BiStep Motor Controller (USB)

The BS0710-USB board is a complete Unipolar/Bipolar dual stepper motor controller system which can be controlled from a computer using a USB connection. It includes the capability of driving one or two stepper motors, each of which being either unipolar (4-pole) or bipolar (2 pole). This unit is a good choice for those designing products using linear actuators, especially since the micro stepping features will reduce noise levels and can increase positional accuracy by a large amount.

The board is specified as allowing up to 1 amp per winding, with 6.5 to 15 volt motors supported when in single power supply mode. It also supports a dual power supply feature, wherein the motors use a separate supply from the logic circuits; in this mode, up to a 34 volt power supply may be used for the motors.

Key Benefits:

• USB communications with a host computer may be used to control the board.
• TTL-Serial communications may be used to control the board using an external microprocessor, such as a Basic Stamp or SX.
• Up to two stepper motors may be independently controlled at one time.
• Each motor may be either 4-pole Unipolar or 2-pole Bipolar.
• Four modes of stepping the motor are supported:
  • Half steps (alternates 1 winding and two windings enabled at a time)
  • Full power full steps (2 windings enabled at a time)
  • Half power full steps (1 winding enabled at a time)
  • Near-constant-current microsteps (each from 1/64 to 1/2 of a full step)
• A TTL "busy" signal is available, which can be used to see if the motors are still moving. This information is also available from the serial communications subsystem.
• Simple control of the motors may be done by switch closure: i.e., each motor can be told to slew left or right, or to stop by simply grounding some input lines. Similarly, the rate of motion can be controlled via stepping through a standard set of rates via grounding another input.
• Complete control of the motors, including total monitoring of current conditions, is available through the 2400 to 19,200 baud serial connection (by default, this is shipped configured for 9600 baud).
• Runs off of a single user-provided 6.5 to 15 volt DC power supply.