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Easy to build CNC Mill Stepper Motor and Driver circuitsby Tom McWire on August 26, 2007

Table of Contents

intro:   Easy to build CNC Mill Stepper Motor and Driver circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1:   The Circuit Board of Appeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 2:   Circuit Cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 3:   Photo Etching a Driver Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

step 4:   TESTING..1..2..3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

step 5:   Let's Watch it on TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 6:   Linux Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

intro:  Easy to build CNC Mill Stepper Motor and Driver circuitsThis is a follow up to the Easy to Build Desk Top 3 Axis CNC Milling Machine Once you get the machine all put together its time to make it go.

So it's time to drive the motors. And here I've put together a circuit that I think is the absolute cheapest and easiest way to control stepper motors with step and directionsignals. It works with many of the free or low cost softwares that produce step and direction signals through the parallel printer port. I'll explain how it works but for thoseof you who just want to get on with it... The_Next_Step

But I would suggest for those of you who are unfamiliar with circuits to do it on a bread board (see pictures). This way you can easly correct any mistakes and try differentthings.

This schematic is just to control one motor so for the milling machine you need 3 of these circuits and 3 motors.From Left to right and top to bottom. I try to draw schematics so that positive voltages are toward the top and ground or negative volge is toward the bottom. Inputs are tothe left and outputs to the right. Fist off the voltage that you are going to use to run the motor needs to be stepped down and regulated for the logic chips. I used a 6.2volt Zener to do this because it's low enought for the logic chips to receive the signals from your printer port and high enough for the outputs to drive many of thestandard power FETs, so you may not have to use logic FETs like the schematic shows. So the resistor R1 drops the voltage, the Zener diode regulates it to 6.2 voltsand the capacitor C1 filters out any noise from the motor, and this voltage powers the two IC's.The first IC (CD4516) is called an up/down counter. One signal from the printer port will tell the counter if it will count up or down and the other signal, called step, willincrement or decrement the counter by one count. Now were only going to use two outputs from the counter Q1 and Q2. With this binary counting method there are only4 combinations of output from the counter: 00, 01, 10, and 11. These lines are fed to the A and B inputs of the other IC (CD4028) which decodes these combinations to 4seprate outputs.I did a trick here using the C input to work as an Enable input. If the Enable(optional) is connected to the parallel port and the computor tells it to shut off all of the outputsto the FETs will go low(Off). So the four outputs of the decoder drive the FET transistors and the FETs drive the four poles of the motor.Now everybody wants to know what the light bulb is for. Its not so much whether you use a bulb or a resistor, its that a bulb comes with a socket. You can get thesewedge base light bulbs from 1 watt to 20 watts. Start with may be a 4 watt bulb and if you find you need a little more beef you just pull it out and put in a 10 watt bulb. It'sreally handy. And I found it's good to have some voltage drop there as kind of a ballast for the motor windings. The diodes catch some of the current that comes out ofthe motor each time the FET transistors turn off. The diode feeds this current back to the supply.When you get the circuit up and running find a power supply that puts out more voltage than you really need and then change out light bulbs till you get it runningsmoothly. Some of my stepper motors are 5 or 6 volt and some are 12 volt but it all works out.

File Downloads

C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\StepCheap1.pdf (37 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\StepCheap1.pdf']

C:\Projects\StepCheap3D_PCB_GodeC.zip (34 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'C:\Projects\StepCheap3D_PCB_GodeC.zip']

C:\Projects\StepCheapPartsList.rtf (2 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'C:\Projects\StepCheapPartsList.rtf']

step 1: The Circuit Board of AppealsOK here's what your all looking for. I made a simple PC board layout that includes 3 motor driver circuits connected to a 25 pin D sub Parallel printer port connector.Here's a picture of the layout. At the top of the picture you see a place for a voltage regulator. You can use that or you can put a resistor and Zener Diode in its place(likethe schematic shows). On the right edge is a place for the 25 pin D-sub connector that connects to the parallel printer port. You just jam the PC board between the tworows of pins and solder it.On the left side are places for the lamp sockets. You need to look over the schematic to see where some of the parts go but it's all there.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

File Downloads

C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\Schem-PCB\StepCheap3D.zip (16 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\Schem-PCB\StepCheap3D.zip']

C:\Documents and Settings\Tom\Desktop\StepCheap3DBOT.pdf (30 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'C:\Documents and Settings\Tom\Desktop\StepCheap3DBOT.pdf']

