Variable rate based microstepping of stepper motor using MATLAB GUI

Microstepping of stepper motor plays a major role in minimizing motor disturbance as well as improving pointing accuracy. Generally, microstepping is carried out with a pre-defined rate profile where final position is known beforehand. This is not suitable for real time tracking application. In this paper an innovative Variable Rate (VR) based microstepping algorithm is developed which will track a continuous non-linear reference profile in real time. This will meet pointing requirement even at higher rates of tracking. VR based microstepping drive is implemented with PWM based chopper current controller mode. This algorithm along with motor is simulated using MATLAB Simulink and design is verified and validated with hardware implementation. A MATLAB GUI has been developed and USB based communication link has been established with hardware. The simulation and experimental results depict the effectiveness of the algorithm.