Motor driver to choose for mini/micro stepper motor

new mini/micro stepper motors from Ali Express just arrived and I am very excited to test them out for my projects. I purchased two types (both are 2phase, 4pins connectors, 3-5volt)
The funny thing is that, finding info about these motors is very hard so I have to test this my self on the breadboard. What I like to ask in here is what driver module/board to use ? I am planning to use a Nano for this project and this motor will open and close the beak of a little song bird when a mp3 player, randomly plays a sound. All is working perfect, just need to get motor and driver in place.
I now use a Tower Pro servo motor BUT the noise is of course unbearable :smile: Here is pictures of the motors I will test out.
Motor2
Skjermbilde 2022-07-28 kl. 13.54.55

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For bigger motors this would indicate current driven motors. The small motors may be voltage driven as well. Please clarify.

Depending on the operating voltage and current suitable for your motors.

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This might be a rare instance when a L293D or 754410 motor driver could be used as a stepper driver.

image

Use an external supply for the motor. The Arduino is not a power supply. An old 5V output cell phone charger would be a choice.

You could use the MobaTools stepper library to write non-blocking code (The Stepper library is blocking). The MobaTools documentation.

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Thanks for this info groundFugus, I read the whole documentation and it seams like the thing for my project. Since I haven´t bought a driver for the project yet, I tested the stepper directly connected to a Nano (Pin D4-D7)




It works but I will try out the MobaTools Lib. so I don´t stall the loop for all the other code that is running. I am also considering to use a gear so the torque is stronger. Thanks again for the tip on the driver, I will read and check them out for shure :slight_smile:

I must admit that stepper motors are a new area for me to explore :slight_smile: The documentation to be found about these motors are sparse (only what they write on AliExpress site) When I test it directly to the digital pins on a Nano board) I am well aware of the spikes the motor can throw back and damage the board but so far testing it is working nice. I have used the Arduino "Stepper.h" lib. It would be nice to get some gear equipment (with some sort of bracket system I can connect the motor to) Like this (is my idea so the torque gets a bit stronger)
Skjermbilde 2022-08-01 kl. 09.56.38

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...you risk to kill your Nano! The Arduino output pins are not designed for driving motors directly.

I know.....couldn´t resist when I git the motors! Like a kid in xmas!! HAHA.

I will check out the L293D and the 754410 H-bridge groundFungus suggested for me but I found this one, do you think it is ok? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003512343704.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.2bb469e9nhyav2&algo_pvid=24849edf-ff2d-4425-83d1-fb507dc31d47&algo_exp_id=24849edf-ff2d-4425-83d1-fb507dc31d47-0&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id"%3A"12000026119831970"}&pdp_npi=2%40dis!NOK!!5.8!!!!!%402101e9d116593345364063972efdc4!12000026119831970!sea

Are there any brand name / part numbers on the mtrs?
Can you post link to the Ali page where you bought them?

These are inefficient drivers from stone age, not applicable to current driven steppers. Look for modern MOSFET stepper driver boards that fit your (data sheet!?) motors

The voltage spikes and ampere rises drastically in stall and load mode and the Nano operate on 20-40mA on the digital pins, right ?

Thanks for that tips man, I didn´t know that. The problem is that there is no data sheet on these motors from AliExpress that I can find. What driver would you suggest for these ultra mini motors?

That's the safe (20mA) and top (40mA) operating area. If you connect a motor that draws 500mA then you kill the Nano.

Then find motors with data sheets.

There are two motors I test now:

and

I know, but these was so tiny and perfect suited for my needs and they work perfectly
I will search and try to contact the supplier that delivers the motors to AliExpress and if I get a hold on the docs, I will post the links to the forum :slight_smile:

--the answer was "We don´t have documentation" :frowning:

Today I will check the amp draw with a multimeter and check noLoad, load and stall on them
I found out a littlebit more about the Machifit micro motor: 80ohm (I don´t know the meaning of that) and that the steps are 18 degrees. I also found a site that has some doc about the motor but it is a version with gear on -the motor is still exactly the same Machifit: 5V DC Micro Metal Geared Stepper Motor - RobotDigg
Skjermbilde 2022-08-02 kl. 08.39.09

I have been checking out some more Mosfet stepper dual H-bridge driver L298N, do you know of that one? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1877687415.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.5ab03b03y69zc4&algo_pvid=20b2eee9-ea5f-4231-9d99-89e419706b59&algo_exp_id=20b2eee9-ea5f-4231-9d99-89e419706b59-1&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id"%3A"58892903112"}&pdp_npi=2%40dis!NOK!13.02!12.35!!!12.93!!%402101d8b516594226330887616e7783!58892903112!sea

L298 is not a MOSFET driver, it's bipolar transistors and will drop 1.5 ~ 2 volts.

I would try one of these Pololu TB6612FNG or check ALI for a cheapy version. Note the 4.5V minimum voltage.

According to the data sheet the current should be 5V/20R=250mA per coil. That's also the current when the motor stands still, becomes less when moving.

You can see this one: https://www.aliexpress.com/i/2255800837489576.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt