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Oriental Motor
Technical Article

New Pentagon (Bipolar) Driver Options
Picking the best driver for your application

While it is widely known that Oriental Motor offers New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motors that are used in the medical, semiconductor, surveillance, solar and printing industries because of the inherent advantages of higher resolution and lower vibration over 2-phase stepping motors, it is not as well known that Oriental Motor offers a wide range driver options of New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motors.

When selecting a driver for an application, a designer usually considers many factors that may include: the speed required, power input available, size, motion command input method,  the installation method, motor resolution and any other features that a driver may offer. Depending on what the application requirements are, Oriental Motor is sure to have a driver option for it.

In general, a method for selecting what driver to use would use the following thought process:

  1. What input voltage is available? Drivers are available that accept all common single and three phase AC power supplies as well as drivers that accept DC voltage input.

  2. What motor shaft speed is required? Higher shaft speeds require higher applied voltage to the motor windings. AC power input versions of Oriental Motor drivers apply approximately 162VDC to the motor windings, allowing the motor to produce useful torque levels in excess of 4000 rpm. Items 1 and 2 go hand-in-hand. In some cases, an AC input driver may be the only option based on speed requirements.

  3. What output torque is required? The amount of torque required for the application will determine the frame size and stack length of the stepping motor. The larger the motor, the higher the current per phase rating it will have. The output current capability of the driver can affect its size and how it should be the amount of cooling that may be required.

  4. What motor resolution is required? The number of steps per revolution that the motor needs to take will also narrow down the search for which driver to use. Either a full/half step driver or a microstepping driver can be selected.

  5. Does the driver need to be “intelligent”? Drivers will either accept step & direction commands from separate controller/pulse generator or it can be programmed to create its own motion profiles.

  6. How much space is available for the driver? Drivers can be mounted either independently or incorporated into a circuit board design.
RK Series

For higher speed and load applications, an AC power input drive will most likely be required. For these applications, the RK Series Microstep driver would be the best choice. The RK Series offers:

    • Single-Phase 100~115 VAC or Single-Phase 200~230 VAC power input, both complying with international safety standards (UL/CSA and EN) along with RoHS.
    • Smooth Drive Function which ensures low-vibration and low-noise operation at low speeds by internally executing microstepping within the driver, working independently of the input pulse frequency of your controller.
    • Microstep Drive capability with the ability to divide the basic step angle of the motor up to 250 times offering a maximum resolution of 125,000 steps per revolution.
    • Available for New Pentagon (Bipolar) motors with a current rating of up to 1.4A/phase.
    • Shaft speeds in excess of 4000 rpm can be attained.
    • For use with New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motors that have the New Pentagon winding configuration.

The RK Series driver can be mounted in a control panel with other equipment and only requires steps and direction inputs to make the motor move. More details and information about the RK Series can be found online by clicking here.

CRK Series with Built-in Controller

If your application requires the driver to be able stand alone and control the motion by itself, the CRK Series with Built-in Controller should suit your needs. The CRK Series with Built-in Controller offers many features including:

    • 24VDC input with EN (Low Voltage Directive) and RoHS compliance.
    • Microstep Drive capability with the ability to divide the basic step angle of the motor up to 250 times offering a maximum resolution of 250,000 steps per revolution (with 0.36° basic step angle motor).
    • New Pentagon (Bipolar) microstepping offers lower vibration and noise compared to conventional stepping motor systems.
    • Compact microstep driver with a powerful, feature-rich controller built-in.
    • Supports stand alone or RS-485 communications with multi-drop capability for network operation and I/O control.
    • 11 dedicated function (e.g. Start, Abort, Home) inputs.
    • 6 programmable inputs.
    • 2 dedicated function (e.g. Move, Alarm) outputs.
    • 4 programmable outputs.
    • Encoder feedback capability.
    • Compact microstep driver/controller is 35mm W x 70 D x 100mm H
    • For use with New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motors that have the New Pentagon winding configuration.

More details and information about the CRK Series with Built-in Controller can be found online by clicking here.

CRK Series

The CRK Series New Pentagon (Bipolar) microstepping driver would be the choice when a separate pulse generator or controller is going to be used.

    • 24VDC input with EN (Low Voltage Directive) and RoHS compliance.
    • The Smooth Drive Function automatically controls operations via microstep drive at the same travel distance and speed used in the full-step mode, without requiring the operator to change the pulse input settings. This function is particularly useful when the CRK Series is used in full-step or half-step mode.
    • Photocoupler inputs.
    • New Pentagon (Bipolar) microstepping offers lower vibration and noise compared to conventional stepping motor systems.
    • Enables New Pentagon (Bipolar) performance to be used in existing 2-phase systems.
    • Microstep Drive capability with the ability to divide the basic step angle of the motor up to 250 times offering a maximum resolution of 250,000 steps per revolution (with 0.36° basic step angle motor).
    • This compact microstep driver is 65mm W x 45 D x 25mm H
    • For use with New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motors that have the New Pentagon winding configuration.

More details and information about the CRK Series can be found online by clicking here.

DS Series

When an extremely small mounting foot print is required, the DS Series On-board New Pentagon (Bipolar) driver would be the choice. The DS Series is intended to be mounted directly on a circuit board reducing the size of the of overall control system of the application.

    • Extremely compact driver is 34mm W x 15.8 D x 30mm H. The driver is mounted via 2mm pitch x 30 pins connection.
    • 12 to 24VDC input (separate 5VDC required for logic).
    • Both microstep and full/half step driver versions are available.
    • Available for New Pentagon (Bipolar) motors with current ratings of 0.35, 0.75 and 1.4A/phase.
    •  New Pentagon (Bipolar) microstepping offers lower vibration and noise compared to conventional stepping motor systems.
    • RUN, STOP and ECO current settings potentiometers are included.
    • Low cost New Pentagon (Bipolar) performance to be used in existing 2-phase systems.
    • For use with New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motors that have the New Pentagon winding configuration.

More details and information about the DS Series can be found online by clicking here.

If you would like to use discreet components to build your own New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motor driver, there is an option for that, too. Oriental Motor can provide a chip set with the IC chips necessary to build your own board level driver. The chip set is comprised of three chips; two chips are FET arrays for supplying current to the motor and one chip acts as a pre-drive for the FET arrays and logic control responsible for the functions of:

    • Pulse & Direction input
    • Full/Half stepping
    • All Windings Off
    • Run current level
    • Standstill current level
    • Timing output
    • For use with New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motors that have the New Pentagon winding configuration.

The chips are available in both DIP and surface mount configurations.

IC Chip

Sanken Electric Company, Ltd. also provides New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motor IC’s that can be used with any of Oriental Motor’s New Pentagon New Pentagon (Bipolar) stepping motors. Performance characteristics are very similar to the Oriental Motor IC solutions

More details and information about Sanken Electric products can be found online by clicking here.

Nick Johantgen
North American Technical Product & Training Manger
Oriental Motor USA Corporation


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