Power and Motor Connections

SPARK Flex is designed to drive 12V brushed and brushless DC motors at current up to 60A continuously. It features a unique Docking Interface that ensures secure and reliable motor phase and sensor connections, reducing the chance of intermittent or poor connections affecting the commutation of the attached motor.

Power Input

Power input wires are labeled as + and - with red and black wires, respectively, and consist of two 12 AWG ultra-flexible silicone-coated wires extending 45 cm from the motor controller case.

SPARK Flex Power Wires

SPARK Flex is intended to operate in a 12 V DC robot system, however it is compatible with any DC power source between 4.5 V and 24 V.

Please note that the 5 V power output of the Data Port requires a 6 V minimum input voltage.

When used in high power applications, it is recommended to use a power source that is capable of handling large surge currents, e.g. a 12V lead-acid battery. If the supply voltage drops below 4.5 V the SPARK Flex will brown out, which can result in unexpected behavior. It is also highly recommended to add a fuse or circuit breaker in between your SPARK Flex and its power source to prevent exceeding the maximum current rating.

Docking Interface

SPARK Flex is specifically designed to dock with the NEO Vortex Brushless Motor. Docking eliminates the extra connections between the motor and motor controller that are prone to fail due to assembly issues and rough environments.

When docked into a SPARK Flex Dock (coming soon), the motor controller can also drive virtually any 12 V brushed DC motor and the existing NEO & NEO 550 brushless motors.

SPARK Flex Docking Interface

Instruction on how to dock a SPARK Flex can be found within the documentation of the applicable device:

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