Blown boards and heat-stopped robots are almost always a driver-sizing mistake, not a motor problem. This guide compares the three most common DC motor drivers and gives you a rule to pick the right one before you buy.
A motor driver does two jobs: switch polarity (so the motor runs both ways) and carry current without cooking itself. Every driver board has a per-channel current limit — exceed it and the board either thermal-throttles, shuts down, or dies. A DC geared motor at 12V can pull 3-6× its rated current for a fraction of a second at startup, which is why so many builders match the driver to the motor's stall behaviour, not its nameplate.
| Board | Logic | Voltage | Current / ch | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L298N | Dual H-bridge | 5-35V | ~2A (3A peak) | Education & small robots |
| BTS7960 (IBT-2) | Dual half-bridge | 5.5-27V | ~43A peak, heatsink | AGV & large geared motors |
| TB6612FNG | Dual H-bridge (MOSFET) | 2.5-13.5V | 1.2A (3.2A peak) | Battery-light & 3S/2S builds |
The L298N has been the default for Arduino robot kits for a decade. It accepts a wide 5-35V supply and drives two channels with onboard 5V regulation, which makes wiring simple. The trade-off: the bipolar output stage drops roughly 2V and runs hot, so at sustained load you should bolt the heatsink on and accept a real efficiency hit. For a 12V education robot pulling under 2A per motor, it is still the cheapest dependable option — and we stock it as the L298N dual H-bridge module for exactly this use.
If you are driving an encoder geared motor on an AGV base or a big 12V/24V brushed motor, the L298N will eventually let you down. The BTS7960 (sold as the IBT-2 board) pairs two high-current half-bridges rated up to 43A peak on a board with a large aluminium heatsink. It accepts 5.5-27V and handles the inrush of a heavy drivetrain without thermal shutdown. Two of these boards (four channels) drive a 4-wheel AGV platform comfortably. See the BTS7960 IBT-2 module for specs and pricing.
For small battery-powered robots the TB6612FNG is the quiet over-performer: MOSFET outputs with very low dropout, rated 1.2A per channel (3.2A peak) and it barely warms up at hobby loads. It runs from 2.5-13.5V, which suits 2S/3S LiPo and low-voltage builds. The catch is capacity — pair it only with micro and small geared motors, not with anything that draws sustained current over ~1A per side.
Driver current per channel ≥ motor rated current × 1.5, or ×2 if the motor starts under load. Then check three things in order:
For a mecanum-wheel or chassis robot with two to four geared motors: one L298N (light duty) or two BTS7960 (AGV duty) boards, plus a regulated UBEC for the logic rail, and XT60 power leads so the battery connects cleanly. Order the driver at the same time as the motors and you avoid the classic two-week wait for the part you forgot.