16-Channel 12-bit PWM/Servo Driver I2C interface PCA9685 for Arduino Raspberry Pi

Your microcontroller’s limited PWM outputs will be a major issue if you want to build a robot with lots of moving parts or if you want to use PWM outputs to drive a lot of LEDs. The only thing you need to do to solve this issue is purchase a 16-Channel 12-Bit PWM/Servo Driver.

Using just two pins, the 16-Channel 12-Bit PWM/Servo Driver allows you to control sixteen free-running PWM outputs. Even more, 62 breakouts can be chained together to control up to 992 PWM outputs.

It is an integrated clock PWM driver that is controlled by I2C. This implies that it is fully free to run without requiring you to constantly send it a signal to tie up your microcontroller!

Because it is 5V compatible, you can securely drive up to 6V outputs while controlling it with a 3.3V microcontroller. When you wish to control white or blue LEDs with forward voltages of 3.4 or higher, this works well. Up to 62 of these can be wired on a single I2C bus thanks to the six address select pins, for a total of 992 outputs.

Features :

1. Adjustable frequency PWM up to about 1.6 KHz
2. 12-bit resolution for each output – for servos, that means about 4us resolution at a 60Hz update rate
3. Configurable push-pull or an open-drain output
4. The output enable pin to quickly disable all the outputs
5. Terminal block for power input
6. Reverse polarity protection on the terminal block input
7. Green power-good LED
8. 3 pin connectors in groups of 4 so you can plug in 16 servos at once
9. Chainable design
10. A spot to place a big capacitor on the V+ line
11. 220-ohm series resistors on all the output lines to protect them, and to make driving LEDs trivial.
12. This board/chip uses I2C 7-bit address between 0x60-0x80, selectable with jumpers.