Stepper Motor Question

You will need

1) A motor (you have one picked out)
2) A driver like this http://www.automationtechnologiesin...rs/kl-4030-24-40vdc-3-0a-microstepping-driver or this http://www.automationtechnologiesin.../geckodrive-g251-50v3-5a-stepper-motor-driver
3) Something to generate pulses to the driver. You could build something with a 555, but it might be easier to go with something like an Arduino. If you don't feel like programming it, I would be willing to help out. In any case, they are cheap. Amazon sells them for around $25.
4) A Power Supply. Lots of folks seem to use old PC power supplies. They only go up to about 12V. This will limit your maximum speed, but it seems like you want SLOOOOOW anyway.
5) Misc parts (couple switches, potentiometers, a box to put everything in, and some wire).

I'm guessing you want forward/reverse, start/stop, and speed control right?
 
Bill Gruby said:
I am sold on the KL-4030. Will order today. By Arduino so you mean this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Arduino-MEG...390?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a82566d8e

Motor is on the way. Can I use a single Toggle switch for Forward-Neutral-Reverse, Neutral being off, For R on?

"Billy G"
Click to expand...

Yes. It will need to be a dual pole, dual throw (DPDT) with a center off position wired like this:

wiring.jpg
Note I specified 5V. If you want to use a higher voltage, you'll need to add series resistors in the DIR+ and ENA+ lines. If you need to use a higher voltage, we can help you pick he right resistor.

If after wiring it all the motor turns the wrong way for your switch position, just reverse one pair of motor leads.

I tend to think you'll have more aggravation with an Arduino and programming then just using a pot and a 555 circuit (which can definieitly sink enough current to drive the optocoupler in the KL-4030). All you need is a variable frequency pulse train and an Arduino has vastly more capability... This thing is cheap! http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=UT5 This circuit will feed the "STP" inputs: not shown above. There is no need to turn off the step pulses when the motor is disabled. The driver simply ignores them.

John

wiring.jpg
 
There are a couple versions of the Arduino, I think that is one of the "high end" versions. Here is the basic one, few bucks cheaper

http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Duemilanove/dp/B001VK18HC/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A30ZYR2W3VAJ0A

You may be able to use a single switch for on/off, start/stop, but I would have to ponder on it. Basically you have 3 inputs on that motor driver.

* Step (that's where your pulses go)
* Direction (ON is one direction, OFF is the other)
* Enable (turns the thing off when you connect 2 things together). By OFF, that usually means the motor is free-wheeling.

You can also "stop" the motor by not sending any more pulses to it. If you use enable though, it will be easier to wind the tool back by hand if that is what you want to do. If you use the enable signal, I think you will want a separate switch for on/off and direction.

- - - Updated - - -

Ok, Jgedde is obviously smarter than me, his proposal looks just fine ;) Though, it wasn't clear in the docs whether tying enable to 5v enabled, or disabled.
 
DMS said:
There are a couple versions of the Arduino, I think that is one of the "high end" versions. Here is the basic one, few bucks cheaper

http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Duemilanove/dp/B001VK18HC/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A30ZYR2W3VAJ0A

You may be able to use a single switch for on/off, start/stop, but I would have to ponder on it. Basically you have 3 inputs on that motor driver.

* Step (that's where your pulses go)
* Direction (ON is one direction, OFF is the other)
* Enable (turns the thing off when you connect 2 things together). By OFF, that usually means the motor is free-wheeling.

You can also "stop" the motor by not sending any more pulses to it. If you use enable though, it will be easier to wind the tool back by hand if that is what you want to do. If you use the enable signal, I think you will want a separate switch for on/off and direction.

- - - Updated - - -

Ok, Jgedde is obviously smarter than me, his proposal looks just fine ;) Though, it wasn't clear in the docs whether tying enable to 5v enabled, or disabled.
Click to expand...

You're right the documentation is poor. Looking at the documentation again I saw the note about leaving the ENA pins disconnected meaning enabled. Nope, I'm not so smart... Dumb as a stump and twice as ugly, actually. Thus, the wiring diagram I gave above will not work. The motor will only run when the switch is in the neutral position!

The driver wants to see 10mA of current on its input pins, so you'll need a transistor in there too, like this (or two separate switches):

Clipboard02.jpg

John

- - - Updated - - -

Oops, The second resistor in the base of the transistor is not needed. I forgot to erase it (it's the one oriented horizontally).

Clipboard02.jpg
 
OK people, we are looking good. Please let me digest what is here so far and we will go from there if there are no questions. Thank you one and all.

"Billy G"
 
Just a bit of a quibble-the stepper motor is not "bipolar" or "unipolar"-the linked motor is an 8-wire motor and that means it is about as versatile as a 2-phase stepper can be. It can be run from a unipolar drive, or it can be run from a bipolar drive in series, parallel, or half-winding modes.

The Linistepper is a unipolar drive, and it would work fine with this 8-wire stepper motor.

A 4-wire motor would not be capable of unipolar operation, but any 6- or 8-wire 2-phase stepper can be driven by either a unipolar or a bipolar drive.

I know the OP stated the motor was "bipolar", but that is incorrect. And the question itself was not really a good one, "What kind of stepper motor is it? (Bipolar, Unipolar, 3-phase, etc.)". I think a better question would have been "What kind of stepper motor is it (how many wires, how many phases)".

It looks like a pretty nice motor, BTW,

Andy Wander
 
He's just saying that the motor you chose can be hooked up as either Unipolar or Bipolar. If I were you, I would stick with your original driver choice; running in a bipolar configuration usually lets you get more "oomph" out of the same motor. Bipolar drivers are usually a bit more, but I think it's worth the extra $5 or $10.
 
I'm lost. This is what happened the last time I asked. I've run the lathe without auto cross-feed till now Ok, guess I'll keep doing without. Thank you all for the help, it is greatly appreciated, I just don't know how to use it. I'm old school.

"Billy G"
 
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