Stepper motors are an extremely important piece in any kind of operations. In a similar note, they are kind of the older AC induction motors which had stator and rotor both. But that is the only thing that is similar to the older AC induction motors. These motors are a type of DC synchronous motor. In the older AC motors, the rotation of the rotor wasn’t controllable but that is not the case with stepper motors. You can control the rotation of the stepper motors to a degree of precision.

These motors can produce some instantaneous torque even if they are still and not moving at all. It is considered as the most important component in the motion control system. Because of the accuracy, repeatability and power are the factors that determine the usefulness of stepper motors.

Stepper motors come in different types and the main ones are listed below. Have a look.

Types – Stepper Motor

Three main different types of stepper motors:

Permanent Magnet Stepper – In this kind of stepper motor the rotor are made of permanent magnets. These magnets interact with the electromagnets of the stator to create continuous rotation and torque. This type of stepper motor can run on very low and produce a high torque output per input unit power.

Variable Reluctance – In this type of stepper motor the rotor are made of the plain iron instead of permanent magnets. The rotor of the motor looks like a gear with teeth around the circumference of the rotor. These teeth provide them the accuracy they need but it comes at the expanse of the torque.

Hybrid Synchronous – These motors have the best features of the both of the above type motors. A hybrid synchronous has a permanent magnet core and the circumference is built from the plain iron and has teeth. That means this type of motor has both angular resolution and high torque.

Now, let’s look at the operating modes of the stepper motors.

Full Step mode – The full step operation is reached by energizing both windings of the motor while reversing the current alternately. A one step in this is equal to the single pulse of the motor.

Half step mode – In half step mode the motor rotates at four hundred steps per revolution. One of the winding is energized while other makes the motor rotate around halfway. That is why it is called the half step mode for the stepper motor.

Micro step mode – For each revolution, it takes around 51,000 steps which is exactly at 0.007°. And during this operation, the phases of the stator can be energized, partially energized or de-energized. This mode is used in some specific applications where high precision is required.

All types of stepper motors need DC motor controllers to control them and program them to perform a specific task. And there is no better place than Basic Micro to purchase your motor controllers. Basic Micro Motion Control store offers many motor controllers for all kinds of applications.