controlled by a driver, which sends the pulses into the motor causing it to turn. The number of pulses the motor turns is equal to the number of pulses fed into the driver. The motor will spin at a rate that is equal to the frequency of those same pulses.

Step motors are very easy to control. Most drivers are looking for 5 volt pulses which just so happen to be the voltage level of most integrated circuits. You merely need to design a circuit to output pulses or use one of ORIENTAL MOTORs pulse generators (SG8030 or SC8800).

One of the most remarkable features of step motors is their ability to position very accurately. This will be covered in depth later on. Step motors are not perfect, there are always some little inaccuracies. ORIENTAL MOTOR's standard step motors have an accuracy of ± 3 arc minutes (0.05°). The remarkable feature of steps motors, though, is that this error does not accumulate from step to step. When a standard step motor travels one step it will go 1.8° ± 0.05°. If the same motor travels one million steps, it will travel 1,800,000° ± 0.05°. The error does not accumulate.

Step motors can respond and accelerate quickly. They have low rotor inertia that can get up to speed quickly. For this reason step motors are ideal for short, quick moves.

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ORIENTAL MOTOR sells complete motor and
driver packages to take the guess work out of selecting the right driver to go with your step motor.

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