Hi all! New here and a total novice. I am making a motion control rig for use with Dragon Stop Motion. I was given a slider that uses a geared belt. I plan to use a CNC driver to control the stepper. The camera and slider plate weigh altogether 2kg.
Could anyone advise me on a good stepper to buy that doesn’t take a great deal of voltage?
Thank you so much for the support and help!
so low voltage and high current ? 
The exact weight of the slider plate and camera does not mean much, what matters is more how much torque do you need to move that plate. I assume it's mounted on a rail with low friction ball bearings offering limited friction - so it can probably move with a small force.
(but If the rail is at an angle, then you'll get an additional force (component of the gravitational force) to work against)
Also how fast does your system need to move will have an influence on the choice.
I am thinking of getting this one. Do you guys think this might be powerful enough. I don't need it to go super fast. Thanks!
https://www.amazon.com/YEJMKJ-Stepper-17HS8401-Connector-1-89inch/dp/B0CDRLVNT6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa
given the lack of precise requirements / analysis then sure go for it.
that's one way to explore — you'll see if it "might be powerful enough"
Yes, it definitely will be...
Even a tiny, low power motor will be powerful enough if the gearing ratio between the motor and the wheel that moves the belt is high enough. (Or do I mean low enough?)
But that high gearing ratio might make moving the belt too slow. We don't know how fast you need it to be.
If you don't plan to put a gearbox between the motor and the belt wheel, then the motor will need a lot more torque. How much? No way anyone on the forum can answer that for you. It depends on so many factors like the amount of friction, the weight of the camera....
If the motor does have enough torque to move the belt wheel directly, you may find you cannot make it move slowly and smoothly enough. It might move in a series of small jerky steps, vibrating the camera and blurring the images/video.
In summary, no one can give you a simple answer. You will have to experiment.
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