Hey all,
I am very new to steppers and was wondering if the number of steps resets after each revolution? So if i were to use an Arduino to spin for a few seconds then randomly stop the stepper on one of four predetermined points that would coincide with step 50, step 100, step 150 and step 200, would i say something like "Random stop at 50, 100, 150, 200?" Or would it be something like "Randomly stop at 850, 900, 950, 1000"?
The shaft of a stepper motor just takes a step, forward or backward as commanded (unless it is stalled by mechanical resistance).
There is nothing on the motor to keep track of position or even the starting point, unless you add a shaft encoder or limit switch.
Hmmmmm, maybe i'm accidentally combining steppers with Arduino code. I guess what i meant to (or should have) asked, would have been in regards to a sketch. Does that make sense? 
If the motor doesn't stall, and you don't try to spin it too quickly so that it skips steps, your program should be able to keep accurate track of the shaft position.
Have a look at stepper motor basics
This simple stepper code is useful for testing and learning.
...R
zara2355:
Hey all,I am very new to steppers and was wondering if the number of steps resets after each revolution?
Steps are not numbered, its only the Arduino that's counting, so if you use int on an Uno it
will 'reset every' 65536 steps due to integer wrap-around.
Which particular library are you thinking of?
Anyway you don't "spin for a few seconds", you send steps to the motor, and if you have any
sense keep track of the net number of steps. There is no information back from the motor,
its "open-loop" control.