| Stepper motors provide a means for precise positioning and speed control without the use of feedback sensors. The basic operation of a stepper motor allows the shaft to move a precise number of degrees each time a pulse of electricity is sent to the motor. Since the shaft of the motor moves only the number of degrees that it was designed for when each pulse is delivered, you can control the pulses that are sent and control the positioning and speed. The rotor of the motor produces torque from the interaction between the magnetic field in the stator and rotor. The strength of the magnetic fields is proportional to the amount of current sent to the stator and the number of turns in the windings. The stepper motor uses the theory of operation for magnets to make the motor shaft turn a precise distance when a pulse of electricity is provided. You learned previously that like poles of a magnet repel and unlike poles attract. Figure 11-57 shows a typical cross-sectional view of the rotor and stator of a stepper motor. From this diagram you can see that the stator (stationary winding) has four poles, and the rotor has six poles (three complete magnets). The rotor will require 12 pulses of electricity to move the 12 steps to make one complete revolution. Another way to say this is that the rotor will move precisely 30° for each pulse of electricity that the motor receives. The number of degrees the rotor will turn when a pulse of electricity is delivered to the motor can be calculated by dividing the number of degrees in one revolution of the shaft (360°) by the number of poles (north and south) in the rotor. In this stepper motor 360° is divided by 12 to get 30°.
When no power is applied to the motor, the residual magnetism in the rotor magnets will cause the rotor to detent or align one set of its magnetic poles with the magnetic poles of one of the stator magnets. This means that the rotor will have 12 possible detent positions. When the rotor is in a detent position, it will have enough magnetic force to keep the shaft from moving to the next position. This is what makes the rotor feel like it is clicking from one position to the next as you rotate the rotor by hand with no power applied. |
