

New Labeling Equipment.com

What is a Stepping Motor?

A stepping motor changes electrical power into torque through the use of an electromechanical device.

A stepping motor changes electrical power into torque through the use of an electromechanical device. The advantage of using a stepping motor in an automatic labeling system is that as you give power to the phases in a preset order it rotates in predetermined “steps” (angular units). The number of steps per revolution is determined by the type of motor, with 2-phase motors usually having 200 steps to each revolution and 5-phase motors usually giving you 500 steps.

There is a specialized high speed switch device that is used with a stepper motor which accepts impulses from a PLC or encoder. The motor will advance one step for each impulse it receives. A 5-phase motor, for example, will typically require 500 pulses to complete an entire revolution. Drivers also have the capacity to operate in half step mode to ensure greater accuracy and smoother operation. In half-step mode a stepper motor can advance at twice the resolution. While it is also possible to have even greater steps per revolution with micro stepping this is not often used as it results in a loss of torque at each division.

List of articles | Terms of use | Machines | About labeling| Industry Labeling News

Machinery info | Small business | Equipment types