HiLetgo PCA9685 16-Channel PWM Servo Driver

by HiLetgo

★ Best for: Any arm with 3+ servos

16 servo channels over two I²C wires, with a dedicated servo power terminal.

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Why we recommend it

This is the upgrade that makes a multi-joint arm behave. Instead of tying up Arduino timers and PWM pins, the PCA9685 generates 16 channels of rock-steady 12-bit PWM and you talk to it over just two I²C wires (SDA/SCL) — and you can chain boards for even more servos. Crucially, it has a screw terminal for a separate servo power supply, so the current spikes from six moving servos never brown-out your microcontroller. With Adafruit’s widely-used library it is a few lines of code to set angles. If you build anything past two or three servos, start here.

At a glance

Channels	16
Resolution	12-bit PWM
Interface	I²C (chainable to 62 boards)
Power	Separate servo V+ terminal
Libraries	Adafruit PCA9685 (Arduino/Pi)

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Guides that use this

Code & electronics

Arduino Robotic Arm Code: Sketches, Library & Examples

Copy-paste Arduino robotic arm code: Servo library setup, sweep tests, potentiometer and serial control, record/playback, smooth motion, and PCA9685.

◆ Intermediate Read →

Builds by platform

Arduino Robotic Arm: Build a 4-DOF Servo Arm (Wiring + Code)

Build a 4-DOF Arduino robotic arm with hobby servos. Full parts list, wiring diagram, power tips and copy-paste Arduino code to control it with potentiometers or serial commands.

◆ Intermediate Read →

Parts & hardware