In this issue, we feature technical educational material on stepper motors, including a comprehensive article, an MC54113 motion control IC highlight, and a pan & tilt motion application.
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In this article we take a comprehensive look at how to control two-phase stepper motors. We will start with the basics of how step motors work and their strengths and weaknesses relative to other positioning motor types. Then we will show you how they are controlled using traditional techniques and continue with advanced techniques that have come on the scene only recently. We will close with a review of implementation choices available to engineers for cost-effective high-performance step motor control solutions.
The Magellan® MC54113 Stepper Motor Control IC provides trajectory generation, microstepping, quadrature encoder input, stall detection, closed loop stepper control, advanced performance motion trace, and more. It can be driven with pulse & direction signals or can perform internal profile generation. Available profile modes include trapezoidal point-to-point, s-curve point-to-point, velocity contouring, electronic gearing, and continuous contouring with multi-axis synchronization. The MC54113 directly generates PWM amplifier control signals for a two-phase step motor with shoot-through protection and direct leg-current signal input. PMD’s proprietary digital current loop technology provides ultra smooth, ultra quiet stepper motor operation.
Pan and tilt mechanisms share one main thing in common: the nature of the motion itself with one axis rotating around a vertical axis and the other rotating around a horizontal axis. Cost sensitive applications, such as security cameras, typically use two-phase step motors. Microstepping control of the stepper motor is most common because compared to full or half step schemes microstepping generates less noise, and because the step motor’s positioning resolution is greatly expanded. In this motion application, we explore design considerations and architecture for pan & tilt pointing.
How To Optimize Motor Performance Using Motion Trace
Today's machine designers are tasked with maximizing throughput and accuracy and minimizing vibration and heat generation. It's a major challenge, but designers have a powerful tool at their disposal - motion trace. In this article we look at what you should expect from a motion trace function and how to use it to optimize the design of your next machine.
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Advanced Stepper Motor Control with Juno ICs Juno® Stepper Motor Control ICs (PMD part numbers MC74113 and MC75113) are the industry’s first family of compact ICs with microstepping, direct input quadrature encoder, profile generation, and advanced current control. The Juno family also includes Brushless motor control ICs which feature FOC (Field Oriented Control), high/low switching amplifier control signals, leg current sensing, and more.
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Step Motor Noise and How To Fix It Step motors are a popular motion control choice in positioning applications for two main reasons - their ease of use and their low cost. But step motors have a well-known liability which is that they can be noisy and tend to vibrate when moving. This article shows you control techniques that you can use to dramatically reduce, and in some cases eliminate, step motor noise & vibration.
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VIDEO: Ten Key Motion Control Techniques Used for Mobile Robotics Controlling the motors and actuators in Mobile Robots is a critical design challenge for engineers, yet most textbook motion control techniques are better suited to stationary equipment such as machine tools and laboratory automation. In this webinar, industry experts do a deep dive on modifications to standard motion control techniques as well as entirely new techniques for achieving state of the art control of mobile and remote robotic devices.
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Motion Kinematics In this article, we look at machines with non-Cartesian movement systems. These include SCARA robots, PUMA-style arms, Delta Robots, and a variety of other mechanisms. These non-Cartesian mechanisms present special challenges, but there are some basic techniques that will take you a long way toward getting these useful and common mechanisms under control.
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