Stepper Motors

Forms of Closed Loop Stepper Control

April 6, 2017 By

This White Paper will explain the three methods that are used to close the feedback loop around stepper motors in a control system.

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Stepper Motor Linear Actuators 101

June 14, 2016 By

With trends towards miniaturization, precision, computer control and cost reduction, hybrid and can-stack style integrated stepper motor actuators are being used in an ever increasing range of applications. These precise, reliable actuators can be found in many applications including blood analyzers, robotic surgery, medical instrumentation, imaging equipment, valve control, X-Y tables, inspection and test equipment. This attractive technical solution eliminates the use of numerous components and the associated costs related to assembly, purchasing, inventory, etc. This white paper gives an overview of integrated step motor linear actuators and how to apply them to an application.

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How to Prevent Step Losses with Stepper Motors

April 25, 2016 By

While stepper motors are an excellent solution for many applications, a key concern is step losses. However, in most instances step losses can be prevented or corrected. It is important to remember that a stepper motor does not operate like a DC motor. There is no working point parameterization, and the phase current does not increase to overcome variations of load. As long as the speed vs. torque requirement of the application is within the specs of the motor, no problem will be encountered. This white paper provides guidance to determine step losses or non-operation across a variety of applications.

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Stepper Motor Drives Some Factors That Will Help Determine Proper Selection

March 24, 2016 By

This white paper will discuss methods of selecting the best Stepper Drive for motion control applications requiring a Stepper Motor or a Stepper-Based Linear Actuator; information about the typical types of Drives; effects of different applied voltage levels; and of various Drive settings / options for operation.

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Stepper Motors and the Effect of Acceleration and Deceleration Ramps

January 11, 2016 By

This white paper explains stand test methodology for generating force versus velocity curves and the benefits of adding acceleration and deceleration ramps. One of the first parameters that is considered when choosing a stepper motor based linear actuator for an application is how much force can the actuator produce. So naturally a speed versus force curve is the first place someone looks. There are a couple of different ways to present these speed vs. force curves, one is force versus pulse rate and the second is force versus linear velocity.
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When to Apply External, Non-Captive and Captive Step Motor Actuators

August 17, 2015 By

A common way to generate precise linear motion is to use an electric motor (rotary motion) and pair it with a leadscrew to generate a linear actuation system. Depending upon what this linear actuator interfaces with it can be constructed in a number of different ways. This white paper will explain the different style of leadscrew/nut based linear actuators and guide the user in selecting the right style for their application.

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Closed-Loop Stepper Motor Performance Gains

June 15, 2015 By

Modern motion controllers can include the ability to run stepper motors with encoder feedback, resulting in true closed-loop motion control. This mode of motor control is very similar to standard three-phase brushless servo motor control, where the three phases are offset 120 electrical degrees. With steppers, the motor has two phases offset by 90 electrical degrees. The benefits of closed-loop control with stepper motors include greatly improved velocity smoothness and reduced power consumption compared to open-loop steppers and much higher torque at low velocity compared with traditional three-phase brushless servo motors.
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Microstepping: Myths and Realities

March 9, 2015 By

The lure of Microstepping a two-phase stepper motor is compelling. Visions of Microstepping a 1.8-degree hybrid stepper motor with 256 microsteps per full step flash in your mind. The resolution of 51,200 microsteps per revolution entices you. You’re glad you don’t own stock in high-resolution encoder companies.

Where’s the catch?
The real compromise is that as you increase the number of microsteps per full step the INCREMENTAL torque per microstep drops off drastically. Resolution increases but accuracy will actually suffer.
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Comparing Efficiency and Capabilities of Hybrid Stepper Motor Actuators to Can Stack Stepper Motor Actuators

March 3, 2015 By

Occasionally we receive calls from customers wanting to know why our size 17 hybrid linear actuator with an input wattage rating of 7 watts has better performance than our 46000 can stack version with an input rating of 10 watts? The answer to this is the efficiency of the motor itself. The average hybrid motor is about 65% efficient while the can stack actuators average about 25% efficiency. There are two primary reasons for these differences in efficiency.
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Implementation of Redundancy in a Miniature Stepper Motor

April 8, 2014 By

Some of the recent research activities in the area of electric motor drives for critical applications (such as aerospace and nuclear power plants) are focused on looking at various fault tolerant motor and drive topologies. After discussing different solutions, this paper focuses on a miniature PM stepper motor design which falls in this fault tolerant category by providing an increased redundancy.

Download our white paper on implementation of redundancy in miniature stepper motors.

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