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A stepper motor (also referred to as a step or stepping motor) is an electromechanical device achieving mechanical movements through conversion of electrical pulses. Stepper motors are driven by digital pulses rather than by a continuous applied voltage. Unlike conventional electric motors which rotate continuously, stepper motors rotate or step in fixed angular increments. A stepper motor is most commonly used for position control. With a stepper motor/driver/controller system design, it is assumed the stepper motor will follow digital instructions. One important aspect of stepper motors is their lack of feedback to maintain control of position. It is this lack of feedback which classifies stepper motors as open-loop systems.

The goal of the Stepper Motors website is to provide you with information on Stepper Motor Technology that is informative and useful in your education about Stepper Motors. This site is all about Stepper Motors, no other motor technology is discussed here, but if you need to compare Stepper Motor technology with other motor technologies, there are comparison pages and links to those other technologies as well.

What are Stepper Motors?

First of all, there are many names for a Stepper motor. They are commonly referred to as Stepper motors, Stepper motors, tin can motors, pm motor, hybrid Steppers, and sometimes wrongly, servo motors. The most common Stepper types are listed below.

Types of Stepper Motors

As you can see in the table below, there are many different type of Stepper motors. There are many type of Stepper Motors, but they all work off of the same principle. Look in the how Stepper motors work section for more details.

Hybrid Stepper Motors: This is the original Stepper motor. It is still widely used today. Due to it's low rotor inertia, it can actually run at higher speeds and more torque than the high torque motors listed in the row below. The cost of this motor is slightly lower than the high torque motors.

Hybrid High Torque Stepper Motors: This is the most common type of Stepper motor. They have a square lamination structure that allows them to have a higher power density then round body style. This Stepper motor construction has the highest torque density of all Stepper motors.

Permanent Magnet Stepper Motors: This is the least expensive Stepper motor available. They are also know as 'tin can' Stepper motors. They have lower torque to go along with the lower cost. The loads are also considerably less then the hybrid Stepper motors.

Permanent Magnet Stepper Motors with Spur Gearbox: This is the least expensive geared Stepper motor available. They are also know as 'tin can' Stepper motors or geared Steppers. They have lower torque to go along with the lower cost. The loads are also considerably less then the hybrid Stepper gearmotors.

Hybrid Stepper Motors with Spur Gearbox: These motors can range in sizes from NEMA 17 to NEMA 34. Sometimes this Stepper motor and spur gearbox is call a gearmotor.

Linear Actuators: These motors can range in sizes from 8mm in diameter up to NEMA 34. Sometimes this Stepper motor and spur gearbox is call a gearmotor.

What is this NEMA size all about?

The NEMA size is specified by the National Electrical Manufacturer's Association (NEMA) that specifies standard screw holes, threads and positions of the mounting flange of the Stepper motor. Here is a chart of the typical Stepper motor sizes

NEMA 8	0.8" square
NEMA 11	1.1" square
NEMA 14	1.4" square
NEMA 15	1.5" square
NEMA 17	1.7" square
NEMA 23	2.3" square
NEMA 24	2.3" square
NEMA 34	3.4" square
NEMA 43	4.2" square

Stepper Motors Technical Guide

A great resource that goes over the finer details of the technology in how Stepper motors work is this Introduction and Guide to the Stepper Motors

Stepper Motors Glossary of Terms

Click Here for a Stepper Motor Glossary of Terms

Stepper Motors Special Features

Common special or custom features of Stepper motors include shaft modifications, connectors, wire length, conduit boxes or terminal boxes, molded cables, and shielded cables.

How Much Do Stepper Motors Cost?
Everyone always wants to know roughly how much a Stepper motor will cost. Some Stepper motor manufactures now list the technical information and prices for the Stepper motors on their websites. There are over 100,000 different Stepper motors to choose from. You can get a good idea of the Stepper motor costs by a small list of the different sizes.

Ingress Protection Ratings (IP Ratings)

A Stepper Motor usually has an IP rating of IP54. Basically this is for office environments and in industrial machinery. If the motor is going to be used outside or in a harsh machine environment, then a higher rating is required. Manufacturers will make these modifications in the Stepper motor to increase it's IP Rating: Shaft Seals, Epoxy Coatings, O-Ring Seals.

Standard Wire Color Codes

It would be nice if all manufacturers stuck to a standard set of wire color coded. Unfortunately, they don't all communicate with one another and there are many different 'standards' or 'not-so-standards'. Here is a list of different manufactures and their wire color codes.

Stepper Motors Guide

A great resource that goes over the finer details of the technology in how Stepper motors work is this Introduction and Guide to Stepper Motors

Introduction to Stepper Motors

A great resource that goes over the finer details of the technology in how Stepper motors work is this Stepper Motor Introduction.

We hope that you found this site to be a useful resource on Stepper motors. You are free to link to this site without permission. Content on this site can be used by permission only. If you would like to Contact Us, please do so by email at submit@Steppermotors.net.

great resource that goes over the finer details of the technology in how Stepper motors work is this Introduction and Guide to the Stepper Motors

Links to other technologies:

AC Synchronous Motors
AC Motors technology
Bipolar Stepper Motor
Brushless DC Motors
Stepper Motors