The best explanation of how stepper motors works and how to control the steps I have seen! Thank you for taking the time to explain the fundamentals of operation, explaining the circuit, and using a cardboard labeled with degrees to visualize.
Have watched quite some stepper motor videos but this was by far the best one. A very cool way to explain it - this is how it should be explained in school or entry level electric studies!
FINALLY!!! A good, sane explanation about a stepper motor driver! The best and the only, actually! I was fuzzy about the stepper motor driver functionality. I didn't understand it's purpose and what used for and finally, I understand it!. Thanx a lot!
nice intro for stepper motors. Took a degree in electronics back in the 80s and never touched the subject again even as a hobby. So much has changed and an awful lot hasn't changed at all. Still, your videos are clearing away the cobwebs so thanks again.
In the US Navy's Basic Electricity & Electronics school (called "B-double-E" school) we approached stepper motors in a sequence of increasingly complex control mechanisms: 1. Take two batteries, one for each coil, and flip them together/separately to make the rotor turn. 2. Do it with one battery. Getting the leads connected and moved was hilarious. 3. Use pushbuttons, as done in this video. Notice the smoke from the wires melting their insulation when fingers get confused. 4. Replace the pushbuttons with a pair of DPDT center-off toggle switches. Muuuuuuuuuch easier. 5. Replace the toggle switches with H-bridges. Success! Our stepper motor collection included some the size of a peanut, up to the size of a 5 gallon bucket, and we got to control nearly all of them. We felt so good. Then came Synchros, Servos and Control Transformers...
i didnt need any of stepped motor informations at all but i satisfied with the explanation and diagrams and actual practical motor demonstration. I really loved this video U r awesome Kevin
This is exactly what I needed! I haven't built this yet, but it looks like an excellent way to get an intuitive feel for how to control a stepper motor. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this! I was able to figure out what i was doing wrong with the stepper motor. I didn't stop to think that i could do each coil one at a time!
Thank you so much! This helped me a lot to understand how stepper motors work, as I never learned very well :). Keep making this kind of videos, I'm sure they help a lot of people like me.
Good detailed explanation. Suggestion: Get some 'Sharpies' and color code the switches and create a color coded sequencing table on paper. Thanks for sharing.
hey Kevin, that was a great video on stepper motors, yeah I would be very interested to see a video on how you would connect the mosfets and a follow up video. thanks!
Thank for the explanation. I am trying to get a foam cutter board working that uses a mm2001 board with unipolar steppers. You mentioned using mosfets. As this board uses large resistors and they get hot, I was thinking about trying to figure out how to use mosfets to change things so there would not be so much heat. I am only a hobbyist with electronics, but it would be a great help if you did do a video showing how to move unipolar steppers with mosfets that were driven with a uln2003. Thanks for the video.
I am a woodturner that makes "basket illusions" actually a wooden bowl or vase that looks like a indian basket. I have vertical marks from 96 to 140 depending on the design. I now use a degree wheel and move the basket then use a pencil to mark them . It is not really accurate so I thought by using a stepper motor it could stop and start around the basket. I seen your video and seen where you used a number of switches to do that. I need some guiding on doing the same thing.
Nice, "quick and dirty video". Some how I don't think it was that quick setting it all up. Thanks for taking the time to do all this, I know how much time it takes to do it. If you get the time, big if, show an inset with the motor schematic and color the wires to show which ones are energized. Kinda like AllAmericanFiveRadio does in his vids. Maybe even show a drawing of the inside of one with all the multiple poles, then take one apart and show it and explain why it only moves 1.8 deg's. It would be a great tutorial follow up. Often thought about doing what you did here in this video myself some day but never seem to have the time. Nice video agian. Look fwd to seeing more on your channel as time permits. Best Wishes/Blessings Keith
Great Tutorial!!! I wonder if you know of any "higher level of abstraction" ways to control a stepper motor. I was considering getting into Arduino in order to control my blinds, or some other home automation, and I wonder if I could find some software to say "Go Left X number of steps" or "go right x number of steps." etc... any ideas?
hi, thanks for the video, it's very cool. question - i read from some other articles that when running and reversing power to the coil really quickly, it would create back-kick effects, and so capacitors and droids are needed? what's your thoughts?
Kevin Darrah hey kevin, i would really like to ask u smth and hope u'll answer. its about 8x8x8 rgb led cube. well im building it now and i wanted to use ur code to control it, so: here's the thing i wanna ask: we know that the 74hc595's are daisy chained together so where (numericly) is the shift register which controls the layers is located i mean the anode control one. is it the last? hope u answer. love ur videos
Don't forget to tell them about the inverse reactive current coming from the modedial interaction of magneto reluctance and capacitive directance. You can thank the panindermic semi-boloid slots on the stator for that one :/
if i want to use stepper motor just for it's high torque. And i need only moving in one direction with the highest speed possible and all the benefit of the torque, how am i about to do that?
I made a driver from an h-bridge plan I found on the Internet. It seems to work fine, but I can't get any speed at all. I got a small boost by carefully adjusting the time between pulses, but it felt random - if I switch to another motor I would have to tune/guess again. Is there a way to achieve high speeds or tell what a reasonable speed is?
wow, thanks a lot kevin, i've learn a lot from your video, i wish you could also release a vivid instruction on how to revive an AVR MCU due to fault fusing of a newbie like me :D, TIA
hey Kevin, what do I use to capture specific range in frequency to activate a specific stepper motor that is programmed to do a certain rotation in commands? Does the information have to be MIDI already then fed into this ...(thing i need to talk to specific motors)... or can I just get some device that doe this automatically? cheers
The best explanation of how stepper motors works and how to control the steps I have seen! Thank you for taking the time to explain the fundamentals of operation, explaining the circuit, and using a cardboard labeled with degrees to visualize.
Congratulations on probably the best stepper motor tutorial on TH-cam - well done!
Have watched quite some stepper motor videos but this was by far the best one. A very cool way to explain it - this is how it should be explained in school or entry level electric studies!
FINALLY!!!
A good, sane explanation about a stepper motor driver!
The best and the only, actually!
I was fuzzy about the stepper motor driver functionality. I didn't understand it's purpose and what used for and finally, I understand it!.
Thanx a lot!
I love how you break things down to simple terms to understand the whole picture. Thanks!
nice intro for stepper motors. Took a degree in electronics back in the 80s and never touched the subject again even as a hobby. So much has changed and an awful lot hasn't changed at all. Still, your videos are clearing away the cobwebs so thanks again.
You explained the concept easily and simply . This helped me a lot . You really deserve a medal for this
Thanks for taking the time to explain this. What a great learning tool. Seeing it work in its most basic form really drives the point home. Very cool
Keep up the great work Kev. I am sure we all appreciate your time and effort.
In the US Navy's Basic Electricity & Electronics school (called "B-double-E" school) we approached stepper motors in a sequence of increasingly complex control mechanisms:
1. Take two batteries, one for each coil, and flip them together/separately to make the rotor turn.
2. Do it with one battery. Getting the leads connected and moved was hilarious.
3. Use pushbuttons, as done in this video. Notice the smoke from the wires melting their insulation when fingers get confused.
4. Replace the pushbuttons with a pair of DPDT center-off toggle switches. Muuuuuuuuuch easier.
5. Replace the toggle switches with H-bridges.
Success! Our stepper motor collection included some the size of a peanut, up to the size of a 5 gallon bucket, and we got to control nearly all of them. We felt so good.
Then came Synchros, Servos and Control Transformers...
that was probably one of the best explanations I've seen on stepper motor fundamentals .
Practical and straight-forward, as always. Love it.
Keep calm and control the shaft in a very precise way
i didnt need any of stepped motor informations at all but i satisfied with the explanation and diagrams and actual practical motor demonstration. I really loved this video
U r awesome Kevin
Super great explanation! Thanks for making and sharing this video.
Thank you Kevin! Loving these push button break downs. They really show you what you have to do in the code.
This is exactly what I needed! I haven't built this yet, but it looks like an excellent way to get an intuitive feel for how to control a stepper motor.
Thanks!
Watched a lot of stepper theory videos. This short video cleared up a lot of my confusion. Will be watching more of
your videos..
When you were sequenceing the buttons I thought "wow, is he actually going to be able to do that" lol. Good job. Great video
@Walter Theodore
Reported
Thank you VERY MUCH for making this video!! Really-impressively simplifies what's actually going on in the H-Bridges and motor driver!
Very Helpful!! You are a good teacher and I like the way how you have bolstered your explanation with a white board and a live example!
That was a cool demonstration!
Thank you for taking the time to make it.
Thanks for that. Concise, clear and understandable. I now know heaps more than I did before, on this subject.
Thank you so much for this! I was able to figure out what i was doing wrong with the stepper motor. I didn't stop to think that i could do each coil one at a time!
This answered every question I had about stepper motors, nice and easy to understand as well.
Thank you so much! This helped me a lot to understand how stepper motors work, as I never learned very well :). Keep making this kind of videos, I'm sure they help a lot of people like me.
In a practical manner you demonstrated so clearly the function of a stepper - great
Good explanation Kevin. Easy to follow. I'm a CNC programmer from way back and the electronics has always been a bit of mystery.
Great! Please consider continuing the tutorial - MOSFET selection and software control. I always look forward to your tutorials - very well done.
Awesome vid Kevin; I was watching a lot of your tutorials to make my own. Keep up the good work!
I love these videos. You make it so simple. Hope you keep making them.
Fantastic explanation! Thanks for taking the time to share that!
First time I easy understand H bridges applied to Stepper. Thanks you so much
Just one question can I do this with a stepper motor and a 4pdt switch that is a 12 leg switch😂😂😂😂😂
Diagram at 8:00 When a switch is closed the circuit is still broken.
OK need 2 switches, I didn't get to that bit yet.
Very informative video. Thanks.
Thanks for this super simple explanation. Exactly what I was looking for.
The board with the printed protractor is an excellent idea. Great learning tool.
Best video on the subject, all that i wanted to see! subscribed!
Useful and easy to follow video, great job on explaining it very clearly.
Your demonstration is excellent. 👍👍
I am sure all appreciate your time and effort.Thanks.
Excellent and easy to understand explanation. Thanks for sharing.
I think you just solve an issue with a Stepper Motor project I was having.
nice brief on stepper motor ... its understandable video for those who want to know about the working of stepper motors
Give this man a medal
fantastic explanation for the beginners to understand
Brilliant, so interesting to learn - thanks for showing
Great video - I have a much better understanding of stepper motors and how they are controlled. Thanks!
Good detailed explanation. Suggestion: Get some 'Sharpies' and color code the switches and create a color coded sequencing table on paper. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! Again, you've made it really easy to understand :)
Kevin, you are awesome! This was so helpful, as are all of your videos!
Clear, concise, and short. Thanks.
hey Kevin, that was a great video on stepper motors, yeah I would be very interested to see a video on how you would connect the mosfets and a follow up video. thanks!
Good job, dude. Crystal clear explanation. Thx a lot!
Thank for the explanation. I am trying to get a foam cutter board working that uses a mm2001 board with unipolar steppers. You mentioned using mosfets. As this board uses large resistors and they get hot, I was thinking about trying to figure out how to use mosfets to change things so there would not be so much heat. I am only a hobbyist with electronics, but it would be a great help if you did do a video showing how to move unipolar steppers with mosfets that were driven with a uln2003.
Thanks for the video.
Excellent! Thank you so much for making this video!
great video! definitely helpful in understanding how to control stepper motors
Di Caprio Double explains electronics! Nice video mate!
Your videos are the BEST!!!
It would make sense to feed the motor with a constant current supply to get even torque between full and half steps.
Forssa1 yep, that's what I've seen out of most drivers
Awesome explanation.Keep up the good work bro!
I am a woodturner that makes "basket illusions" actually a wooden bowl or vase that looks like a indian basket. I have vertical marks from 96 to 140 depending on the design. I now use a degree wheel and move the basket then use a pencil to mark them . It is not really accurate so I thought by using a stepper motor it could stop and start around the basket. I seen your video and seen where you used a number of switches to do that. I need some guiding on doing the same thing.
hmm, well I might have a video in the near future that you'll like... working on a stepper driver video.
Pretty good kevin, for some reason stepper motors were never covered in PT back in trade school in 94 nor in electronics 1 and 2 in 95-96
Thank you very much for this video. But could you explain why it makes 1.8 step and 90? because of multiple poles on stator?
+human being I meant why 1.8 and NOT 90
Good pedagogy. Take this into class.
Nice, "quick and dirty video". Some how I don't think it was that quick setting it all up. Thanks for taking the time to do all this, I know how much time it takes to do it. If you get the time, big if, show an inset with the motor schematic and color the wires to show which ones are energized. Kinda like AllAmericanFiveRadio does in his vids. Maybe even show a drawing of the inside of one with all the multiple poles, then take one apart and show it and explain why it only moves 1.8 deg's. It would be a great tutorial follow up. Often thought about doing what you did here in this video myself some day but never seem to have the time. Nice video agian. Look fwd to seeing more on your channel as time permits. Best Wishes/Blessings Keith
great video, like you said, it didn't explain why it turn 1.8 degree instead of 45. thx anyway.
Great tutorial - well presented.
Interesting and informative video... I'm just getting into the Raspberry Pi, so has been helpful... Many thanks :-)
Great Tutorial!!! I wonder if you know of any "higher level of abstraction" ways to control a stepper motor. I was considering getting into Arduino in order to control my blinds, or some other home automation, and I wonder if I could find some software to say "Go Left X number of steps" or "go right x number of steps." etc... any ideas?
Another great video.
hi, thanks for the video, it's very cool. question - i read from some other articles that when running and reversing power to the coil really quickly, it would create back-kick effects, and so capacitors and droids are needed? what's your thoughts?
Where did you bought these pushbuttons you use @ 9:25?
I only got the normal ones and they suck because they jump out of the breadboard.
Great explaination...keep up the good work
Why is full step 1.8 degrees? Is it because you have many coils around the rotor or shaft.? It is supposed to be 90 degree right ?
very nice simple demo.
This is very cool and informative! Subbed
Very nice idea and demo!!
Very clear tutorial. Thanks!
Question, what will happen if you cut one of the wires to the stepper motor? When using hybrid synchronous stepper.
what is the Vcc value you are using?
Very helpful.
Kevin Darrah
hey kevin, i would really like to ask u smth and hope u'll answer. its about 8x8x8 rgb led cube. well im building it now and i wanted to use ur code to control it, so: here's the thing i wanna ask: we know that the 74hc595's are daisy chained together so where (numericly) is the shift register which controls the layers is located i mean the anode control one. is it the last? hope u answer. love ur videos
good video. Thank you. What diodes should I use?
Andrew Mack flyback diode (1N4007). I had the same question. See link for additional info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyback_diode
Nice video. I had that degree scale before but I lost it. can you give us link for that degree scale ? I think it was a vector graphic.
If the spec sheet does not indicate the voltage, but it does the current, how do you determine what supply voltage to use?
Thanks, man - very instructive!
Don't forget to tell them about the inverse reactive current coming from the modedial interaction of magneto reluctance and capacitive directance. You can thank the panindermic semi-boloid slots on the stator for that one :/
Very well explained. Thank you!
if i want to use stepper motor just for it's high torque. And i need only moving in one direction with the highest speed possible and all the benefit of the torque, how am i about to do that?
Very good explanation
I made a driver from an h-bridge plan I found on the Internet. It seems to work fine, but I can't get any speed at all. I got a small boost by carefully adjusting the time between pulses, but it felt random - if I switch to another motor I would have to tune/guess again.
Is there a way to achieve high speeds or tell what a reasonable speed is?
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
Awesome video as always!!! :)
Thanks so much; now I understand thanks to you.
wow, thanks a lot kevin, i've learn a lot from your video, i wish you could also release a vivid instruction on how to revive an AVR MCU due to fault fusing of a newbie like me :D, TIA
Really clearly explained! Thanks :D
Did U-do a review on TH-cam of the X-carve?
skip to 9:24 for the circuit setup
Much simpler than I thought! I've got no excuse for not building robots now XD
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Good Job brother!
Can I connect the center wire of unipolar to negative and others to vice versa this is working fine for me? Is there any catch?
hey Kevin, what do I use to capture specific range in frequency to activate a specific stepper motor that is programmed to do a certain rotation in commands? Does the information have to be MIDI already then fed into this ...(thing i need to talk to specific motors)... or can I just get some device that doe this automatically?
cheers