Thread: PWM motor controller

Hi Bob,

I'd have to say "no its not"
First question I think someone that knows what they are talking about would ask is "how many wires coming out of the stepper motor?"

Stuart

4 wires.
Damn, I was hoping it would.

It's a DC motor driver so won't work with a stepper.

Hi Bob,
I assume you are thinking of using steppers as you have them?
There are controllers for less than $7 but I'm pretty sure you need something else on the front end to tell the controller what to do.
New L298N-Based Stepper DC Motor Board Driver Controller Module Robot Car | eBay

How about one of these?
CNC Manual Handle Controller+LED Display for 5-Axis Stepper Motor Driver Board | eBay
For $60 not only can you drive 5 curtains at varible speed but you also have a display of just how far open they are
Damn, turns out you'd need one of these as well which would add another $90 (I'd thought it was included)
5-Axis TB6560 CNC Stepper Motor Driver Controller Board MACH3+AU Local Shipping | eBay

Are there any specs on the motor for V and A?

Stuart

I'm sure if you hunt around on Ebay you should be able to find a stepper driver with manual pot control. Just make sure it's a "bipolar" driver.

Well so far, it was just a case of 'wouldn't it be cool if I could'. So there aren't any actual motors yet, although I do have a few lying around from previous failures to complete projects.

I did a few searches for steppers with controller, but everything there seemed to be about +$110.

I may have to give up my dreams of motor driven curtains (or whatever).

You could try this one: Stepper Motor Speed Pulse Controller and Driver Board | eBay
It has both manual controls for speed and direction - and a jumper to hand control over to a pulse/direction controller (like CNC).
Some personal experience with one of these: works fine, but the heat sink is on the small side and may need a little cooling fan if you go anywhere near the capacity of the board. I guess you know how I learnt that

This thing here will do what you want:
5V DC 2A Driver Board F 9-40V 6-Wire 4-Wire 2-Phase Stepper Motor 2 Control Mode | eBay

You use the on-board buttons to first set the desired speed, and then afterwards, the same buttons control the direction. You also have the option to drive it with a step and direction input from a parallel port or microcontroller.

Edit: Wow, Mr Hovel just found the same board. Mine's cheaper tho

Thanks to the both of you. Those both look as if they would do the trick. A little on the light side at 2 amps but maybe I need to rethink my size ideas.

You can get more power out of steppers by upping the volts - that'll allow you to get more RPMs that you can then gear down.

I placed a bid of $9.90 on the one that you found RustyArc. The most I can lose is that, so if it works then great, if it doesn't then ..... I'll let you know.

You're a cheapskate Bob!
By the way, the two controllers we found fo you are identical - in case you hadn't realised.
Good luck with your bid.

Originally Posted by jhovel

You're a cheapskate Bob!

I'm sorry, I don't understand. Is that a compliment or an insult?

And yes, I had realised they were the same board, but one was (potentially) a lot cheaper than the other. Although even the cheaper one had a $16.15 'Buy It Now' price

Bob, do you have any specs on your stepper motor? A sticker maybe? Even coil resistance would help, to determine the power of your motor and whether or not it's capable of the job and if the controller/driver has enough oomph to power it.

A 2A driver won't be gutsy enough for many motors and could overheat or possibly fail very quickly. Even my medium-sized steppers draw more than 2A. (2A is only 10W per coil at 5V). Especially important if you plan to keep one coil energised at times for braking/holding.

As mentioned by RustyArc, you can up the volts from 5V to a bit higher for more power and to allow the motor to be driven at a slightly higher step rate, but again heat can easily become a problem. A motor wih a cast body helps, because it can be attached to a heatsink/chassis to dissipate heat.