A stepper engine drive is a circuit which is used to run a stepper motor. It is also known as stepper motor driver. The market is flooded with a lot of drive circuits today. Most of the circuits are easy to interface to a motor such that you can easily connect stepper engine to it and you are all set to run the motor.

These circuits come in a vast collection of ratings for voltage and current, and you can choose as per the requirement of the engine which will be used. A stepper engine drive consists of components such as a controller, a driver, power supply unit and the connections to the motor. Here in this article, I have broadly discussed the components.

The 3 Essential Components Of Stepper Motor Drive

• Controller
• Driver
• Power supply unit

And there are also some different components such as switches, heat sink, connecting wires.

Stepper Motor Controller

The first and critical element of the stepper motor is a controller, also known as a pulse generator. The controller is used to output pulse commands that are used to move the motor. It can accelerate or decelerate motor speed or can also stop it. It is an essential component in the efficient working of the stepper motor. In building a stepper motor drive, the controller is the first component that should be selected. Select the one that has at least four output pins. It must contain serial port, ADC, timers, etc.

Also, there are mainly two types of stepper motor controllers, i.e., open loop and closed loop. Open loop is simple to operate and is less expensive than a closed loop. Most of the motor applications work well with open loop controller.

Stepper Motor Driver

The second important component is the motor driver. The function of stepper driver is to control the direction and magnitude of current flow into the motor windings. It takes pulses from the controller and calculates when and how motor windings should be energized to generate motion.

One should select the driver as per the current and voltage required. One of the most popular stepper motor drivers is of Leadshine Technology, renowned manufacturers in China. If you want to buy best quality stepper motor driver, you can search for any reseller of Leadshine stepper drivers.

Image source: omc-stepperonline

Power Supply Unit

A stepper motor requires a voltage ranging from 5V to 12V and current ranging from 100mA to 400mA. Power supply unit is designed as per the motor specifications.
It is vital that the power must be controlled so that fluctuations in speed and torque can be regulated.

So, these are three main components of stepper motor drive. If you are looking to buy stepper motor drive, you don’t have to worry about it. Now you can buy stepper motor and other motion control components just by sitting at home.