{"id":842,"date":"2014-04-22T11:32:52","date_gmt":"2014-04-22T18:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.circuitspecialists.com\/blog\/?p=842"},"modified":"2014-06-20T11:17:24","modified_gmt":"2014-06-20T18:17:24","slug":"reasons-to-microstep-a-stepper-motor1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.circuitspecialists.com\/blog\/reasons-to-microstep-a-stepper-motor1\/","title":{"rendered":"Reasons for Microstepping a Stepper Motor (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Microstepping can improve stepper motor system performance in a number of applications, and it can reduce system cost and complexity relative to half- and full-step driving techniques. In addition, microstepping can help solve noise and resonance problems all while increasing step accuracy and resolution.<\/p>\n

A stepper motor system\u2019s natural frequency is determined by holding torque, rotor and load inertia, and the number of full-steps per revolution. When\u00a0stepper motor system<\/a>\u00a0damping is low you risk generating noise or losing steps when the stepper motor operates at or near the resonant frequency depending on damping, total inertia, and the type of stepper motor. These issues can happen at or near integer multiples and fractions of the natural frequency. Typically the frequencies closest to the natural frequency cause the most problems.<\/p>\n

The principal source of these resonances is that the stator flux moves in a discontinuous way when you use a non-microstepping stepper motor driver \u2014 forty-five or ninety degrees at a time \u2014 causing a pulsing energy flow to the rotor, and these pulsations excite the resonance. Using half-steps rather than full-steps reduces the excitation energy to roughly twenty-nine percent of the full-step energy. If we microstep the motor in 1\/32-full-step mode only point one percent of the full-step energy remains. You can reduce the excitation energy to a low enough level that all resonances are completely eliminated by microstepping.<\/p>\n

However, this is only true of an ideal stepper motor. In practical applications there are additional sources that excite system resonances. Regardless, microstepping improves movement in nearly all applications and, in many cases, microstepping alone will sufficiently reduce noise and vibrations for most applications.<\/p>\n

When you run a\u00a0stepper motor<\/a>\u00a0at low frequencies in half- or full-step mode the movement is discontinuous, noise and vibrations are generated, and there will be significant ringing. The frequencies where this occurs are below the stepper motor system\u2019s natural frequency, which is why microstepping offers a safe, simple means of extending noiseless stepping frequencies approaching zero hertz.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t usually need steps smaller than 1\/32-full-step \u2014 electrical step angles this small are easily absorbed by the stepper motor\u2019s internal friction, meaning the stepping doesn\u2019t generate overshot or ringing. The microstepping positions will deviate from a straight line because of uncompensated sine\/cosine profiles.<\/p>\n

Read Part Two<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Microstepping can improve stepper motor system performance in a number of applications, and it can reduce system cost and complexity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-stepper-motors"],"yoast_head":"\nReasons for Microstepping a Stepper Motor (Part One) | Simply Smarter Circuitry Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.circuitspecialists.com\/blog\/reasons-to-microstep-a-stepper-motor1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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