Hi there,

In light of the errors i see in stepper motor circuits that various people have been trying to build over the years, i thought i would go over some of the circuits found on the web and correct them at least so that they can run normally even if not yet optimized for best performance.

Here are a number of circuits with corrections to the diodes which are the most typical place where we find the error in connections. Eventually i'll make one big file for all these and maybe some more.

 

The previous post would not let me upload the last two files, so here they are:

 

Not to hijack your thread, you may ask me or a mod to delete it if you want. But why are you promoting the obsolete L297 chip? I guess I'm being like Audio Guru and the 741 opamp. But there are some newer and better chips for this, and they don't cost that much more than the L297. Using that (L297) just seems weird, in today's world. I know there are people coming here to ask about the L297 but shouldn't they be steered toward something that works better?

 

Not to hijack your thread, you may ask me or a mod to delete it if you want. But why are you promoting the obsolete L297 chip? I guess I'm being like Audio Guru and the 741 opamp. But there are some newer and better chips for this, and they don't cost that much more than the L297. Using that (L297) just seems weird, in today's world. I know there are people coming here to ask about the L297 but shouldn't they be steered toward something that works better?

Hi again,

Well actually i was going to eventually ask for input like this from others who wanted to contribute to the thread.

First, i did not create this thread to promote any given chip or another, it was mainly created just to correct some of the circuits that have been on the web for some time now and i keep seeing them come up on various web sites. The main issue was with the diode connections, especially for unipolar stepper motors, and that is why you'll see mostly notes on the diode connections in the circuits in the first two posts. You may also note that there is no mention of how to optimize the circuits in order to get the best response. The fact is, i just cant post every single facet of every single circuit in one or two posts because it takes too long, although i could come back and add things later.

So with that in mind, if you'd like to contribute in any way you feel would help the readers, please feel free to do so. For your apparent area of interest, perhaps you can list some chips you like and maybe some of the features, and if you like you can also mention how they compare to the older chips already in some of the circuits. That's just a couple ideas but you may find more.

 

Hi, after many failed attempts at doing a stepper drive in a DIY form I finally bit the bullet and just bought them from Ebay. For the small expense of them it's just not worth the trouble of trying to do it yourself. No board to make, no troubleshooting, and if you figure in the time, it's a no brainer. And they are capable of micro stepping. Just the first one I came to, there are many many more on Ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Single-TB66...r-Micro-Step-CNC-Axis-2-4-Phase-/232197312883

 

Spelling out the Bipolar/uni-polar distinction.
https://www.circuitspecialists.com/blog/unipolar-stepper-motor-vs-bipolar-stepper-motors/
Max.