Linistepper

Sam Colwell says:

The CNC machine is almost finished (only some cover plates need to be finished up, and
then it will be complete - but cover plates don't stop me from playing with it :) I have
added some pictures of the CNC machine. Unfortunately the linisteppers are mounted
well inside the machine, so I took some pictures of them separately (they live on a swingout heatsink). I also took some pictures of milling a PCB. I'm using a 0.020" end mill and
the chuck is spinning, but the flash of the camera stops the action.
I was originally told it was an electron scanning microscope, however someone who used
to work on a similar machine at IBM recognized it as a wafer inspection machine.
Sometimes these machines had microscopes on them, sometimes they had "bed of nails"
testing jigs on them. It was used to inspect wafers before they were cut up into dice and
put into chips. The microscope (or whatever) bits had been stripped before I got the
machine.
Every year I help the mechanical department at Vermont Technical College with some
small electromechanical projects (I work in the computer dept. there). The students
design a mechanical system with some stepper and DC motors. They give me the specs
for what they need the motors to do and I program pics (usually 16F628's) to do the
work. I usually donate about 80 hours over the course of a year to working with these
students, even though they aren't in my department. The mechanical faculty really
appreciate it, and so they asked me what I wanted. Money is hard to transfer between
departments, so I said I wanted an NC drill machine to drill the custom circuit boards I
make. While I can get boards made out of house at reasonable rates, there's nothing like
having a working board that same day (or be able to find the stupid mistakes and fix the
board that same day :).

VTC gets donations of used equipment from various corporations from time to time. This
wafer inspector was in there. The microscope parts had already been removed. The
students made the table that has edge clamps and a corner clamp to hold circuit boards.
They removed the servos (we didn't get the servo controllers) and found small but
powerful steppers to replace them. They made custom brackets to use the original servo
motor clamps to hold the stepper motors. They took a pre-existing Z axis and machined it
to fit in this machine and hold the drill motor (which is one of the original servos from
the machine), They machined the heat sink in the back to have a flat surface, and it
actually ducts the heat out to the sides of the machine as well. The flip up grill over the
linisteppers they made as well. They also machined covers for all the holes on the
machine where there used to be stuff that was removed before we got the machine.
The X/Y table is original (and an absolutely beautiful platform with virtually no slop and
very little drag). The table, Z axis, and steppers were added, along with the linisteppers.
The x and y are on high power half steps. The Z axis is on the 9 microstep mode (for
smoother drilling motion).

Uses standard Unipolar (5 to 8 wire) stepper motors.

io stepper linistep lini.asm in archive

Microstepping Stepper Motor Driver Kit

How to use it - and keeping it cool!
Also:

How to blow up the Linistep (or avoid doing so) Hint: It isn't easy to destroy and
even then, repair is cheap...
Linear stepping with the Linistepper or How smooth is smooth?

CAUTION: The Linistepper requires suitable, large heatsinking. Such as standard

chunky aluminum/alloy heatsinks with fins. For additional heat dissipation use a
bigger heatsink with extra fins, or even add a small computer fan to remove the
excess heat. (steel is not a suitable heatsink, the angle bracket is NOT a heatsink.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------Connecting the Linistepper.
----------------------------------------------------------------------Control Connector
The connector furthest from the heatsink (on the left) is the control
connector.
Starting closest to the diodes, the 7 pins are:
* ground
* +5v regulated

(also attached to the motor ground)

(power for PIC chip)

* step input
* direction input
* low power

(new step on + going edge)

(hi = reverse)
(lo = low power)

* mode 0
* mode 1
mode 1
0
0
1
1

(these select the stepping mode as shown in this table)

mode 0
0
1
0
1

result
200
(full step)
400
(high-torque half step)
1200 (microstep 6th)
3600 (microstep 18th)

The mode 1 pin is at the corner of the printed circuit board.

For information on how to connect the Linistepper (or multiple
Linisteppers) to a PC parallel port, see:
http://www.piclist.com/io/stepper/linistep/faq.htm#37570.4504050926
or try our Linistepper "4 AXIS / Mode / 555 / PWR" kit
----------------------------------------------------------------------Power and Motor Connector

The connector closest to the heatsink is the power and motor connector.
The 7 pins are divided into 2 for the power connector,
and 5 for the motor, starting closest to the resistors;
Power
* main ground
* + main voltage (+4v to +35v)
Motor
* motor
* phase
* phase
* phase
* phase

+ (unipolar motor common)

A+
AB+
B-

Don't disconnect any motor wires with the power turned on!
----------------------------------------------------------------------Using the Linistepper
----------------------------------------------------------------------Important!
All 5 input pins MUST be connected to something, ie to a digital
output or tied to 0v or +5v. DO NOT leave inputs floating!
Most of this is quite obvious, each time the step input is clocked
from lo to hi (from 0v to 5v) the motor will turn one step.
The direction will be forward, unless the direction input is hi.
The low power input should be hi to get full power, lo will give low
power "wait" mode.
Set the 2 mode inputs to give the desired stepping mode.
----------------------------------------------------------------------Motor does not turn??
----------------------------------------------------------------------First check that the regulated +5v is there, then motor voltage which
is normally between 4v and 35v.
Assuming you are clocking the step input and you have the low power
pin held hi (full power) and you have the motor common + wire connected
properly there is one likely reason that the motor does not turn.
Try swapping one A wire with one B wire, you may have connected the
motor phasing wrong. If you have the phasing wrong, the motor will
tend to sit there and "wobble" or "buzz". :o)
If the motor turns, but in the wrong direction, you only need to swap
the two A wires with each other.

Don't disconnect any motor wires with the power turned on!
----------------------------------------------------------------------Keeping it Cool!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Jelly Baby Engineers: "Heatsink? You call that a Heatsink??

THAT'S A HEATSINK!!"
The linistepper is a linear driver and will dissipate quite a lot of
heat IF you have a psu voltage that is a lot higher than the motor
coil voltage.
The difference between supply voltage and motor voltage is lost as
wasted heat energy.
When you only need low speed performance, ie motor speeds under
4 revs/second, you can use low supply voltage and minimise heat
and power loss. The motor will perform well at low speeds, with
the linear smoothed microstepping advantages giving better performance
than many chopped drivers that are not microstepped, and similar
heat performance.
To get minimum heating and power loss you need to use the minimum
supply voltage that will give full current with your chosen motor.
Finding the max efficiency point is quite easy:
* make sure low power input is set to full power
* start with psu voltage a few volts higher than the rated motor
voltage
* run the motor at a typical speed

* using a variable psu and amp meter;

* slowly reduce the voltage until the amps drop suddenly
* the voltage JUST before the amps drop is the max efficiency (min
heat)
In most stepper uses a motor speed of 4 revs/second etc is all you
require, especially when microstepping gives increased positioning
resolution AND increased low speed torque. You no longer need excessive
gearing to get resolution and many apps no longer need high speeds.
Using a psu of only 3v above the motor voltage will give decent motor
performance and greatly reduced motor heating.
If you need better high speed performance you will need to use
a higher psu voltage. How much higher depends on the torque needed at
the highest speeds. Here's a bit of theory about this:

Stepper inductance
Stepper motor coils are magnetic and have inductance. To put this very
simply, inductance means that it takes TIME to build a magnetic field
in the coil, and larger inductance means that the change from no
magnetic
field to full magnetic field takes longer than a low inductance motor.
Inductance is closely related to how many turns of wire so motors that
have finer wire and more turns will have higher inductances.
Like this:
fine wire = high volts/low amps = high inductance = slow motor
thick wire = low volts/high amps = low inductance = fast motor
Many people instantly assume that low inductance motors are better,
and indeed these days they are more common with new motors. But low
inductance motors are NOT always the best choice.
The linistepper was designed to be well suited to many older stepper
motors, most of which are high inductance. These motors are often found
at VERY CHEAP prices from "surplus" sellers.
Apart from that big advantage, high inductance motors are usually
more efficient magnetically and often give higher holding torque for
the same coil wattage. These charts are from a manufacturers website.
Motors are the same apart from winding type. Holding torque is 20%
more for the high inductance motor, and even at 400 steps/sec
(2 revs/sec) the high inductance motor still has 8% more torque than
the "fast" motor.

The best advantage of high inductance motors is that because of

their inability to change current rapidly they are a better choice
when you mainly need low speeds. They are smoother and produce less
excitation energy at low speeds as they change from step to step more
gently. I often see people struggling with resonance problems, and find
they are using low inductance motors on systems that never exceed a
few revs/second! Many of the suppliers are at fault here, and even the
educational institutions often teach that low inductance motors and
chopper drives are "superior". Superiority MUST be evaluated by
application. :o)
In any case for the linistepper (or any linear driver) it is better to
use the higher impedance motors, simply because they require less
current.
The amount of PSU voltage you need is determined by the application.
In most cases a voltage of 3x the rated motor voltage will give
decent performance through the main resonances up to 10 or 15
revs/second.
I have one machine here with 5v 1A motors giiving good power at speeds