C:\Projects\StepCheap3D_PCB_GodeC.zip (34 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'C:\Projects\StepCheap3D_PCB_GodeC.zip']

step 2: Circuit CloningIf you have a time machine you can go to the future and ask yourself to make the circuit board with the finished machine and then bring it back and finish building themachine. After a couple of tries I got the board to come out pretty good. The machine routes what are called isolation paths which means it seperates the copper that isassociated with a conductive path from all the other copper around it. This leaves some areas of the board that are not associated with a path still covered with copper.You could leave this extra copper on there but when your soldering it is easy to get solder bridges across the isolation paths and short circuit something. So I take thesoldering iron and touch it on the excess copper and peal it up off the board. It makes the board more like what you would get if you chemical etched it or bought it from aboard house(see below).

Any way look over the schematic and place the parts accordingly. I added a few capacitors along the power lines just for general principals. There were so few traces onthe top side of the board I didn't bother milling it. I just used jumper wires. See the pictures below of the populated board. All the little FETs ligned up like marchingsoldiers.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

step 3: Photo Etching a Driver BoardOK, For all you chemistry majors who want to do something a little more professional here are some .pdf files you can print out and iron on or what ever you do to makean etched PC board. There's a Top Silk (just for reference), Top Copper, and Bottom Copper.

If you want to go easy Just do the Bottom Copper. There's not that much on the top and you can just solder jumpers where you need to.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

File Downloads

C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\Schem-PCB\StepCheap3Dsilk.pdf (9 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\Schem-PCB\StepCheap3Dsilk.pdf']

C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\Schem-PCB\StepCheap3DTop.pdf (28 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\Schem-PCB\StepCheap3DTop.pdf']

C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\Schem-PCB\StepCheap3DBot.pdf (30 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'C:\Projects\Milling\Mill_Drive\Schem-PCB\StepCheap3DBot.pdf']

step 4: TESTING..1..2..3Don't be nervus. It's just a little electricity. First off it would be good to load up the KCAM (or what ever you plan on using) in your computor. Then when you feelcomfortable that all the parts are in the right place plug the parallel port connector into the driver board(as shown below) and put a low wattage build in the socket for themotor. In this case I'm using middle, the Y axis driver.

For power I like to use one if these universal power adapters with selectable voltage output. They're cheap and they don't put out a lot of current so if something goeswrong it's less likely to damage your circuit. Set the voltage low and see if you have some vlotage on the power pins(16) of the CD4516 and the CD4028. If you don'thave a volt meter just take an LED and tie a 10K(BRN,BLK,ORN) resistor to the positive(the long leg) and wire to ground tied to the negative(the short leg). Now you canuse this as a probe to see where you have voltage. It will be very dim but we don't want to draw too much current away from the circuit.

Now go into the computer program and find the Setup Table. Set the steps per inch to 1000. Then open the CNC control and set the single step for .001 inch and activatethe single step mode. Now each time you click the yellow arrows (up and down for the Y axis) the computor will output one pulse to the stepper motor driver circuit.

Put your LED probe on pin 10 of the CD4516. This is the up down input. When you click the up arrow the input will be low(LED off) and when you click the down arrowthe input will be high(LED on). Pin 15 is the step input you will see a very short blink each time you click a n up or down arrow on this pin. Pin 6 is the Q1 output. It willchange state(high/low) each time you click an arrow. And Pin 11 is the Q2 output. It will change state every other time you click an arrow.

On the output side of things we should see some activity on the CD4028 chip. Putting your probe on any of the output pins 1,4,6,or 7. These outputs drive the FETs. Youshould see the output go high every 4th time you click the up or down arrow.

If this all makes sense so far it's time to get the motor running. The common wire or wires of the motor which are the center tap of the windings should be connected tothe light bulb. The other four wires should go to the four FETs on the circuit. If you are really lucky you will get the combination just right in the first couple of trys. Otherwise just keep switching the wires arround until the motor steps in the same direction each time you click the arrows.

Watch the video in the next step. It may give you a better idea what to do.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

step 5: Let's Watch it on TVI just like watching a video better than doing a bunch of reading. Hope this is helpfull. Good luck with your projects. If the movie doesn't show past this link into yourbrowser.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUyqscxLJ4k

Video

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

step 6: Linux UsersI'm not a Linux user yet but I have played with it enough to be dangerous. But for you Linux users Chaddcurtis has contributed some setup files and information to helpyou use Linux CNC with the parallel port and this circuit board layout. Thanks a lot Chad and more power to you.

