Stepper motor

Introduction

A stepper motor is a type of motor that moves in discrete steps. It is used in applications that require precise control over the position of the motor, such as 3D printers, CNC machines, and robotic arms. Stepper motors are available in various sizes and configurations, and they can be controlled using a microcontroller or a stepper motor driver.

This type of motor isn't a good fit for applications that require high speed or high torque, but it excels in applications that require precise control over the position of the motor.

Pin Description

A stepper motor has four or more wires that are used to control the movement of the motor. The most common type of stepper motor is the bipolar stepper motor, which has four wires. To help you control the stepper motor, you can use a stepper motor driver, which takes input signals from a microcontroller and converts them into the appropriate signals to drive the motor.

You connect the four IN1, IN2, IN3, and IN4 pins of the stepper motor driver to digital pins on a microcontroller, a power supply to the VCC and GND pins.

Code Example

The following code example demonstrates how to control a stepper motor using an Arduino board and a stepper motor driver.

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

#include <Stepper.h>

#define STEPS 200 // the number of steps per revolution
#define IN1 8
#define IN2 9
#define IN3 10
#define IN4 11

Stepper stepper(STEPS, IN1, IN2, IN3, IN4);

void setup() {
  stepper.setSpeed(60); // set the speed of the motor in RPM
}

void loop() {
  stepper.step(100); // move the motor 100 steps
  delay(500); // wait for 500ms
  stepper.step(-100); // move the motor 100 steps in the opposite direction
  delay(500); // wait for 500ms
}

This example uses the Stepper library to control the stepper motor. You can adjust the speed and the number of steps to suit your application.