Hi!
I'm in the process to learn something about controlling and programming for stepper motor.
I'm looking for this: Stepper Motor - 68 oz.in (400 steps/rev) - ROB-10846 - SparkFun Electronics with driver: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10735
What I would like to know is:
Any other hints and helps are welcome.
Regards.
Just connect step and dir lines (and ground!) and the controller does the rest (defaulting to 1/16th steps).
Thank you Mark!
So I don't have to connect M1, M2, M3 of the BigEasyDriver to arduino for getting micro stepping work?
Just Dir and Step? Can I use AccelStepper library for this?
Regards.
The documentation says that with only dir/step the default is 1/16th micro steps. You can configure it if more lines are connected of course.
Yes, the AccelStepper library does support step/direction control. Be aware, though, that it has an upper limit of how many steps/sec it can generate which means using the default 1/16 setting you will have very slow motor speeds. No problem though, you can pull M1,M2, and M3 low according to the chart in the datasheet (all of them pulled low gives you full steps).
Thank you very much!
Now I'm understanding much more than yesterday 
So without M1,M2,M3 connected I only have 1/16 step increment. This mean very slow movement I think.
At this time I'm out of pin in my arduino 2009 based project. Could I use a shift register like 74HC595N to controlling both Step/Dir and step increment (M1,M2,M3)?
Regards.
More on microstep.
If I don't use microstep a complete rotation is something similar to rotate(400) - in a 400 step motor. With the easy driver is something like rotate(6400).
So, what's the difference between the two? Does the rotate(400) is more fast or they're simply equal and the only change is in the number of step I've to use for a complete rotation?
Hope to be clear...
Thank's.
First question: No, I would not use a shift register for step and direction. You may not have to control the step mode pins with software. In most applications these would be set in hardware.
Second question: Most stepper motors are 200 steps/rev. 1/2 stepping mode gives you 400, 1/4 gives you 800, etc. It is very much like shifting gears in a car. Full stepping gives you the most speed, microstepping gives you more resolution and smoother motion. Beyond 1/8 stepping there is no real resolution gain, however, because the motor cannot accurately position itself that finely. You will get smoother motion however.
Hope that answers your questions.
Another thought-
You don't describe the nature of your project but I would encourage you to determine all the physical requirements before sizing your motor, choosing step mode, etc. There is a lot of good info on these issues here: http://www.geckodrive.com/ark-2/support.html.
Thank you very much Yankee. Very clear.
The project involves a sort of micro rail for moving a microscope.
Other commercial application uses this one: Stepper Motor - 68 oz.in (400 steps/rev) - ROB-10846 - SparkFun Electronics
Yankee:
First question: No, I would not use a shift register for step and direction. You may not have to control the step mode pins with software. In most applications these would be set in hardware.
Second question: Most stepper motors are 200 steps/rev. 1/2 stepping mode gives you 400, 1/4 gives you 800, etc. It is very much like shifting gears in a car. Full stepping gives you the most speed, microstepping gives you more resolution and smoother motion. Beyond 1/8 stepping there is no real resolution gain, however, because the motor cannot accurately position itself that finely. You will get smoother motion however.
Hope that answers your questions.
Smoother running probably means somewhat higher speeds since resonances are much reduced with microstepping. Certainly will run more quietly.