What is a stepper motor and how to use a stepper motor

A stepper motor is an actuator that converts electrical impulses into angular displacements.

In layman's terms, when the stepper driver receives a pulse signal, it drives the stepper motor to rotate at a fixed angle (i.e., the stepping angle) in the set direction.

The angular displacement can be controlled by controlling the number of pulses to achieve accurate positioning.

At the same time, the speed and acceleration of the motor can be controlled by controlling the pulse frequency to achieve the purpose of speed regulation.

In the circuit part, stepper motors are divided into unipolar and bipolar.

The unipolar stepper motor drive circuit is relatively simple, but the accuracy is low because of the large step angle.

The bipolar stepper motor drive circuit is more complex, the step angle is small, the basic unit is, and it has high accuracy.

One: line, phase, polarity.

"phase" means that the stepper motor has several coils (also called windings).

"line" means that the stepper motor has several terminals.

'Polarity' is divided into unipolar and bipolar. If the coil of the stepper motor is dual-conductive, then the stepper motor is bipolar, on the contrary, if the coil of the stepper motor is only allowed to conduct electricity unilaterally, then the stepper motor is unipolar.

The above three can be deduced as long as you know two of them.

For example, a five-wire four-phase stepper motor has 5 terminals and 4 coils.

Since there are five terminals, that is, the number of terminals is an odd number, that is to say, there is a common connector, so the conduction of its coil is only allowed to be unidirectional, that is, this stepper motor is unipolar. As shown below:

The four-wire bipolar stepper motor has 4 terminals, and the conductive mode is allowed to be bidirectional.

Second, the stepping mode of the stepper motor: single shot, double beat, single and double beat.

1. Single shot: (single four beats working mode).

The single-shot working method means that only one coil is energized at a time, and the stepper motor is rotated by changing the coil that is energized each time.

Let's talk about the five-wire four-phase stepper motor first, assuming that its four coils are called A, B, C, D, then in the single-shot working mode, the energizing mode of the coil is: A, B, C, D;

Note: a, b refers to the forward current of a and b coils, and -a and -b refer to the reverse current of a and b coils. Since the five-wire four-phase stepper motor cannot pass on the reverse current, there are only A, B, C, D.

2. Double beat: (double four beat working mode).

The double beat works by energizing both coils at a time, and changing the energized coil to make the stepper motor rotate.

Five-wire four-phase stepper motor: under the double-shot working mode, the energizing mode of the coil is: AB, BC, CD, DA;

Four-wire bipolar stepper motor, in the double-beat working mode, the energizing mode of the coil is: ab, b-a, -a-b, -ba;

3. Single and double shots (eight beats working mode).

The single and double shooting working mode is to alternate the single and double shooting working methods.

Five-wire four-phase stepper motor: A, AB, B, BC, C, CD, D, DA;

Four-wire bipolar stepper motor: a, ab, b, b-a, -a, -a-b, -b, -ba;

Summary. Hello, stepper motor is a special DC brushless motor, need an upper driver, stepper motor is not directly connected to the power supply, through the driver to connect to the power, the general stepper motor driver also needs a high-level controller, through the controller pulse and programming to control the stepper motor, the controller can be dedicated, can also be a general PLC, etc., but if the stepper motor only needs simple repetitive motion, it can also only use the driver with spontaneous pulse to control, and do not need the upper controller.

How to use a stepper motor.

Hello, I am sorting out the answer according to your question, please wait a while Hello, stepper motor is a special brushless DC motor, which needs an upper driver, the stepper motor is not directly connected to the power supply, it is connected to the power through the driver, the general stepper motor driver also needs a high-level controller, the stepper motor is controlled by the controller pulse and programming, the controller can be dedicated, it can also be a general PLC, etc., but if the stepper motor only needs simple repetitive motion, It can also be controlled using only a driver with spontaneous pulses without the need for a higher-level controller.

Thank you. Is there still a question being asked?

Hello, what's the problem!