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I have just ordered a giant robot chassis on the internet that consists of 6 motors: https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/dagu-wild-thumper-6wd-all-terrain-chassis

The only issue is that I am unable to find a motor driver that can take 6 motors. I watched a video from the company who created the robot chassis and they use this I think but it is very expensive and I don't think its what I am even looking for: https://www.robotshop.com/uk/dimension-engineering-sabertooth-2x25.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjws4aKBhDPARIsAIWH0JVTn8tTHxk1laHRtq_SWZLVr_a1fpzw5mssLL_szk6WT8_LLzaIFWcaAkpmEALw_wcB

I was just wondering if anyone out there knew anywhere or any types of 6 channel motor drivers I can try to buy or if not state that 6 channel motor drivers don't exist.

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  • $\begingroup$ if you need all 6 independently driven, use 2X 4-channel or 3X 6-channel? no reason drivers themselves need to come in the number of channels to match. Worry more about your motors' voltage and current requirements. $\endgroup$
    – Abel
    Sep 15, 2021 at 17:10
  • $\begingroup$ @Abel The voltage is 100% sorted. I have a battery pack that gives off 7.2 volts and each motor takes 7.2 volts so thats fine. I am not sure about the current though $\endgroup$
    – DigitalRookie4
    Sep 15, 2021 at 17:50
  • $\begingroup$ What do you mean sorted? If you dont know how much draw then how do you know for how loong the battery pack will give you even close to 7 volts. $\endgroup$
    – joojaa
    Sep 15, 2021 at 17:59
  • $\begingroup$ @jooja The battery pack consists of 6 1.2V batteries in series. I could find out how much current the motors take via the box of the product I bought. With finding the current of the battery I am not too sure how I could do that. $\endgroup$
    – DigitalRookie4
    Sep 15, 2021 at 18:11

1 Answer 1

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The product description page for the chassis says the motors have 6.6A stall current. It also explains that the three motors on one side are wired in parallel, so you need a two channel motor driver (or two single channel drivers) capable of supplying >20A per channel.

The Sabertooth driver may be expensive, but it is what you are looking for. enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ Do I need a 2 two channel motor driver for each side of the chassis? $\endgroup$
    – DigitalRookie4
    Sep 17, 2021 at 18:26
  • $\begingroup$ one 2-channel for all 6. one channel per side is what 3 in parallel gets you. $\endgroup$
    – Abel
    Sep 18, 2021 at 0:12
  • $\begingroup$ @abel What would this look like (I am quite new to this). Would it look like this above? $\endgroup$
    – DigitalRookie4
    Sep 19, 2021 at 10:24
  • $\begingroup$ look up what resistors in parallel look like. replace resistors with motors, then test with battery or power supply. $\endgroup$
    – Abel
    Sep 19, 2021 at 10:28
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    $\begingroup$ I know somewhat about that. Isn't it to do with when resistors are in parallel, voltage is constant but current isn't? $\endgroup$
    – DigitalRookie4
    Sep 19, 2021 at 10:29

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