Build A Stripboard Bipolar Stepper Controller

HOWTO: Build A Stripboard Bipolar Stepper Controller

Note: This is a preliminary design and has not yet been fully tested

Introduction

The Stepper controller is responsible for a single motor. There are three such modules in a RepRap or RepStrap. See RepStrap for an overview of all the components.

Requirements

Tools and consumables

• A soldering iron and accessories (see Electronics Fabrication Guide).
• Solder
• Electric drill or at least a suitable drill bit
• Some wire for jumpers/links
• Wire strippers
• Small pliers or tweezers

Components

• R1 4.7kΩ
• R2 1kΩ
• R3 1kΩ
• R4 4.7kΩ
• R5 10kΩ
• C1 0.1μF
• C2 0.1μF
• C3 3nF
• U1 PIC16F628
• U2 SN754410 (or a stack of two SN754410s, see below)

Schematic

Making the board

Variations

J7 is not required if you are only driving a single motor.

Firmware

See the files section at the end for firmware for each of the three controllers. The same firmware is used for both the bipolar and unipolar motor controllers.

The network addresses for these are:

• X-Axis: 2
• Y-Axis: 3
• Z-Axis: 4

A snapshot of the latest source is available for viewing

Troubleshooting

If you experience trouble, please share the problems (and resolutions) with us.

See Also

• RepStrap
• Building A Stripboard Stepper Controller for a unipolar motor
• Building A Stripboard Comms Controller

-- Main.SimonMcAuliffe - 11 Mar 2006