Stepper Motors

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello,

I recently got 2 stepper motors, and I was wondering how to control them. They are both made by Shinano, and they have different codes on them. One is EM-465, and the other is EM-483. They are both four wire, and one of the four is blue. I don't know what voltage they are, or if they are bipolar or unipolar.

Is there a way to control them without a motor shield? Like maybe use a bunch of transistors and another power supply?

Thanks. I will also look online to try and find some more info on the stepper motors.

2

I haven't found any information on them yet. Is there any way I can test them?

3

Yes test the coil resistance. Next look at the physical size of the motors and compare that with the size of known motors. This will give you an idea of the current.

4

How do I test the coil resistance? And what will that tell me?

5

With four wires it's a bipolar motor. The wires can logically be divided into two pairs which will have conductivity between them. Test the resistance (in ohms) between the wires of one of those pairs; that is the coil resistance that Mike is describing.

You can build a double H bridge circuit to control the stepper but it's awful cheap to buy a controller.

6

How do I test the coil resistance?

With a multi meter.

And what will that tell me?

The current it will take at what ever voltage you want to drive it at.

7

Google will tell you the rest :wink: