Stepper Motor Advantages
Converting a non-linear input signal to a linear output signal. This is common for thermocouple signals.
- The rotation angle of the motor is proportional to the input pulse.
- The motor has full torque at standstill (if the windings are energized).
- Precise positioning and repeatability of movement since good stepper motors have an accuracy of 3 to 5% of a step and this error is non-cumulative from one step to the next.
- Excellent response to starting/stopping/reversing.
- Very reliable since there are no contact brushes in the motor. Therefore the life of the step motor is simply dependent on the life of the bearing.
- The stepper motors response to digital input pulses provides open-loop control, making the motor simpler and less costly to control.
- It is possible to achieve very low speed synchronous rotation with a load that is directly coupled to the shaft.
- A wide range of rotational speeds can be realized as the speed is proportional to the frequency of the input pulses.
Types of Step MotorsThere are three basic types of step motors: variable reluctance, permanent magnet, and hybrid. This discussion will concentrate on the hybrid motor, since these step motors combine the best characteristics of the variable reluctance and permanent magnet motors. They are constructed with multi-toothed stator poles and a permanent magnet rotor. Standard hybrid motors have 200 rotor teeth and rotate at 1.8º step angles. Because they exhibit high static and dynamic torque and run at very high step rates, hybrid step motors are used in a wide variety of commercial applications including computer disk drives, printers/plotters, and CD players. Some industrial and scientific applications of stepper motors include robotics, machine tools, pick and place machines, automated wire cutting and wire bonding machines, and even precise fluid control devices.