Influence of Microstepping Signal Shape on Shaft Movement Precision and Torque Variation of the Stepper Motor

Abstract

Stepper motors are widely used in many applications where discrete, precise movement is required. There is a variety of dedicated stepper motor controllers (sometimes referred to as “step sticks”) available on the market. Those controllers provide a number of different motor control schemes that vary by aspects like current control method, reference current shape or maximum resolution increase (microstepping). The two most widely acknowledged signal shapes are sine-cosine microstepping and quadrature microstepping. The choice of the control scheme impacts torque output, torque variation, positioning error and maximum power supply requirements. This paper presents a family of generalised microstepping signal shapes, ranging from sine-cosine microstepping to quadrature microstepping. Derivation of signal shapes as well as their mathematical analyses are provided. Those signals are then implemented on the control board. A series of experiments is performed on a test bench to analyse the influence of different signal shapes on the performance of the motor in both load and no load conditions. The comparison of the new generalized shapes influence on the motor operation to the commonly used sine-cosine and quadrature control is provided.

Design of Single Chip Microcomputer Control System for Stepping Motor

“…From the middle and late 1970s to 1980s, it was the development stage of batch production of finished stepping motors in China, and various new motors were also developed [4]. Since 1990s, scientific research institutes have done a lot of research on precise models of stepping motors, and various stepping motors and drivers have been widely used in most industries [5].…”

“…From the middle and late 1970s to 1980s, it was the development stage of batch production of finished stepping motors in China, and various new motors were also developed [4]. Since 1990s, scientific research institutes have done a lot of research on precise models of stepping motors, and various stepping motors and drivers have been widely used in most industries [5].We have a big gap with foreign countries in the drive equipment, mainly reflected in their control theory and analysis of AC motors and application capabilities are relatively strong [6]. If there is an advanced control theory as the basis, the software program written can better control the AC motor inside the controller.…”

Modern Electrical Drives: Trends, Problems, and Challenges

“…In [2], Bednarski et al proposed and experimentally examined a family of generalized microstepping signal shapes for stepper motors. The authors provided the mathematical formula to derive the p-norm signals responsible for generation reference currents for stepper motors.…”

“…Very often, they are multidisciplinary works. In this Special Issue, 10 manuscripts were published that deal with the following topics: control strategies for different types of electrical motors [1][2][3], estimations of non-measurable states and parameters [3], sensorless control of electrical drives [1,2], the application of advanced control methodologies for high performance control of electrical drives [4][5][6], diagnoses, monitoring, and prognoses in electrical drives [7][8][9][10], and control of complex mechatronic systems, while taking the mechanical part of the system into account [3,4,6].…”

A Study on the Detent Torque and Holding Torque of a Micro-Claw Pole Stepper Motor

“…Therefore, scholars are mainly interested in the static and dynamic torque characteristics of motors [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. The design of the control algorithm or drive circuit can improve the torque characteristics of the motor and improve the positioning accuracy [11,12], but the improvement effect of the control algorithm is limited.…”