An easy way to alter the speed and torque characteristics of a stepper motor is to connect it to a different type of driver or change its wiring configuration. However, there's more to it. Knowing the pros and cons between "unipolar" and "bipolar" can make or break your stepper motor performance.
Topics: Stepper Motors, Motion Control Basics, Stepper Drivers, Incremental Positioning
Stepper motors vibrate. It's what they do. To minimize motor vibration, first we need to understand where they come from.
Topics: Stepper Motors, Smooth Drive, Motor Sizing, VIDEOS, Gearheads, Stepper Drivers, Incremental Positioning
Are you using motors for a start/stop conveyor or similar application? While AC motors are a common choice for conveyors, there is a unique speed control motor solution available that could improve stop accuracy as well as reduce footprint and cost of machine designs.
Topics: AC Motors, Stepper Motors, Speed Control, VIDEOS, Application Examples, Conveyors, Incremental Positioning
A driver is a must-have for any stepper motor. In a stepper motor system, a driver controls how the motor operates based on signals received from the controller. It is responsible for sending current through various phases in a stepper motor and also regulates the motor current (torque) and step resolution. With recent trends of minimizing machine footprint, finding space to install drivers could be challenging.
Standard Stepper Motor System Configuration
Topics: Stepper Motors, VIDEOS, Application Examples, Stepper Drivers, Incremental Positioning
There are many stepper motor manufacturers in the market place, but there are even more stepper motor driver manufacturers. The crowded market place provides many standard product options for customers to build their motion control system just the way they like it.
However, if the best possible performance is desired, it would be difficult to beat a tested combination of a specific motor and driver from the same manufacturer. By combining R&D knowledge from both motors and drivers, unique product features can be developed to improve performance further.
Topics: Stepper Motors, Smooth Drive, VIDEOS, Product Introductions, Stepper Drivers, Incremental Positioning
Stepper motors are popular for their ability to stop accurately as well as their ease of use. Both the amount of rotation and the speed are controlled easily with the same digital square wave pulse signal. Unlike servo motors, stepper motors do not need an encoder to operate. Example applications of stepper motors are CNC machines, index tables, robotics, scanners, and more recently, 3D printers.
Topics: Stepper Motors, Motor Sizing, VIDEOS, Application Examples, Motion Control Basics, Encoders, Incremental Positioning