Stepper motor drivers

Stepper drivers presented in this category allow you to control the direction and speed of rotation of the motor. The resolution of the motors (microstep size) is also set using such plates. This page also provides detailed information on how to connect the motors. Thanks to them, controlling a stepper motor becomes very easy. Please see all the products below!

How to choose a driver for a stepper motor?

In this category, you can choose from stepper motor drivers specially selected by the specialists of the Botland store. Such devices allow you to precisely control the operation of one or more motors. They are suitable for bipolar and unipolar components. The controllers use signals from any system that generates logical states, such as: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, STM32Discovery, or microcontrollers. If you create a project in the field of programmable electronics, these types of boards will certainly find their application sooner or later. It is also worth noting that some models allow you to simultaneously connect DC motors, stepper motors and servos, as well as sensors, LCD display, memory card reader or Bluetooth module, which allows you to create more advanced projects.

The standard system consists of a controller that takes pulse signals from a system generating logic states and converts them into a signal fed to the motor windings. As for the way the device works, the stepper motor converts the pulsed electrical signal from the controller into a sequence of movements. The direction of rotation is determined by the type of pulses supplied. In turn, the speed of rotation depends on the frequency of the pulses, and the number of microsteps depends on the number of pulses. Therefore, when choosing, it is necessary to check the detailed technical parameters of a given PCB.

Stepper motors – mechanism of action and current intensity

To understand how a stepper motor driver works, it is necessary to understand how a motor of this type itself works. Well, the movement of the motor results from the interaction between the stator's permanent magnet and the alternating magnetic field, which in turn is directly proportional to the current flowing in the windings. It follows from the above reasons that when choosing a controller one should first of all take into account the intensity of the current consumed by the coils.

The controller should have a current capacity corresponding to the rated value of the motor. The rated motors’ value should not differ by more than ± 5% of the motor current value. In many available controllers in this category of the Botland store, it is possible to independently limit the maximum current consumed by the stepper motor. For this purpose, it is enough to use the built-in potentiometer located on the PCB.

It should also be remembered that stepper motors work all the time and consume the most current in the holding phase, which in turn causes the motor to heat up. Therefore, it may be necessary to use an appropriate heat sink to prevent damage to the controller and the motor.

Choosing a stepper motor and its driver

The key parameter of the stepper driver is the voltage range and the torque. This is because the same parameters are extremely important when selecting the motor itself. Both devices should be matched to each other. When selecting a controller with a specific voltage range, one should take into account mainly the torque (power) of the motor, which directly depends on the speed of the impulse growth (i.e. on the supply voltage) and the voltage resistance of the controller to the electromotive force generated by the motor.

In turn, the aforementioned high voltage of the controller supply allows the current intensity in the coils to increase rapidly. More voltage is more engine dynamics, and lower voltage causes a deterioration in engine dynamics and speed.

Remember that for additional information on stepper motors and drivers, see our guides published on the Botland website. Be sure to read the specification of a given product by going to the product sheet. We wish you great shopping at the Botland store!