Know More about Stepper Motor - Types, Working Advantages and Applications

A stepper motor is an electromechanical device that can convert electrical power into mechanical power. Stepper Motors are brushless and synchronous electrical motors that can split up a full rotation into a multiple number of steps. The position of the motor can be managed accurately without any feedback mechanism if the motor is attentively sized to the application. The theory of operation is used by the stepper motor. This theory makes the shaft of the motor turn an accurate distance when a pulse of electricity is supplied.

There are three main type of stepper motors: permanent magnet stepper, hybrid synchronous stepper, and variable reluctance stepper. Like its name, a permanent magnet stepper uses a permanent magnet in the rotor and operates on either the attraction or repulsion in the middle of the rotor permanent magnet and the stator electromagnets. The variable reluctance stepper involve a plain iron motor and runs on the idea that minimum reluctance takes place with minimum gap, thus the rotor points are captivated toward the stator magnet poles. The hybrid synchronous stepper, like its name, uses a mixture of permanent magnet and variable reluctance techniques to reach maximum power in a compact package size.

There are many advantages of stepper motors. These motors possess full torque even at standstill, are very reliable because no contact bushes are present in the motor (thus the lifespan of the motor is solely dependent on the life of the bearing), and the motor responds to digital input pulses, which provides open loop control which makes the motor easier and cheaper to control. The motor is also able to reach a low speed rotation that is synchronous along with a load that is coupled to the shaft.

Stepper motors also have different applications. They can be used in automotive gauges as well as machine tooling equipment’s. Surveillance equipment use stepper motors and they can also be used in the medical field for medical scanners and samplers and can also be found inside fluid pumps and respirators. Lastly, stepper motors can be used inside cameras for automatic focus and zoom functions.