Stepper motor drives for robotic applications

Robotics is one area where the use of stepper motors is of paramount importance. Robotic applications require precise movements. This paper presents an efficient and versatile drive system for stepper motors for use in robotic applications. The proposed drive system delivers precise control with the smallest possible step angle. A model of the permanent magnet stepper motor is simulated using MATLAB Simulink simulation software. The software and the hardware circuits of the stepper motor drive is designed and tested for different types of movements of the stepper motor. The proposed circuitry consists of the design of power supply circuit, microcontroller, buffer and a driver circuit. Unlike a manual controller, the AT89C51 microcontroller is programmed to have user friendliness so that the user can select the required movement of the stepper motor. The drive system allows the movement of the stepper motor to be controlled by selecting options of half or full step, forward or reverse movement and the speed in RPM or the fixed number of steps that it should move.