Controller for a 1.8-3.2VDC Bipolar stepper

[john_mylan]

Hello all,

Before I continue, I would like to say that I have a very limited understanding of any of this. I’m a mechanical year in industry student that needs to a job of an electrician/ programmer as all of them are either off because of Covid-19 or to busy to do this.

Main question

I am trying to find a controller for a Bipolar stepper with a rated voltage of between 1.8-3.2VDC. I have calculated the current to be 0.688A based on the lowest resistance and highest voltage. The rest of the motor’s info can be found in the table.

Two related questions
I don’t understand what the drive method, and the frequency info means. Like how can DC have a frequency? Is it PWM?
Controllers I have found
I have found one controller that can supply the required voltage. The L9110S DC Stepper Motor Driver H-Bridge. From what I can tell it’s very simple and should work. However, I am unsure if there are any problems I may run into when trying to get it to do fancy things.
I have looked at other drivers such as the Arduino motor shield and the Easy Driver board (ROB-12779). I know you can use PWM to lower the current delivered to motor but don’t know how much easier that is or even if the motor can take it. (I suspect it can but want to be safe)
List of questions
· What driver would work with my motor?
· What does drive method and starting/running frequency mean?
· Advice when using the L9110S DC Stepper Motor Driver, and what are its limitations?
· How complex is it to use PWM and would it work with the motor?
Thank you for any replies.

[john_mylan]

Unsure if the Image worked so I attached it again.

[wildbill]

Look at the Pololu site - they have a range of stepper drivers.

The frequency question relates to the maximum speed you can step the motor. Slower at startup, a bit faster once it's moving.

Edit: typo

[groundFungus]

·How complex is it to use PWM and would it work with the motor?

PWM (from the Arduino) is not used with steppers. Speed control is by varying the step frequency.

[jremington]

For that motor, you need a current limiting stepper driver. The maximum current per coil is 3.2V/5Ohms or about 650 mA.

The popular A4988 stepper driver would be fine, but be sure to adjust the current limit properly. If you buy the Pololu driver, their video instructions are useful, but do not necessarily apply to the many cheaper clones.

[MarkT]

There should be a current, resistance and inductace spec for a stepper - those are the only electrical parameters
of interest. Here I think that it must be 650mA, 5.0ohms, 3.0mH.

Using an A4988 or DRV8825 with 12V or higher supply is the way to go, but you'll need to set
the current correctly - too high and you will cook the motor windings.

The curious starting step rate thing is saying its possible to start without speed ramping to that
rate. If you do speed ramp you'll get better performance though. Maybe use AccelStepper with
fairly agressive setAcceleration() parameter like 10000.