Hi, Can someone help me with the wiring configuration for the 12V, 1.7A, 667oz-in NEMA-17 Bipolar Stepper Motor.
It is the first time I am using the a stepper motor so I am unsure. The wire colours are blue red green and black.
Also, I am running this motor off a DMX stepper motor controller. The motor moves very very slowly…any ideas what I might be doing wrong? The wiring maybe!?
Thanks
You can find the wiring diagram in the datasheet.
The maximum rated speed (without load) of this stepper is 34 RPM with with the manufacturer’s recommended voltage and current using this Bipolar Stepper Motor Controller
Thanks for that. The motor seems to be wired up all correctly. It does all the right things but I can not get it to run faster than about 1rpm at 12V. I have tried other motors as well and they all work but seem to be running slow. The DMX output seems to be correct ( ie. it sends a max signal of value 255).
The DMX stepper motor controller I am using is this:
dmx4all.de/produkte_dmx_motor_driver.html
I would be grateful for any information that may solve this problem.
Thanks.
Unfortunately, we don’t offer this stepper controller therefore we don’t have information on it.
However, it seems to be a carrier board for the Pololu A4988 Stepper Motor Driver that converts the DMX signal and control the A4988 driver.
Normally, with the Pololu A4988 Stepper Motor Driver you can choose the stepping configuration : Full-Step (1/1) / Half-Step (1/2) / Quarter-Step (1/4) / Eighth-Step (1/8) / Sixteenth-Step (1/16)
It appears that there is jumpers on the DMX Stepper Controller to set the stepping mode. Try to set the stepping to full step by removing the 3 jumpers. For full speed operation, driving a stepper motor with full steps is often required.
Also, the A4988 Stepper Controller can deliver only up to 1A per phase without heatsink (up to 2A per coil with sufficient additional cooling). The RB-Phi-267 consumes 1.7A continuously.
You are probably better to use a more powerful stepper driver like the Big Easy Driver that can provide up to 1.7Amps without heatsink.
Is it mandatory to use DMX signal to control the stepper in your setup ?
Thank you for the reply.
I am running it with the jumpers removed but it makes little difference.
Low amps may well be the problem though in the manual for the controller board it states:
Exchangeable stepping motor driver
The standard Pololu A4988 stepper motor driver is suitable for 8-24 V voltage and can trigger a power of 2A per phase. Alternatively the stepper motor driver can be changed in a SilentStepStick with Trinamic TMC2100.
So I’m a bit confused there.
Unfortunately I am constrained to running a DMX system. Maybe I will look at using some high torque servos ( running on a DMX servo board) instead seeing as precision is not a high priority but position feedback is. Can you see any major disadvantage in going this way?
Thank you again for your help.
Squalkerg
The Pololu 8-35V 2A Single Bipolar Stepper Motor Driver A4988 can indeed provide up to 2Amps but, as indicated, only for few seconds and will need additional cooling.
Therefore, if your stepper is drawing 2Amps continuously, you will certainly encounter some issues controlling it with the A4988.
The SILENTSTEPSTICK - TMC2100 Stepper Controller is even less powerful, it provides only 1.2Amps continuously.
So both options don’t appear to be the best for your application.
You can try to find a more powerful stepper controller that can take DMX signals. Here is a link to our Stepper Motor Drivers for your reference. Unfortunately, we don’t offer a driver that can be controlled with DMX signals. Maybe, you can find an external DMX to TTL/UART converter module and use it with an appropriate stepper driver.
Another suggestion that you can look into might be to use a Smart Servo instead of a stepper in your setup. Smart servos provide high torque and good accuracy with feedback like position, temperature, voltage, current…
Here is a good blog article we invite you to read that will provide you with some useful information. Again, the issue would be to find a smart servo controller that can understand DMX signals.
You can use a continuous rotation RC Servo with position feedback that can provide the amount of torque you need. For example, the Parallax Feedback 360° High Speed Servo. It might be easier to find an RC DMX Servo controller than to find a DMX smart servo controller.
Thanks for all your advice.
I think I came to the same decision as you this morning. I am going to look at servo options because as you say dmx servo control boards are relatively cheap to come by and I have used them with success many times before. I just fancied trying something new!
Thanks once again.