Chapter 5

Stepper Motors

Instructor: Le Hoa Nguyen, Ph.D.

 Contents

▪ Introduction
▪ Permanent magnet stepper motors
▪ Variable reluctance stepper motors
▪ Hybrid stepper motors
▪ Phase wiring of stepper motors
▪ Driver circuits

Sensors and Actuators in Control Systems @ Le Hoa Nguyen, DUT 2/23

 5.1. Introduction
▪ A stepper motor (or stepping motor, step motor) is an electromechanical
device which converts electrical pulse into discrete mechanical movements
▪ The shaft of a stepper motor rotates in discrete step increments when
electrical command pulses are applied to it in the proper sequence
▪ The motor rotation has several direct relationships to these applied input
pulses
✓ Rotation direction (CW or CCW): determined by the sequence of the applied
pulses
✓ Rotation speed: determined by the frequency of the input pulses
✓ Rotation length (degree, revolution): determined by number of the applied
input pulses

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 5.1. Introduction
Benefits
▪ Easy to produce/cheap construction for motor and drive (amplifier)
▪ Easy to control in speed and position without feedback
▪ Motor has full torque at standstill
▪ Excellent response starting/stopping/reversing
Applications
▪ Precise movements and positioning profiles
▪ Adjustments and settings in automation, machinery
▪ Handling systems, robotics
▪ Textile/printing machines, paper converting
▪ Medical equipments

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 5.1. Introduction
Classification of stepper motors
Rotor type
▪ Variable-reluctance (VR) stepper motor
▪ Permanent magnet (PM) stepper motor
▪ Hybrid (HB) stepper motor
Phase wiring
▪ Unipolar stepper motor
▪ Bipolar stepper motor
Control mode
▪ Wave drive mode
▪ Full step drive mode
▪ Half step drive mode
▪ Microstep drive mode
Number of stack of teeth (rotor segment)
▪ Single-stack
▪ Multiple-stack
Sensors and Actuators in Control Systems @ Le Hoa Nguyen, DUT 5/23
 5.2. Permanent-Magnet Stepper Motor
▪ Stator: Two set of windings => 2
phases, 4 poles
▪ Rotor: two-pole permanent magnet

▪ Phase states:
1: current in a specified direction
-1: current in the opposite direction
0: no current

24-pole permanent magnet

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 5.2. Permanent-Magnet Stepper Motor
Full step – one phase mode (wave drive mode)
▪ Only one winding is energized at a time Step Ф1 Ф2 θ
▪ Generated torque is small 1 0 1 900
▪ Step angle: 900 2 -1 0 1800
3 0 -1 2700
Ф1 Ф1 S
1 2 4 1 0 3600
N
S

Ф2 Ф2 Ф1
N

Ф1 Ф1 N
3 4 Ф2
N

Ф2 Ф2

S
step 1 2 3 4

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 5.2. Permanent-Magnet Stepper Motor
Full step – two phase mode
▪ Two windings are energized at a time
▪ Generated torque more torque compared with wave drive mode
▪ Step angle: 900
Step Ф1 Ф2 θ
1 1 1 450
Ф1 N Ф1 S
1 2 2 -1 1 1350
3 -1 -1 2250

N
S
N
S

Ф2 Ф2 4 1 -1 3150
S N

Ф1 S Ф1 N
3 4
Ф2
N

N
S

Ф2 Ф2

N S
step 1 2 3 4

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 5.2. Permanent-Magnet Stepper Motor
Ф1 N 1 Ф1 2 Half step drive mode
▪ Combination of wave drive and full step
N

N
S

S
Ф2 Ф2 drive modes
S
▪ Step angle: 450

Ф1
S 3 Ф1 S 4 CW Step Ф1 Ф2 θ
1 1 1 450
N
S

Ф2 Ф2 2 0 1 900
N N
3 -1 1 1350
Ф1 S
5 Ф1 6 4 -1 0 1800
5 -1 -1 2250
N

N
S

Ф2 Ф2
6 0 -1 2700
N
7 1 -1 3150
Ф1 N
7 Ф1 N
8 8 1 0 3600
CCW
N

Ф2 Ф2
Q: Draw the voltage waveform of phase 1 and
S S phase 2 for CW and CCW rotation?

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 5.3. Variable-Reluctance Stepper Motor
▪ Stator: Typically consists of 3 windings => 3 A
phases, 6 poles
▪ Rotor: is nonmagnetized soft-ion bar, B C
consists of number of teeths (poles), e.g., 4
poles as shown
Working principle C B
▪ The principle of VR stepper motor is based on the
property of the flux lines flow the low reluctance path A

▪ The stator and rotor are aligned in such a way that

magnetic reluctance is minimum
A A A

B C B C B C

C B C B C B

A A A

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 5.3. Variable-Reluctance Stepper Motor
Step angle Δθ
0 θs
360
▪ Stator pitch:  s = θr A
ns
ns: number of stator poles B C
3600
▪ Rotor pitch:  r =
nr
nr: number of rotor poles (teeth)
C B
 360 ( ns − rnr )
Step angle: 
 r − r s = if  r   s
 ns nr A
 = 
 − r = 360 ( nr − rns ) if   
 s r r s
 ns nr
r: the largest positive integer such that Δθ is positive

Example. For 6/4 stepper motor above in full step – one phase mode:
ns = 6 => θs = 600;
   =  − r = 90 0
− 1  60 0
= 30 0

nr = 4 => θr = 900; r s

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 5.3. Variable-Reluctance Stepper Motor
Half step drive mode

B C B C B C B
C

C B C B C B C B

Step A B C θ
B
C
B
C
1 + + 0 150
2 0 + 0 300
C B C B
3 0 + + 450
4 0 0 + 600
5 + 0 + 750
Step angle:  = 150 6 + 0 0 900

Sensors and Actuators in Control Systems @ Le Hoa Nguyen, DUT 12/23

 5.3. Variable-Reluctance Stepper Motor
Example:
a) Determine the step angle (Δθ) in the full step drive mode of the stepper motors
having the following motor arrangements
A

B C

C B

(a) (b)

b) Buil the stepping sequence in full step drive mode

for the above motors for CW and CCW rotations

(c)

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 5.3. Variable-Reluctance Stepper Motor
Improve resolution (reduce step angle)
To reduce the step angle:
▪ Increase the number of phases => control issue
▪ Increase the number of poles

Example. Consider the motor as shown,

in full step – one phase mode:
ns = 40 => θs = 90;
nr = 50 => θr = 7.20;
  =  r − r s = 90 − 1 7.20 = 1.80

There will be 200 steps per revolution

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 5.3. Variable-Reluctance Stepper Motor
Microstepping drive mode
▪ Is used to reduce step size (step angle) (e.g., 1/125 of full step) => smoother
motion of the motor
▪ It is significantly reduce positioning oscillations
ON OFF ON ON Δθ
i Δθ i i

i i i
ON ON i+δi
ON
ON

Full stepping Microstepping

▪ The current in a phase either 0 ▪ If increasing the current in phase 2 by δi
(OFF) or 1 (ON) while the other current kept unchanged,
the resultant magnetic field will move
closer to the pole with larger current, the
motor moves with small step

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 5.4. Hybrid Stepper Motor
▪ The most common variety of stepper motors in engineering applications
▪ Hybrid between PM and VR stepper motors
▪ The rotor has two stacks that are magnetized to have opposite polarities. They are
placed 1/4 of tooth pitch misalignment each other
▪ The stator has two segments surrounding the two rotor stacks, each stator
segment is wound to a single phase
▪ Both rotor and stator have teeth and their pitch angles are equal

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 5.5. Phase wiring of stepper motor
There are two type of wring: bipolar and unipolar
Bipolar:
▪ The stator has one winding per phase (it may consists of some segments
connected in series)
▪ A two phase stepper motor will have 4 leads (say a+, a-, b+, b-)

▪ Reversal of current direction through a winding is necessary during operation

Sensors and Actuators in Control Systems @ Le Hoa Nguyen, DUT 17/23

 5.5. Phase wiring of stepper motor
Unipolar:
▪ Each phase of stator winding has a center tap connected to the ground
▪ A different winding segment is switched on for each direction of magnetic flux

Full step drive mode

▪ CW: A → B → A → B
▪ CCW: A → B → A → B

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 5.6. Driver circuit
Basic driver system for stepper motor

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 5.6. Driver circuit
Bipolar

Vcc

S1 A S2 A S5 B S6 B

Phase A Phase B
A+ B+
A- B-

S3 A S4 A S7 B S8 B

R R

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 5.6. Driver circuit
Unipolar

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 Assignment
1) Comparison of PM, VR, and hybrid stepper motors
2) Applications of stepper motors

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