up to 10 revs/second, and an 18v PSU. I also ran an old low-speed

"pancake" type 5v 400mA motor at a speed of 80 revs/second with the
linistepper and 25v psu... It screamed!
Increasing the PSU voltage increases the torque at high speeds, but
also increases heat and power waste. You will get better overall
performance by choosing a motor with lower current and higher
inductance.
However if your application really does need high torque at very
high speeds you will need a chopper drive and low inductance motor.
Important!
Only use higher PSU voltage if you REALLY need high speed power.
In most cases the problems users experience relate to resonance at
lower speeds. Low speed resonance is reduced by using a lower PSU
voltage!
On a system where low speed resonance is a problem (like a belt driven
setup or any lightweight system) you will find resonance is greatly
reduced by using the lowest possible PSU voltage, where the motor
inductance is maximised in effect. This gives the smoothest possible
step transitions, and slow resonant systems are one situation where a
correctly set up linear and "old fashioned" high inductance motor will
really out-perform the modern chopper driver.
Here are two charts showing typical motor resonances, these are fairly
typical high inductance motors and show how resonance is generally not
a problem after about 2 revs/second. With low inductance motors you
may still be having bad resonance problems even as high as 20 revs/
second.

Running your system with a variable voltage psu and testing for motor
speed and resonances you can determine the optimum psu voltage where
smoothest operation and less heat (low psu voltage) is obtained at a
psu voltage high enough to still give the desired torque at higher
speeds.
Tips for cool running!
* use the lowest PSU voltage possible
* use a large heatsink
* use fan cooling (3 inch PC fans are as cheap as $1 these days)
* fan cooling reduces heatsink size by 3x or 4x
* use a metal case as part of the heatsinking
* test for 1 hour minimum to measure the running temperature
* microstepping modes 1200 and 3600 are cooler than 200 mode
* use the low power mode during all wait periods
* keep transistors UNDER 50 degrees celcius at all times
----------------------------------------------------------------------Interfacing with CNC software
----------------------------------------------------------------------The inputs to the linistepper can be connected to a PC printer port,
or other 5v digital device. Be aware that the PC and the stepper motor
PSU and the +5v regulator must all share the same ground. As PC's have
a grounded case and PSU this is rarely a problem.
Some PC printer (parallel) ports only put out 3.5v when at logic
"high". The linistepper inputs require over 4v input for a logic
high, and under 1v to input a logic low. In some rare cases the PC
printer port will not output >4v and you may need to add 1000 ohm
resistors from each of the input pins to 5v. A simple test with a
voltmeter should confirm that your PC port voltages are within spec.
The linistepper uses a + going step clock. Each step occurs when the
step input goes from 0v to 5v. Set your CNC software for + going step.
Likewise set the direction input to give the correct direction
motor rotation. If you can't change the direction in your CNC software
setup you can swap the two motor A phase wires with each other.

----------------------------------------------------------------------Changing step modes on the fly!

----------------------------------------------------------------------The linistepper provides the feature where you can change between step
modes on the fly, ie as the motor is running. This allows you to use
200 or 400 steps for fast transits and then change to 1200 or 3600
steps
for final positioning.
This
that
in
step
sure

is an advanced feature and has some drawbacks, the main one is

your controlling software must be responsible to track the change
resolution. I don't suggest using this feature unless you are
that you can do this without losing track of the step position.

The basic rule:

Make sure the driver is on a valid microstep for the mode you set,
BEFORE you change to that mode.
ie; if you are in 3600 step mode and you want to change to 1200 step
mode, you must first be on a valid microstep for the 1200 step mode.
These valid steps are every 3rd microstep, so when changing from 3600
mode to 1200 mode you must be on the 0,3,6,9, etc step.
The valid steps for each mode are shown here:
Mode
Valid steps
3600
all 72 microsteps; 0 to 71
1200
every 3rd step (mod 3) steps; 0,3,6,9 up to 69
400
only 8 valid steps;
4, 13, 22, 31, 40, 49, 58, 67
200
only 4 valid steps;
9, 27, 45, 63
So if you are changing from 3600 step mode to 200 step mode, you must
first position the motor on either the 9, 27, 45 or 63 microstep, as
these are the only valid steps for the 200 mode, and THEN you can
change
to the 200 step mode.
If you don't position on a valid step before changing mode, the driver
will LOSE or GAIN steps when it re-synchronises in the new mode. This
results in a step error, which is also continued when the mode is
changed
back or changed again.
When the linistepper powers up, it is on step 0. The user software is
required to count steps forward and back and always track which of the
72 possible steps the driver is at. If your CNC software can't do this
modulus 72 tracking then don't change modes on the fly!
There are further complications starting in 200 or 400 modes.
If starting in either of these modes, the step will be 0, which is
a non-valid step. The PIC will add 9 or 18 microsteps for each step
signal. The driver will be on invalid steps until the cycle loops.
That will occur in one step if the first step is backward, otherwise
it will take 4 steps forward in 200 mode, or 8 steps forward in 400

mode to re-synchronise onto valid steps.

