Dasar-dasar Motor Stepper: Jenis, Penggunaan, dan Prinsip Kerja

Dasar-dasar Motor Stepper Motor stepper adalah motor listrik yang fitur utamanya adalah
porosnya berputar dengan melakukan langkah-langkah, yaitu dengan bergerak dalam jumlah
derajat yang tetap. Fitur ini diperoleh berkat struktur internal motor, dan memungkinkan
untuk mengetahui posisi sudut poros secara tepat hanya dengan menghitung berapa banyak
langkah yang telah dilakukan, tanpa memerlukan sensor. Fitur ini juga membuatnya cocok
untuk berbagai macam aplikasi. Prinsip Kerja Motor Stepper Seperti halnya semua motor
listrik, motor stepper memiliki bagian yang diam (stator) dan bagian yang bergerak (rotor).
Pada stator, terdapat gigi tempat kumparan dijalin, sedangkan rotor berupa magnet permanen
atau inti besi dengan reluktansi variabel. Kita akan membahas lebih dalam mengenai berbagai
struktur rotor nanti. Gambar 1 menunjukkan gambar yang menggambarkan bagian motor, di
mana rotor berupa inti besi dengan reluktansi variabel.

Prinsip kerja dasar motor stepper adalah sebagai berikut: Dengan memberi energi pada satu
atau lebih fase stator, medan magnet dihasilkan oleh arus yang mengalir dalam kumparan dan
rotor sejajar dengan medan ini. Dengan memasok fase yang berbeda secara berurutan, rotor
dapat diputar dengan jumlah tertentu untuk mencapai posisi akhir yang diinginkan. Gambar 2
menunjukkan representasi prinsip kerja. Pada awalnya, kumparan A diberi energi dan rotor
sejajar dengan medan magnet yang dihasilkannya. Ketika kumparan B diberi energi, rotor
berputar searah jarum jam sebesar 60° untuk sejajar dengan medan magnet baru. Hal yang
sama terjadi ketika kumparan C diberi energi. Dalam gambar, warna gigi stator menunjukkan
arah medan magnet yang dihasilkan oleh belitan stator.
Jenis dan Konstruksi Motor Stepper The performance of a stepper motor — both in terms of
resolution (or step size), speed, and torque — is influenced by construction details, which at
the same time may also affect how the motor can be controlled. As a matter of fact, not all
stepper motors have the same internal structure (or construction), as there are different rotor
and stator configurations.
Rotor
For a stepper motor, there are basically three types of rotors:
Permanent magnet rotor: The rotor is a permanent magnet that aligns with the magnetic field
generated by the stator circuit. This solution guarantees a good torque and also a detent
torque. This means the motor will resist, even if not very strongly, to a change of position
regardless of whether a coil is energized. The drawbacks of this solution is that it has a lower
speed and a lower resolution compared to the other types. Figure 3 shows a representation of
a section of a permanent magnet stepper motor.

Variable reluctance rotor: The rotor is made of an iron core, and has a specific shape that
allows it to align with the magnetic field (see Figure 1 and Figure 2). With this solution it is
easier to reach a higher speed and resolution, but the torque it develops is often lower and it
has no detent torque.
Hybrid rotor: This kind of rotor has a specific construction, and is a hybrid between
permanent magnet and variable reluctance versions. The rotor has two caps with alternating
teeth, and is magnetized axially. This configuration allows the motor to have the advantages
of both the permanent magnet and variable reluctance versions, specifically high resolution,
speed, and torque. This higher performance requires a more complex construction, and
therefore a higher cost. Figure 3 shows a simplified example of the structure of this motor.
When coil A is energized, a tooth of the N-magnetized cap aligns with the S-magnetized tooth
of the stator. At the same time, due to the rotor structure, the S-magnetized tooth aligns with

the N-magnetized tooth of the stator. Real motors have a more complex structure, with a
higher number of teeth than the one shown in the picture, though the working principle of the
stepper motor is the same. The high number of teeth allows the motor to achieve a small step
size, down to 0.9°.
Stator
The stator is the part of the motor responsible for creating the magnetic field with which the
rotor is going to align. The main characteristics of the stator circuit include its number of
phases and pole pairs, as well as the wire configuration. The number of phases is the number
of independent coils, while the number of pole pairs indicates how main pairs of teeth are
occupied by each phase. Two-phase stepper motors are the most commonly used, while three-
phase and five-phase motors are less common (see Figure 5 and Figure 6).
 Figure 5: Two-Phase Stator Winding (Left), Three-Phase Stator Winding (Right)

