Stepper Motor Board

V1.0 NSW 10/04

ECET Stepper Motor Board

1. Overview
This board provides all the typical interface
methods commonly used to control stepper
motors. The board contains a unipolar
stepper motor, driver circuits for the motor
coils, a sensor that detects a reference or
“home” position and a PLD interface
capable of automatically sequencing the
motor using one of three drive patterns plus
the ability to directly drive each coil from an
outside source.

2. Driving Stepper Motors

Stepper motors like the one on this board are
made of four coils of wire that are wound
around the stationary outer frame of the motor. These coils serve as electromagnets.
The rotor, which turns on a shaft that is centered inside the frame, is made of
ferromagnetic material shaped somewhat like a cogwheel or gear. The “teeth” of the
cog are strategically placed around the perimeter of the rotor such that when one tooth
is aligned with one magnetic coil, another tooth is always slightly offset from another
coil. In this way the rotor can be caused to move in small steps by switching the coils
on and off in the correct sequence. There are three sequences that are typically used
with stepper motors. They are referred to as Full Step, Half Step, and Wave drive.

3. Sequences IW IX IY IZ
Each sequence has it own unique features. 1 0 1 0
Full Step: This sequence has two coils energized 1 0 0 1
at any point in time. Consequently, it offers the greatest 0 1 0 1
torque when in motion and also the greatest holding 0 1 1 0
torque when the rotor is stopped under load. Motion Full Step Sequence
between steps is sudden and rather harsh due to the
strength of the field. On this motor the rotor moves 7.5
degrees between states of the full step sequence. It IW IX IY IZ
requires 48 steps or twelve repetitions the sequence 1 0 1 0
shown to make a full revolution of the shaft. 1 0 0 0
1 0 0 1
0 0 0 1
Half Step: This sequence assures that only one 0 1 0 1
coil will switch between each step. This causes the rotor 0 1 0 0
to move only half as far as a full step, hence the name
0 1 1 0
Half Step. During these intermediate steps, there is only
0 0 1 0
one coil energized resulting in lower holding torque. On
Half Step Sequence
this motor the rotor moves 3.75 degrees between states of the half step sequence. It
takes 96 steps (twelve repetitions of the half step state table) to make a full revolution.

Wave Drive: This sequence is characterized by IW IX IY IZ

having only one coil energized at any point in time. The
intermediate states of the half step sequence make up the
wave drive sequence. The performance of a wave driven 1 0 0 0
stepper is usually lower in torque but smoother in 0 0 0 1
operation. This motor, when wave driven, will turn 7.5 0 1 0 0
degrees requiring 48 steps for a revolution (twelve 0 0 1 0
repetitions of the wave drive table) Wave Drive Sequence

4. Dynamic Response
The shaft of this stepper motor is attached to a plastic gear. Although the gear is light
weight and the rotor itself is very small, these moving parts have mass and inertia. It
takes a certain amount of time for the rotor to move in response to a movement of the
magnetic field. If the magnetic field advances several steps in less time than the rotor
can actually move, the motor will “slip”. From a dead stop the motor will not even be
able to start into motion if the step rate is too high. The fastest reliable step rate for
these motors is achieved with an approximate minimum of 5 ms between steps. Faster
speeds can be obtained by ramping the speed up but the step rate must be ramped
back down when stopping in order to assure that it stops in the expected position.
Inasmuch as the motor cannot start instantly, it also cannot stop instantly at the
next position. The mass of the rotor and wheel tend to make it overshoot and then
oscillate back and forth a few times before coming to rest. At certain step rates, this
oscillation combined with the moving magnetic field can cause the motor to slip and
act spastic. To eliminate this phenomenon, a little pressure can be applied to the rim
of the gear using a finger or a piece of cardboard to damp out the vibrations.

5. The Interface
This board allows an external device to interface in two ways. The first method is
referred to as Direct Drive and the second method uses an on-board sequencer. Two
toggle switches S1 and S2 are used to select the method of interface as well as the
desired sequence when using the on-board sequencer.
Direct Drive
Direct Drive: (S1, S1) = (1, 0) This is the simplest Stepper Board
interface to understand. Four pins labeled IW, IX, IY,
IW
and IZ are used to directly control the current to their IX
respective coils. A “1” on the input pin energizes the IY
IZ
coil. In order to move the motor the external device
must produce the desired sequence on W,X,Y,Z. If a
microcontroller is providing this sequence, a lookup table (array) is generally used to
store the desired sequence. It is important to make sure the software keeps track of the
current state of W,X,Y, and Z (i.e. store the pointer or array index value). Wherever
the stepper stops, it must start again with the next value in the sequence.
 Sequencer Drive: The stepper board contains a GAL16V8 PLD (U402 on the
schematic) which serves as a sequencer. Sequencer is just another word for a
synchronous counter circuit that can count through a sequence of states in either
direction. There are two inputs to the sequencer: the clock (rising edge triggered step
pulse) and the direction input (HIGH level steps CW, LOW level steps CCW). The
DIR level must be stable and then when the PGT of STEP occurs, the motor moves
one step in the desired direction. The sequencer can count through any of the three
sequences that were described earlier. Switches
Sequencer
S1, and S2 determine which sequence will be Interface
used in response to the STEP and DIR inputs. Stepper Board
This is the simplest interface to use as the external
device must simply supply a level on DIR and a STEP
CW
pulse for each step. The sequencer provides the DIR
correct sequence of on/off states. CCW

S2 S1
Full Step (S1, S2) = (0, 1)
Select
Half Step (S1, S2) = (1, 1) Sequence
Wave Drive (S1, S2) = (0, 0)

6. The “Home” Position Sensor

The plastic gear has a slot cut in it that serves as
an index or reference position as shown in the
photo. When the slot lines up with the optical
sensor, an infrared (IR) beam passes through the
slot and is detected on the other side by a
phototransistor contained in U404 (refer to the
schematic diagram on the last page). The IR light
acts like base current to turn the transistor on
harder. As more collector current flows through
R406, the voltage at the collector decreases below
the 2.5 volt reference established by the voltage
divider made up of R407 and R408. This causes the comparator U401 to output a
logic HIGH by turning off its open collector output transistor. When the IR beam is
blocked by the wheel, the phototransistor is biased off, producing a collector voltage
greater than 2.5V. This results in the comparator outputting a logic LOW by turning
on its open collector output transistor.

7. The Coil Drivers

The stepper coils are driven by four transistors in a DIP package (U403). Each
transistor is a PNP type. When the PLD outputs a LOW, current flows through the
Emitter-Base junction, saturating the transistor and essentially connecting the Emitter
to the Collector. Current from the power supply flows through the coil, creating the
magnetic field.