe 2-pin piece goes in the PWRjumper in the bottom center

Also place the 3 large screwterminals for the motor and externalmotor-power wires If you receivedonly 2 and 3-position terminalblocks slide them together so thatyou have 2 5-position terminals and1 2-position terminal

Solder in the 3 pieces of header andthe three terminal blocks

Next place the 8-pin and 6-pinheaders into the Arduino boardThis will make sure that the headersare perfectly lined up Make surethe Arduino is not plugged in orpowered

Place the motor shield on top of theArduino making sure that all theheader lines up

Solder in each pin of the header

Youre done

Now go read the user manual

Schematics

Schematic for v10 (png)Eagle schematic and layout files for v10

Firmware

Arduino StepperServo software library with microstepping supportTo install click on Download in the top right corner select zip and uncompress the folder Rename the folder to AFmotor (check that the renamed folder contains the cpp and h files) andinstall into the Arduinosketcheslibraries folder For information how to use and install librariessee our tutorial This version now works with with the Mega Public domainAccelStepper library with AFMotor support This library allows for advanced stepper control includingaccelleration and decelleration and concurrent stepper controlTo install click on Download in the top right corner select zip and uncompress the folder Rename the folder to AFmotor (check that the renamed folder contains the cpp and h files) andinstall into the Arduinosketcheslibraries folder For information how to use and install librariessee our tutorial