So, do not change modes on the fly unless;
1. you know how to track and sync the steps, or,
2. you don't care about losing some steps :o)
It is possible to re-write the PIC software to address these issues and
keep track of the step offsets internally, but I really can't be
bothered
as the modulus 72 tracking still needs to be done in the OTHER software
(the PC side). :o)

How it Works
History.
Cheap microstepping drivers seemed to be nonexistant.
I quickly made up a board that would suit my hobby needs and be
able to drive most motors fairly accurately and powerfully,
with cheap non-specialist parts (no stepper ICs).
Block Diagram;
+5v to +32v --------------------,
(depends on motor and
|
what speeds required)
|
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| motor common (power) wire
|
(motor must have 5,6,8 wires)
,---------*-------,
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,---*---,
,----*----,
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#
#
#
# 4 motor coils
A+ |
A- |
B+ |
B- | (arranged as 2 phases
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unipolar)
|
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+5v----,
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C
C
C
C
4 darlington power
brain-->---B
--B
--B
--B
transistors
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E
E
E
E
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^
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'---*---'
'----*----'
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2 current-sense
'-------<---- Rs
<-- Rs
resistors, one for
|
|
each phase
|
|
gnd -----------------*-----------------*------------------Basic design
It is a unipolar (or 5-wire type) driver. The motor must have
5 or 6 wires (or 8), as 4-wire motors are only for bipolar
and 4-WIRE MOTORS WILL NOT WORK WITH THIS BOARD.
The constant current system is crude but simple, it relies on
setting the base of the main transistors at a "set" level, then
this causes a "set" voltage across the sense resistor Rs, ie
maintains constant current. It does get some temp drift with
large currents, but it's simple and accurate enough with the
resistor values i've tested. It actually works quite well!
The brain has control of which of the 4 transistors are ON,
and sets 3 possible current levels, enough to do 6th stepping
and give 1200 steps/rev with hardware alone. The software I

have provided also will do pwm and give 18th stepping, which
is 3600 steps/rev, almost stepless operation.
The PIC has plenty of left over rom if you need to do motion
control or use the board as the complete brains and driver for
an entire machine. Up to 9 PIC in/out pins can be allocated to
the board.
Special Features
There is an RC filter in the linear microstepping circuitry that
will give fairly smooth "ramping" from one current level to the
next. At tuned speed this gives almost "sine like" smoothness and
quietness.
In all lower speeds, the linear current ramping does still have
some effect and ramps between steps more smoothly with less problems
from resonance and less ringing torque. Less ringing torque means
more available torque and quieter more powerful operation.
Circuit Diagram;

The circuit looks messy as it has provision to be wired in different

formats for different user requirements.
The 6th stepping needs 3 different current levels, and OFF,
and this is provided by 4 PIC outputs and some resistor ladders.
The value of resistors sets the 3 individual levels. This gives
1200 steps/rev in hardware alone, and software can modulate
between any two current levels to give "tween" steps chosen
in software. My software (supplied) does 200,400,1200,3600 steps.
C5 and C6 are the ramping capacitors.

Unipolar.
I chose this because it has advantage of making the circuit cheap
and much simpler and easier to build. Less parts, less soldering,
etc etc. Also a motor run as unipolar has half the inductance of
the bipolar wiring and can perform better at higher speeds.
It is also the configuration of most cheap "surplus" stepper
motors, etc etc.
Constant current?
Constant current is needed to set the small current levels needed
for microstepping. It also allows good high speed motor operation.
The board controls the current through the motor coils, regardless
of motor voltage or power supply voltage.
You can connect a number of different motors that have different
ohms etc, and the board will run them at the same (set) current.