File Downloads

Linux_stepper.zip (7 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'Linux_stepper.zip']

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Comments50 comments Add Comment view all 467 comments

 Panacaguy says:  Feb 26, 2009. 11:27 PM  REPLYAny help would be greatly appreciated. I read through all 463 other posts and didn't see anyone with my problem. I built the circuit. It seems to work mostlyright. All the outputs on the chips register correctly. Using Kcam I can single step to my hearts content, but when I try to run continuous, my motor move onestep (random direction) when I first press the jog button and returns to where it was when I release the jog button. The light goes out while the jog button ispressed. Same result for all axes. I'm using 3 12V, 75 Ohm steppers from 5.25 drives. I have a 19V power supply with 4 Watt bulbs. If I did the math right,this gives me nearly 12 volts and nearly 0.16 Amps through the motors. I'm running it all with a laptop. At this point I'm not sure if the problem is my salvagedmotors, my power supply, my board, or my computer. Any insight into my situation would be greatly appreciated.

 Tom McWire says:  Feb 27, 2009. 10:04 AM  REPLYToo FastI think I can help here. Go into the Table Setup and change the Feed Rates ( traveling, Cutting, Jogging) to smaller numbers. If this works but the slowspeed seems to be a disapointment to you change the light bulbs to 20 watt bulbs.Tom

 Panacaguy says:  Feb 27, 2009. 10:33 AM  REPLYThanks for the ultra-quick response Tom. Unfortunately, I had already tried that. I've tried feed rates from 1 ipm up to 60. I've also messed with thesteps per inch and jog increments to no avail. The next step in my investigation is to try other software programs, maybe a DOS-based one, to see ifthat helps. I'm wondering if my laptop is messing up the timing too much. If it single steps ok, can I rule out the board as a possible problem?

Thanks,Andrew

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

 Panacaguy says:  Feb 27, 2009. 11:23 PM  REPLYFigured out my problem. My enable states were inverted from what they needed to be. In single step mode it still worked, but in continuous mode,the enable pin would go low and cause activity on pins 2 and 3 of the 4028, but no activity on pins 1, 4, 6 or 7. Switched up the enable states andnow it works like a charm although I think I will up the wattage of my bulbs a bit. Thanks Tom.

Andrew

 moire says:  Dec 6, 2008. 10:01 AM  REPLYI found out the .stepconfig file is created when the wizard finishes, but still don't know how to load these files...

 chaddcurtis says:  Feb 26, 2009. 4:35 PM  REPLYHi Moire,

I have not been following this forum for a while, as you can see. If you still need help send me a PM and I can try and give you a hand.

Best,Chad

 majdi says:  Feb 25, 2009. 12:40 PM  REPLYPlease please how I can connect the circuit of Tom by use stepper motor 24v ,( 1.5 A or more) by use Kcam4 program and the kcam4 work in windows xp .Note:-I have one stepper motor from this type (PM55L – 048) and two stepper motor from this type (KE56KM2 – 039)Thank you .

 amin001 says:  Feb 24, 2009. 8:15 AM  REPLYthe pins like this image

 amin001 says:  Feb 24, 2009. 7:46 AM  REPLYhello everyone i need some helpi have 3 motor from a car window 12vcan i use them for this project and they have 6 pin's 2 pin off them separateplz help me im trying to do this project from 1 month now

thanx

 Javidana says:  Feb 24, 2009. 3:18 AM  REPLYOh yes I forgot are you using bipolar or unipolar steppers? I'm supposing they are unipolar=simpler drive curcuits...

Also I'm having a hard time finding a 6 wire unipolar stepper. All I've found are 5 wire. will they work?

Thanks

 Javidana says:  Feb 21, 2009. 12:25 PM  REPLYIS it possible to a make 4 axis verison of this circuit? Great work anyways thanks alot, gonna visit the electronic shop on monday to buy the parts. luckily Ihave a good friend who'll help me out with soldering...Thanks again

 Bzidroglio says:  Feb 20, 2009. 3:30 AM  REPLYHy there!First, btech50554: What voltage are you using it might be too low for the motor you are using, check the configuration of the lpt port in kcam, there's a postby tom with a screenshot of his. I hope this helps!Secondly: I have a problem of my own! I have everything working, but Im using 30v and the zenner to regulate the voltage, so the voltage in the CD4516 andthe CD4028 is around 6,5v. My question is, is it better to use the voltage regulator (l7805)?thanks!

