I salvaged two motors from a Samsung CLX-4195N printer and I would like to use them to create a hinge joint for a robot or gimbal. They seem to be Moatech BL55U-M01 motors with ten wires.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find much information online on how to control them. I found a link to the specs of a similar motor on the website of the manufacturer. It looks like they are stepper motors based on a brushless motor running on 24v with a hal effect encoder to keep track of the position.
I am wondering if and how I can control these with an Arduino Uno with 5v logic and an external power supply. Maybe someone can point me in the right direction or link a generic datasheet. I have attached some images below (click for full res).
Robin2:
I wonder if it's just a DC motor? I don't think printer manufacturers waste money on stepper motors.
...R
I suppose it could be, but the pinout would be quite complicated for a DC motor, no? They came from the lower part of the printer that moves the paper around. The pins are labeled in the following way as visible in picture 2:
They seem to be commonly listed as stepper motors.
It could well be that the PCB you have is the actual driver and part of the motor.
If it is JUST the driver you may be able to seperate it from the driver board and use a more standard driver.
If it indeed part of the motor it might prove problematic making the correct connections.
Robin2:
I wonder if it's just a DC motor? I don't think printer manufacturers waste money on stepper motors.
...R
Its clearly interfaced as a stepper complete with stepper controller - the connector pinout is printed on and shows step and
direction pins (well, CW/CCW). This should make it pretty easy to reverse engineer. The main issue
is the helicoidal pinion that's an interference fit on the shaft - good luck getting that off!
It possible its a BLDC used as a servomotor internally - there might even be an encoder buried inside.
The "BL" in the part number on the motor suggests brushless.
Many printers use steppers as they have only one moving part and are ideal for simple position control.
In my experience motion control systems with encoders+servomotors are more expensive than steppers.
MarkT:
Many printers use steppers as they have only one moving part and are ideal for simple position control.
In my experience motion control systems with encoders+servomotors are more expensive than steppers.
I bought a used printer in a charity shop thinking I could "liberate" a stepper motor or two. All it had were cheap DC motors and a very very very high resolution striped strip passing through an optical detector. My inference was that it made sense to spend a few £thousand on one piece of software so as to save 20p per motor on a million motors.
Robin2:
My inference was that it made sense to spend a few £thousand on one piece of software so as to save 20p per motor on a million motors.
...R
Perhaps they chose a servomotor to keep the noise level down - steppers are always noisier even
with microstepping. And the lower power consumption might reduce the BoM of the power supply
too...