Figure 6: Two-Phase, Single-Pole Pair Stator (Left) and Two-Phase, Dipole Pair Stator
(Right). The Letters Show the Magnetic Field Generated when Positive Voltage is Applied
between A+ and A-.

Stepper Motor Control We have seen previously that the motor coils need to be energized, in
a specific sequence, to generate the magnetic field with which the rotor is going to align.
Several devices are used to supply the necessary voltage to the coils, and thus allow the
motor to function properly. Starting from the devices that are closer to the motor we have:
A transistor bridge is the device physically controlling the electrical connection of the motor
coils. Transistors can be seen as electrically controlled interrupters, which, when closed allow
the connection of a coil to the electrical supply and thus the flow of current in the coil. One
transistor bridge is needed for each motor phase.
A pre-driver is a device that controls the activation of the transistors, providing the required
voltage and current, it is in turn controlled by an MCU.
An MCU is a microcontroller unit, which is usually programmed by the motor user and
generates specific signals for the pre-driver to obtain the desired motor behavior.
Figure 7 shows a simple representation of a stepper motor control scheme. The pre-driver
and the transistor bridge may be contained in a single device, called a driver.
Stepper Motor Driver TypesThere are different stepper motor drivers available on the market,
which showcase different features for specific applications. The most important
charactreristics include the input interface. The most common options are:
Step/Direction – By sending a pulse on the Step pin, the driver changes its output such that
the motor will perform a step, the direction of which is determined by the level on the
Direction pin.
Phase/Enable – For each stator winding phase, Phase determines the current direction and
triggers Enable if the phase is energized.
PWM – Directly controls the gate signals of the low-side and high-side FETs.
Another important feature of a stepper motor driver is if it is only able to control the voltage
across the winding, or also the current flowing through it:
With voltage control, the driver only regulates the voltage across the winding. The torque
developed and the speed with which the steps are executed only depend on motor and load
characteristics.
Current control drivers are more advanced, as they regulate the current flowing through the
active coil in order to have better control over the torque produced, and thus the dynamic
behavior of the whole system.
Unipolar/Bipolar Motors
Another feature of the motor that also affects control is the arrangement of the stator coils
that determine how the current direction is changed. To achieve the motion of the rotor, it is
necessary not only to energize the coils, but also to control the direction of the current, which
determines the direction of the magnetic field generated by the coil itself (see Figure 8). In
stepper motors, the issue of controlling the current direction is solved with two different
approaches.

In unipolar stepper motors, one of the leads is connected to the central point of the coil (see
Figure 9). This allows to control the direction of the current using relatively simple circuit
and components. The central lead (AM) is connected to the input voltage VIN (see Figure 8).
If MOSFET 1 is active, the current flows from AM to A+. If MOSFET 2 is active, current
flows from AM to A-, generating a magnetic field in the opposite direction. As pointed out
above, this approach allows a simpler driving circuit (only two semiconductors needed), but
the drawback is that only half of the copper used in the motor is used at a time, this means
that for the same current flowing in the coil, the magnetic field has half the intensity
compared if all the copper were used. In addition, these motors are more difficult to construct
since more leads have to be available as motor inputs.

In bipolar stepper motors, each coil has only two leads available, and to control the direction
it is necessary to use an H-bridge (see Figure 10). As shown in Figure 8, if MOSFETs 1 and 4
are active, the current flows from A+ to A-, while if MOSFETs 2 and 3 are active, current
flows from A- to A+, generating a magnetic field in the opposite direction. This solution
requires a more complex driving circuit, but allows the motor to achieve the maximum torque
for the amount of copper that is used.