 Tom McWire says:  Feb 20, 2009. 9:07 AM  REPLYThanks for helping. that's good advice.As far as the zener vs regulator, it's all for the FETs. Sometimes the FET output transistors need a little more than 5 volts to turn completely on so the 6.2volt zener can actually work better. Good question...

 Bzidroglio says:  Feb 20, 2009. 10:39 AM  REPLYThanks for the quick reply.I'm going to keep the zener then...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

 btech50554 says:  Feb 9, 2009. 3:14 AM  REPLYHelloThis my first attempt at a breadboard project and I'm excited to see it work. Here's my problem, I the whole breadboard complete and I'm using a 5 wire stepmotor. I can't get the light to light up. I don't think I have it hooked up correctly. But I'm able to get the motor to just vibrate when I jog in KCam. I've swappedthe wire around several times and it just buzzes. If anyone has any ideas I could use the help. This is a neat project and I'd like to build the mini mill. Thanks

 StojkePN says:  Feb 9, 2009. 5:15 PM  REPLYswapped the wire

 StojkePN says:  Feb 4, 2009. 5:38 AM  REPLYHow about C3 to C6? what are their values?

 thatonekid says:  Feb 2, 2009. 5:11 AM  REPLYwhich link is the stepper program?

 biffit says:  Jan 7, 2009. 9:30 AM  REPLYWhat exactly are the servos that you are using?.

 the_mad_man says:  Jan 20, 2009. 8:33 PM  REPLYhe's not, he's using stepper motors

 thatonekid says:  Feb 2, 2009. 5:05 AM  REPLYbipolar stepping motors

 slatronic says:  Aug 7, 2008. 10:50 AM  REPLYI'm having problems with my circuit as well. I have it on a breadboard for now. Everything seems to be working fine except that the signal on pin 11 on the4516 isn't acting the way Tom says. The other pins on the chip do what he says but pin 11 has an erratic output. It goes hi for a few clicks then low for one ortwo then hi again for 3 clicks etc.. Not the hi/lo every other click the way Tom suggested. The light bulb seems to be following the same erratic on/off pattern.Also on the 4028 pins 1,4,6,7 are not going hi every fourth click. I assume this has something to do with the odd 4516 response.

Thank You

 slatronic says:  Aug 9, 2008. 1:23 PM  REPLYI finally got it working:)

 gettingitfirst says:  Jan 29, 2009. 7:03 PM  REPLYHow?

 Wickedweed says:  May 27, 2008. 9:55 PM  REPLYhi. quick question. the capacitor C7 should be 200mfd...what about C3 to C6? what are their values and are they polarized?btw, this is a great project. thanks!

 gettingitfirst says:  Jan 29, 2009. 5:07 PM  REPLYDid you ever figure aout the size of Capacitors C3-C6?

 gettingitfirst says:  Jan 27, 2009. 4:51 PM  REPLYYeah, Where's the parts list?

 mikorf says:  Jan 25, 2009. 6:04 AM  REPLYBravo Great idea .Can i use Arduino board instead because i don't know much on how to make pcb and electronics?(http://www.arduino.cc if you need more information)thanks

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

 mikorf says:  Jan 25, 2009. 12:53 PM  REPLYthanks for your help.After finishing my present project i will start making this one with Arduino Controller.

 Tom McWire says:  Jan 25, 2009. 9:04 AM  REPLYAbsolutely you can use an Arduino. That's a great idea. I'm looking for ways to make the motor drive easier. So many people get held up on theelectronics. Let us know how it works out for you.Tom

 BikiniMadness says:  Feb 19, 2009. 7:51 AM  REPLYTom, I'm one of those 'held up on the electronics' type of people :). So do I need 3 x Arduino? Also, am I correct in that once I design something in aCAD application, I can feed that to the Arduino application to create code to drive the CNC? Thanks!

 Tom McWire says:  Feb 19, 2009. 6:47 PM  REPLYWell I'm not saying the Arduino will make it easier it's just that a lot of people use the arduino and there is a motor drive board that goes with it.someone would need to write a program to make it work. And there is still the problem of converting the drawing information to G code orsomething that the motor driver can understand. I use the KCAM program but it only works with the parallel port interface. Arduino is a USBinterface. You might try bread boarding the circuit as I show in the intro.

 gettingitfirst says:  Jan 26, 2009. 8:00 PM  REPLYCan you email me a parts list? Gettingitfirst4@aol.com I'm not clear on the capacitors, 220uf but 25v? 1k and 10k resistors? What diodes? 1w 6.2vZeners? I thank you for all your great videos and posts and I will greatly appreciate any help you can extend me.

 eroha says:  Jan 25, 2009. 12:42 PM  REPLYhi gents, is MOSFET that used here good for all stepper motors or it has to be selected individually for each SM depending on its current and voltagerequirements? And I couldn't find CD4516BE,CD4028BE do differ a lot from CD4516 and CD4028 w/out BE suffix?Thanks, Tom this is a great project.

