A4988 vs DRV8825 Chinese Stepper Driver Boards
The Arduino Mega 2560 + RAMPS 1.4 combination is presently (December 2014) widely available and just as widely used to control 3D printers, either in the form of original components or more often than not, as inexpensive "Made in China" clones. Similarly, inexpensive "Pololu-style" stepper driver boards that plug directly onto RAMPS boards (usually four or five stepper driver boards are used) are available from China with two different stepper driver ICs, namely the Allegro A4988 and the Texas Instruments DRV8825.
How inexpensive can these stepper driver boards get? Well, right now a set of five Made in China A4988 stepper driver boards is available for around $6.50, whereas a similar set of five Made in China DRV8825 stepper driver boards is available for around $10. This situation begs for the question: is it worth getting DRV8825 stepper driver boards instead of the more popular A4988 boards or not? Which one is the better choice for my 3D printer? Which one is more reliable / less unreliable? Can I mix A4988 boards with DRV8825 boards? This page is an attempt to provide sufficient information to make a rational choice and answer these and other related questions, if possible.
Contents
A4988 stepper driver board
DRV8825 stepper driver board
Comparison table
The following table compares Made in China A4988 Stepper driver boards vs DRV8825 ones, for RepRap use:
| A4988 | DRV8825 | |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | very widely available | widely available |
| Approx. price | $6.50 / 5 pieces | $10 / 5 pieces |
| Max. theoretical current | 2A | 2.5A |
| Max. microsteps | 16 | 32 |
| PCB color | Green / Red | Purple |
| Stepper current adjust. trimpot | Yes | Yes |
| PCB layers | 2 | 4(?) |
| Small heatsink included | Always | Usually |
Datasheets
Use Cases
(add your own here) (TODO: make this into a table) AndrewBCN - 4 x A4988 boards on RAMPS 1.4 clone - Adjusted to provide 800mA per stepper (1A for extruder stepper) - 3 months - zero issues - Note: cooling provided by 80mm fan blowing directly over stepper drivers.
