Motor Shield for Arduino: Control electric motors with a microcontroller

The easiest way to control one or more electric motors with a microcontroller is with a Motor Shield. In our online store you can find many Motor Shields that can be plugged directly onto the microcontroller. This saves you complicated wiring and you can proceed directly with programming. It should also be noted that the motors do not necessarily have to be powered by the microcontroller's power supply, but an external power supply can also be used.

Difference between motor shields and motor drivers

A motor driver is a chip that drives motors. A motor shield is a printed circuit board with connectors that contains a motor driver. Using a shield is convenient because you can simply plug it onto the microcontroller and wire the motors directly to it. Motor drivers, on the other hand, have the advantage over shields in that you can wire the drivers as the project requires.
In short: Shields are more suitable for beginners and have a better "usability". Drivers can be more purpose-built and are more for advanced users.

L293D Motor Shield for the Arduino UNO R3

The L293 or L293D Motor Shield is a driver board based on the L293 IC. It is designed to drive up to four DC motors and two stepper or servo motors simultaneously. Depending on the version of the L293D Motor Shield, the pins are feed-through, which means that part of the pins can be used directly after plugging them into a microcontroller, preferably an Arduino UNO R3.