A stepper motor is a unique type of DC motor that rotates in fixed steps of a certain number of

degrees. Step size can range from 0.9 to 90°. It consists of a rotor and stator. In this case, the rotor
is a permanent magnet, and the stator is made up of electromagnets (field poles). The rotor will
move (or step) to align itself with an energized field magnet. If the field magnets are energized
one after the other around the circle,the motor can be made to move in a complete circle.

Stepper motors are particularly useful in control applicationsbecause the controller

 can know the exact position of the motor shaft without the need of position sensors. This is done by
simply counting thenumber of steps taken from a known reference position. Step size is determined by
the number of rotor and stator poles
 There is no cumulative error (the angle error does not increase, regardless of the number of steps taken).
In fact, most stepper motor systems operate open-loop—that is, the controller sends the motor a
determined number of step commands and assumes the motor goes to the right place. A common
example is the positioning of the read/write head in a floppy disk drive.
 Steppers have inherently low velocity and therefore are frequently used without gear reductions. A
typical unit driven at 500 pulses/second rotates at only 150 rpm.
 Stepper motors can easily be controlled to turn at 1 rpm or less with complete accuracy.
There are three types of stepper motors:
1. permanent magnet,
2. variable reluctance,
3. hybrid.
PERMANENT-MAGNET STEPPER MOTORS
The permanent-magnet (PM) stepper motor uses a permanent magnet forthe rotor. The field consists of
four poles (electromagnets).
 The motor works in the following manner: Assume the rotor is in the position shown with the south
end up. When field coil 1 is energized, the south end of the rotor is attracted to coil 1 and moves toward
it. Then fieldcoil 1 is de-energized, and coil 2 is energized. The rotor pulls itself into alignment with
coil 2. Thus, the rotor turns in 90° steps for each successiveexcitation of the field coils.
 The motor can be made to reverse by inverting the sequence.
 One desirable property of the PM stepper motor is that the rotor will tendto align up with a field pole
even when no power is applied because the PM rotor will be attracted to the closest iron pole.
 The detent torque is a desirable property in many applications because ittends to hold the motor in the
last position it was stepped to, even whenall power is removed.

What is stepper Motor: -

A stepper motor is an electromechanical system which is transducing an electrical signal into a
mechanical one. It is designed to accomplish a discrete movement (notion of step) and reach
a precise position.
The movement is achieved through the use of a magnetic field provided by coils and sensed by
magnets. Indeed, when one of the coils is energized, a magnetic field is created and, if the energy
is supplied cyclically (by means of input pulses), then the magnetic field will vary. When a
magnet is placed in this varying magnetic field, it will position itself in the lowest energy state
(equilibrium), therefore providing motion.
This principle is used in the stepper motor, composed of a fixed part (the stator) made of cyclically
energized coils and a moving part (the rotor) made of ferromagnetic matetrial or magnets

Why using a stepper motor: -?

Stepper motors do not operate as DC or brushless motors. They have no integrated electronics,
no brushes and can be controlled in open loop. To get a quick idea, stepper motors are very often
considered as particular brushless motor that can be controlled without feedback in open loop.
Thus, even though stepper motor may look a bit more difficult to understand technically, they
have the advantage of being very simple to control and need no encoder or special driver to
monitor the position of the rotor.
When using a stepper motor - Stepper motors are suitable for applications where compact and
robust solutions are required. They develop their maximum torque at stand-still which makes
them naturally suitable to hold a position. The external commutation ensures that the speed is
perfectly constant even if the load varies. Thanks to the absence of any electronic component,
stepper motors run where the hall sensors or encoders of other type of motor find their limit:
high/low temperatures, external noise disturbances, etc.
Compared to a DC motor, a stepper motor is also much easier to use for positioning application
as the notion of step enables the user to know the precise position or displacement of the rotor
without feedback: it runs in open loop.
Stepper motors are as a matter of fact frequently used when the following application
requirements are specified:
 Repetitive positioning tasks with high accelerations (i.e. XYZ of machine tools)
 Whenever the settling time must be short and with repeatable discrete positions.
 Whenever open loop (absence of electronics) makes sense (e.g. for noise immunity).
 For back and forth motions.
 Frequent “start/stop” operation.
 Whenever the duty cycle is relatively small. (Time ON << Time OFF)
 Whenever the actual position must be held with high torque.
 Whenever the actual position must be held when no current is applied (thanks to the
residual torque).
 Whenever long life times is required (i.e. using the brushless design).
 Whenever minor speed variation under load are not allowed (peristaltic pumps, XYZ of
machine tools)
 For most small consumer electronic devices, such as hard disc drives, ink jet printers,
cameras.

1. What is stepper motor - A stepper motor is a digital actuator whose input is in the form of
programmed energization of the stator windings and whose output is in the form of discrete
angular rotation.
2. What are the main features of stepper motor which are responsible for its wide spread use? It
can drive open loop without feedback
 It is mechanically simple
 It requires little or no maintenance
 Responds directly to digital control signals, so stepper motors are natural choice for
digital computer controls.
3. Give the classification of stepper motor
Variable reluctance stepper motor: Single Stack, Multi Stack.
Permanent Magnet Stepper Motor - Hybrid Stepper motor, Claw pole Motor.
4. Define slewing - The stepper motor may be operating at very high stepping rates i.e., 25000
steps per second. A stepper motor operates at high speeds is called slewing.
5. Define resolution - It is defined as the number of steps needed to complete one revolution of
the rotor shaft.
6. State some applications of stepper motor - Floppy disk-drives, Quartz-watches, Camera
shutter operation, Dot matrix and line printers, Machine tool applications, Robotics
7. Advantages of stepper motor- It can drive open loop without feedback, responds directly to
digital control signals, so stepper motors are natural choice for digital computer controls, it is
mechanically simple, it requires little or no maintenance.
8. Disadvantages of stepper motor: Low efficiency with ordinary controller, fixed step angle,
Limited ability to handle large inertia load, Limited power output and sizes available.
VARIABLE-RELUCTANCE STEPPER MOTORS

The variable-reluctance (VR) stepper motor does not use a magnet for the rotor; instead, it uses
a toothed iron wheel. The advantage of not requiring the rotor to be magnetized is that it can be
made in any shape. Being iron, each rotor tooth is attracted to the closest energized field pole in
the stator, but not with the same force as in the PM motor. This gives the VR motor less torque
than the PM motor.

HYBRID STEPPER MOTORS

The hybrid stepper motor combines the features of the PM and VR stepper motors and is the
type in most common use today. The rotor is toothed, which allows for very small step angles
(typically 1.8°), and it has a permanent magnet providing a small detent torque even when the
power is off.