1.The Concept of Stepping Motors

Stepping Motors: Stepping motors, also known as intelligent motors, are control elements that convert electrical pulse signals into angular displacement or linear displacement. Under non-overloading conditions, the motor's speed and stopping position are only determined by the frequency and number of pulse signals, and are not affected by load changes. That is, when a motor is given a pulse signal, it rotates by one step angle. This linear relationship, combined with the stepping motor's periodic error without cumulative error characteristics, makes it widely used in speed and position control fields. When using a stepping motor, it needs to be paired with an appropriate controller and driver to achieve optimal performance.

2. Classification of Stepping Motors

Stepping motors are divided into the following three types of motors: reaction-type stepping motors (VR), permanent magnet stepping motors (PM), and hybrid stepping motors (HB);

Characteristics of reaction-type stepping motors: High precision, large size, high heat generation, and small torque. They are early-developed stepping motors and have gradually been phased out by the market;

Characteristics of permanent magnet stepping motors: Lower precision, large torque, and lower cost;

Characteristics of hybrid stepping motors: They combine the high precision of reaction-type motors and the large torque of permanent magnet motors, and have a higher cost. They are the most mature stepping motor technology currently available.

3. Composition of Stepping Motors

The following is the composition structure of a hybrid stepping motor: It mainly includes end caps, center shaft, bearings, stator and rotor cores, winding insulation parts, etc.

4. Conventional parameters of stepping motors

Step angle: The angle that the motor shaft rotates corresponding to each received signal pulse; The conventional step angles of stepping motors are 0.9°, 1.2°, 1.8°, 7.5°, and 15°, etc.

Phase: The number of winding coils in the stator; The conventional phase numbers of stepping motors are two-phase, three-phase, four-phase, and five-phase motors.

Phase resistance: The resistance value of a single winding coil in the stator;

Phase inductance: The inductance value of a single winding coil in the stator;

Holding torque: The torque that the stator coil exerts on the rotor when the current through the coil is at the rated value, but the rotor does not rotate; This torque parameter is one of the important parameters for selecting stepping motors.

Positioning torque: The torque that the stator exerts on the rotor when no current flows;

Maximum self-starting frequency: The maximum frequency at which the motor can synchronize with the input signal and start/stop without load and under the specified current and voltage;

Pull-out torque: The maximum torque that the motor shaft provides at a certain speed under the specified driving conditions; Torque Draw: The maximum torque that a motor can overcome its own inertia, load inertia, and external load to directly start at a specified drive condition and speed.

5. Application of Stepping Motors

Security equipment, printers, automation equipment, industrial robots, medical equipment, stage lighting, and car control systems in fields that require precise control.