stepping motors - make versatile servos

stepping motors elektor april 1985 The growing popularity of stepping motors is only partly due to falling prices; another factor must be that they logically fit into digital thinking. It is, after all, a fact that many computer peripherals, such as disk drives and plotters, or computer- controlled equipment, like X-Y tables and robot limbs, make use of stepping motors. And yet there are many hobbyists who are completely unaware of the many appli- cations for which these devices may be used. For instance, computer enthusiasts often find themselves in the opposite situation from Mary Shelley"s Frankenstein: they have a brain, the CPU, but not the (whole) body. Now, with the aid of a step- ping motor, they can create an interface between that brain and mobile reality. Motors run or move in steps Most motors run at — relatively — constant speed; others move in discrete steps. The former have two states: running or being at standstill; the latter have three modes: standstill, bein...