Microstepping steppers, and driving steppers with Raspberry Pi

Examining the microstepping capabilities of TB6600 and TB6560 stepper drivers. I have these hooked up directly to the GPIO lines of a Raspberry Pi 1 B+. The micro steps are not all the same size on account of nonlinearities in both the motor and the stepper drivers, though with the right combination of driver and motor, the micro steps are fairly even.

[mindstorms]

I literally watching this in awe!
When I was 18 these things cost a fortune! Trying to get anything not of the same make to "talk" or communicate with another part was near impossible or practical, Its absolutely awsome that this is all available AND very cheap too.We have really come a long way in a short time, I bet there's some amazing things being built as I write this in peoples garages.so yeah bloodly brilliant and all youngsters should be balls deep into these things.

[anthonyjobson]

Great micro step demo with the paper template!!!

[djordjeblaga]

Next up: CNC made out of wood and lego, accurate to 15/32 of a thou.

[ScottWalshWoodworking]

Interesting stuff! Good thing I'm an electrical engineering student! Not that one needs to be but this is clearly one of Matthias' more in depth videos.

[Makebuildmodify]

Matthias do you have any write-ups on this topic on your website? Something like a "getting started" with stepper motors.

[faowfffaerfur]

I hope that the fusion of woodworking and electrical engineering will be a very interesting topic.

[electronicphilia]

Best Video to understand stepper motor

[RobClose]

2:47 - "...Smooth, but a bit jerky"... I have also been described as the same ;)

[NathanSalapat]

I really like your template explanation of how the stepper motors worked. I've wondered about that, but never cared enough to look into it. I've also never used one, so there was really no point to look into it. :)

[breakinn]

I don't know what you said but enjoyed hearing you say it ;o)

[ranke]

Thanks Matthias for this video! It will help me a lot tinkering with my stepper motors and my also old raspberry pi!

[MikeJDelira]

Fascinating video, I learned a lot. I was confused by what your goals were in this experimentation, whether you wanted smooth motion, or sharp/consistent steps, or low noise, but the last line of video helped me understand "it's fun to experiment with." :)

[TheRainHarvester]

The explanation with slips of paper with S N is highly effective and easy to produce! I made some stepper drivers with TI lmd18245 chips. They are beasts! I'll post a video link...

[kaizellerhoff]

Ich hab zwar nur die Hälfte verstanden, weil mein englisch viel schlechter ist als dein deutsch. Aber ich schaue dein Videos trotzdem gerne an. Und bin immer wieder begeistert was du alles drauf hast. LG aus dem Oberallgäu.

[ajtxander]

I would love to see an article with the python code and a basic wiring diagram. I got my hands on an old, broken down office printer that I am hoping to pull lots of rods out of, and maybe some usable motors.

[ntheb]

The torque produced by a stepper motor is proportional to the current through the coils. Having a higher current setting will cause the rotor to accelerate and decelerate quicker, which will make it louder. Also, microsteps have less torque than full steps. If the stator's field differs from the rotor's by only half a microstep, the torque will be half what it would be if the fields differ by a full step. Smooth current sine waves produce smooth motion, but there are a number of things that can cause a stepper system to deviate from the ideal. Different drivers can use different sensing and switching algorithms to control the current. Also, the resistance and inductance of the stepper coils, and the voltage of the power supply all have effects on how easy it is for the driver to control the current.

[claws]

Interesting review. I've always read that micro stepping matched with whole step movements or continuous rotation is supposed to provide smoother motion. This suggests that's not necessarily the case.

[paulwaldrop]

Nice, but I expected you to make the stepper motors yourself, with the pantorouter. 😀

[afterthetone]

On my 3D printer, you need to set the hold current, which could tune out the hard notching. Have a play with ramps board the only cost a few £$ and can controls 5 steppers.

[isettech]

The noise issue and the cogging of the motors is directly related to the construction of the motors. On better motors there is a specification for the ability for the motor to hold position in a step with power off. For better microstepping the one driver has the non linear curve to counter this holding force due to the motor construction. Best microstepping performance is with steppers with minimum holding force with no current. This is the gear type force you feel while turning a stepper motor with no power. The stronger the cogging, the better it holds without power and the more it will be non linear while microstepping. 3 phase brushless servo motors have no power off holding power and are driven with sine wave microstepping for nearly silent operation and an encoder for absolute position control. This is why closed loop is quieter and much more expensive.