[Lab] Help choosing a stepper motor

Thu Nov 7 16:55:47 EST 2013

Considering how low-traffic this mailing list is I personally do not mind
hearing the decisionmaking behind which stepper motor to choose.

On Thu, Nov 7, 2013 at 4:49 PM, Aurelius R <maxrowsell at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hey guys!
>
> I might be in the wrong here, but is this not the type of conversation
> that would be best carried out off-list? After the initial call for help,
> of course. It doesn't really bother me that much, but I'm not sure what the
> list rules are here. Other lists I'm on are against anything not directly
> on-topic.
>
> ____________________
> Peace, Love, Empathy
>
> Alexander Max Rowsell
>
>
> On 7 November 2013 01:03, Michael Grant <michael at krazatchu.ca> wrote:
>
>> I'm sure a NEMA 17 size stepper would suit purpose.
>> The EasyDriver is more than capable for this application.
>>
>> Michael
>> --
>> http://krazatchu.ca/
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 6, 2013 at 5:37 PM, Wesley Ellis <tahnok at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> My project involves rotating the platform by small increments then
>>> checking if there's something in range with an ultra sonic sensor, so a
>>> stepper motor where I can move my platform by a fixed amount easily seemed
>>> like a better idea than a regular motor and deriving my distance travelled
>>> based on how long I had the motor on for.
>>>  On Nov 6, 2013 10:22 AM, "Chris de Groot" <cdegroot at adobe.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> It would be interesting to know how Wesley decided a stepper motor was
>>>> suitable for your use case.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There are several of different options.
>>>>
>>>> Stepper Motors are good for very precise control of fairly slow
>>>> rotation where you may also want to rotate by very precise amounts. They
>>>> have downsides, they require a lot of electronics and often some software
>>>> to work, are not that powerful relative to other motors, consume more amps
>>>> for similar work and are more expensive.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> If you wanted to do something like rotate a platform continuously, even
>>>> reversing it backwards and forwards, and did not care too much about fine
>>>> accuracy or specific speeds a regular motor may be something to look at.
>>>> For example a windscreen wiper motor(from princess auto surplus) is a nice
>>>> usable package. With a small amount of electronics you can get speed
>>>> control and backwards/forwards motion.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Consider this simple circuit for a “most useless machine ever” project.
>>>> Simple and effective
>>>> http://9x20lathe.blogspot.ca/2010/01/components-and-schematic-for-useless.html
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Speed control is fairly easy with a regular motor. But for a stepper
>>>> can actually get pretty complex with ramp up and down for starts and stops
>>>> etc.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> C.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *From:* Lab [mailto:lab-bounces at artengine.ca] *On Behalf Of *Bob
>>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 05, 2013 8:05 PM
>>>> *To:* Lab at artengine.ca
>>>> *Subject:* Re: [Lab] Help choosing a stepper motor
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> As a non-technical person my suggestion may be way off base, but
>>>> perhaps working with the guts of a scanner would fit the bill. Motor and
>>>> belt already to go.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Bob
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *From:* Lab [mailto:lab-bounces at artengine.ca <lab-bounces at artengine.ca>]
>>>> *On Behalf Of *Wesley Ellis
>>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 05, 2013 7:28 PM
>>>> *To:* Michael Grant
>>>> *Cc:* lab
>>>> *Subject:* Re: [Lab] Help choosing a stepper motor
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> No, the stepper motor is going to drive a pulley to rotate a platform
>>>>
>>>> On 11/4/2013, 9:52 PM, Michael Grant wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Does the mass need to be lifted against gravity?
>>>>
>>>> Michael
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> http://krazatchu.ca/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 9:45 PM, Wesley Ellis <tahnok at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> The mass isn't very heavy (probably 500g) and I don't need the
>>>> resolution of something like a cnc or 3d printer motor and speed isn't
>>>> super important
>>>>
>>>> On Nov 4, 2013 9:36 PM, "Michael Grant" <michael at krazatchu.ca> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> The easy driver is for bipolar only, it's a good choice for small
>>>> steppers (NEMA17).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There are many choices on eBay as well, about $11 will get you a
>>>> serious CNC driver for larger steppers (NEMA23).
>>>>
>>>> http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Good-CNC-Router-Single-1-Axis-Controller-Stepper-Motor-Drivers-TB6560-3A-New-/251369064893?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a86c389bd
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> What resolution and speed are you looking to achieve?
>>>>
>>>> The mass you are rotating, is it heavy and will you require fast start
>>>> and stop?
>>>>
>>>> Michael Grant
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> http://krazatchu.ca/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 9:22 PM, Wesley Ellis <tahnok at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hey all,
>>>>
>>>> I'm pretty new to electronics and I'm having trouble choosing a stepper
>>>> motor for a project I'm working on.
>>>>
>>>> I'm ordering from robot shotp, and it looks like this EasyDriver board
>>>> (
>>>> https://secure.robotshop.com/ca/en/sfe-easydriver-bipolar-stepper-motor-driver.html
>>>> )
>>>> will let me control whichever motor I end up choosing, but the number of
>>>> motors on robotshop is pretty intimidating.
>>>>
>>>> I'm going to be spinning a small platform so I don't need a lot of
>>>> power. Basically, I'm wondering whether I need a bipolar or unipolar
>>>> motor? What kind of voltage? Amperage? Any help would be appreciated
>>>>
>>>> Wesley
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
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