Motors
An overview of common motor types used in electronic and industrial projects
Motors are at the core of some of the most interesting projects we've seen, from lowly $3 servos (which also go up into the thousands of dollars as well!), to tried and true stepper motors (which make many a machine churn). And since we like things that churn and whirl as much as the next guy (or maybe even the next gal) -- plus we already have a box full of them sitting around waiting to be tested -- motors seems like they deserved a bit of explanation!
To get things started with this series, we've decided to give an overview of the trustworthy, predictable stepper motor. They're relatively easy to use, they can take a serious lickin' and keep on ... steppin' (???), and are the backbone of a lot of interesting tools and toys like CNC mills and pick and place machines (both of which we're very fond of, and you should be too if you're really serious about micro-manufacturing!).
Note: We've actually put together a reference design for controlling small stepper motors, and plan to put the schematics and some sample code up here ... were just need to beat it around the office a bit more and make sure that everything works the way it should. Until then, though ... the humble stepper motor!