 Animador3d says:  Jan 20, 2009. 5:52 PM  REPLYHi! First and foremost thank you very much Tom for taking the time to share your knowledge!I haven´t begun the construction yet , but I´m on my way.

Second , I would like to get in touch with someone from Argentina (as I live in Buenos Aires) who has built this circuit ...aaaand maybe give me a little helpand info on where to find the components here, or just share experiencesAgain thanks a lot!

 Diamond_Head says:  Jan 22, 2009. 6:46 PM  REPLYHola animador3d, tambien soy de Bs.As todo lo necesario para el circuito lo podes conseguir por la calle parana al 200 (o desde Corrientes a Rivadavia)y si algo te falta seguro ahi te van a poder recomendar a donde ir.Saludos

 Jahguleth says:  Jan 13, 2009. 4:20 PM  REPLYI'm probably going to use an ATX power supply. Is it safe to connect the 5V directly to all the CD4516 and CD4028?

 rehannah says:  Jan 4, 2009. 10:28 PM  REPLYhi tom nice work.i have some problem about the cd4516 is out of stock.it is good to replace 4516 by cd4510be?

tnkx.

 rehannah says:  Jan 4, 2009. 10:24 PM  REPLYit is good to use cd4510be rather than cd4516, cd4516 is out of stock in the market.

nice cnc.i appreciate it. tnks

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-build-CNC-Mill-Stepper-Motor-and-Driver-ci/

 josheeg says:  Dec 30, 2008. 1:08 PM  REPLYHere is a possible solution look at reprap they use the arduino that had a micro controler and a rs232 to usb adapter. It has stepper motor drivers so if thesoftware can make this work like their plastic printer. Or do a inverse of what you want cut out in your circuit board you should be set... It is only a idea...

 diego_cowes says:  Dec 17, 2008. 5:46 PM  REPLYwhich steppers are you using? this circuit is ufeful for all kind of setepprs?thaksDiego

 Jeebiss says:  Dec 25, 2008. 12:23 PM  REPLYThis should work for most 6 wire steppers.

 panic mode says:  Dec 28, 2008. 12:11 PM  REPLY...and 5-wire steppers

 pourcirm says:  Dec 26, 2008. 9:55 PM  REPLYSo as far as using this circuit to drive bipolar steppers go what is the best way to modify? Should I just replace the diodes with resistors and connect as thecircuit shows or should I look into the extra light bulbs? If anyone has a schematic with the modifications or even better a PCB layout I could print to createthe circuit that'd be great.

 panic mode says:  Dec 28, 2008. 12:10 PM  REPLYbipolar motors have no middle tap on the windings. such motors need H-bridge circuit (four transistors per winding; which makes total of eight transistorsfor one motor).

just google for bipolar stepper driver circuit. one example is here:http://www.kitsrus.com/pdf/k158.pdf

 maker001 says:  Dec 28, 2008. 11:34 AM  REPLYI have some 2.3v steppers, instead of using 12v and dropping the voltage with a lightbulb couldn't i just have a sepeate regulated 2.3v supply for thesteppers?

 stickben says:  Dec 27, 2008. 3:59 PM  REPLYHow much current can this circuit handle? I have a motor that runs about 3A per phase.

Thanks!

 panic mode says:  Dec 28, 2008. 11:09 AM  REPLYas much as power supply, output transistors and diodes will handle.

 ooda55 says:  Apr 22, 2008. 5:27 AM  REPLYhi theri am building this project at home at the moment and its working out pretty wellbut i have a laptop that doesent have a parelell port on it so will a parallel pcmcia card work?thankschris

 optiontrader53 says:  Dec 28, 2008. 9:07 AM  REPLYIf you have a USB port, you can get a USB to Parallel adapter from Belkin Components (www.belkin.com). I have a USB to Serial adapter that I use withsome HAM radio software to control my Kenwood TS-440S/AT radio. It works great! Recommend you check them out. Price varies from different stores,but the best price I could find was at Newegg.com. Staples Office Supplies also carries them.

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