6th stepping is done in hardware

Microstepping
Uses combinations of the 3 available current levels to give 6th
stepping, or 6 times as many steps as the motor has in full-step
mode. Additional software control by the PIC gives 3600 steps!
Good for science/robot motors to move in 0.1 degree increments.
(The stepper motor itself will not position accurately down to
one 3600th of a turn, but there is still good useful positioning
and many other benefits gained from the increased smoothness.)
Microstepping has less noise, and less resonance allowing
operation to very high motor speeds. If you have only used full
step and half step drivers before you will really enjoy
microstepping. If you write custom PIC software you can get
infinite angle control by controlling the 2 motor currents with
software pwm.
Linear?
Many people don't like them, and they are definitely not
fashionable in these days of throwaway bubblejet printers with
tiny stepper chips like the UCN5804.
But, linear stepper drivers give very good MOTOR performance,
especially when you need to accelerate to high motor speeds or
need smooth "stepless" operation at very low speeds. Torque ripple
from voltage chopping is removed, also gone is the supply ripple

from chopper recirculating currents. Expensive high-speed highcurrent diodes are not needed. Eddy currents and copper losses,
and recirculating diode losses are reduced and the motor gets
LESS heating with linear than with a chopper supply, although the
driver gets more. :o)
Yes this driver does get hot, and needs a heatsink!
But I designed this for my needs, ie to be adaptable to any new
motor needs I have from 200mA floppy motors that need fine
microstepping, to large 2A motors etc. I thought it was better
to have "one board does all" than to use the expensive and
tiny stepper chips.
Think "large audio amp"...
- Linear is a great way of getting an exact-shaped high freq
current into something inductive like a speaker or motor.
Current Ramping
A benefit of linear, the analog current control has an RC network,
giving a "ramp" from one current step to the next.
Ramping rate between steps is selectable by the capacitor size.
Ramping is much better than hard edged steps, and reduces
excitation energy that causes "singing" and resonance. With ramping,
more of the motor energy is converted to forward rotation, unlike
the "two steps forward one step back" effect of hard ringing steps.
The ramping can be tuned for main operating speed to give almost
stepless operation and very quiet and smooth rotation. Analog ramping
takes no PIC processor time and can be set VERY slow so even slow
motor speeds like 0.5 rps can be made smooth!
No other cheap stepper driver does this!
|
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|-----|
|-----|
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|
----|
|-----|
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Normal stepper driver.
(jerky, overshoots, resonant, noisy, reduced torque)
/-\

/
\

\
\-/

/
/

/-\

/
\

\
/
\-/

\
\

With simple analog ramping.

(more "stepless", less overshoot, smoother better torque)
Here are the actual waveforms
(Shown is the DC current through the 2 motor phases. 1A = 2 vert div)

3 current levels, 1200 steps, no ramping (normal microstepping)

3 current levels, 1200 steps, with linear ramping!

9 current levels, 3600 steps, with linear ramping!

That is a "sine-like" wave for almost stepless operation.
Operation of the constant current circuit:
Example: If voltage at point Vx is 2v (by the voltage divider),
Rsense is at (2v-1v)=1v.
If Rsense is 1 ohm the current is fixed at 1A as shown:
+12v dc
+5v ---------,
|
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,------,
| Stepper
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| coil
|
| 4.5v out |
|
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|------,
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| PIC |
R1 Rp
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| brain|
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C
NPN Darlington

|
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'------'

Vx *---*--B
(1V b-e)
2v |
2v E
|
| 1v
,--*
|
| |
|
C R2
R current
| |
| sense
'--*
| 1v / 1ohm = 1amp
|
|
|
|
gnd ----------*--------*--------------The capacitor across R2 gives the current ramping. No it's not
perfect ramping, but for a cheap simple solution it works ok.
With 6th stepping, the cap is always charged at the last level,
so when the step occurs the volts ramp smoothly to the next level.
Rp holds the transistor JUST off (at 0% current) when the PIC is
not sending an output, so any signal from the PIC will
proportionately increase the current past the zero point.
In this way the PIC sets 4 main currrent levels;
* 0% current
* 25% current
* 55% current
* 100% current
To make these levels tuneable I have provided a small prototype
area on the board where you can make resistance values by combining
two resistors in series. The resistor values I have chosen are to
give the currents above, give or take a few percent.
The hardware microstepping alone gives 1200 step operation.
In software the PIC can do modulation between any 2 of these levels,
giving "tween" current levels of any amount.

Questions:

cvermandere~NOSPAM~ at juno.com asks:

I noticed that on the control board the pin next to the mode pins is labeled 'low
power', while on the pulse generator board the power pin is 'Hi power'? I was
trying to figure out what these pins were for and came upon the explanation that
the 'high' pin is to give a 1 or On signal...how is using this pin different from
connecting to the +5 volts? -Is the 'low power' pin the inverse: for an off or 0
signal? Hope my questions don't seem too amateurish.
James Newton replies: Sorry for the confusion, your question is very valid. When
the low power pin is connected to ground (which is the same as saying "0" or
"off" or "low") then the Linistepper will be in Low Power mode. When it is
connected to +5 volts (which is the same as "1" or "on" or "high") then the
Linistepper will be in full power mode.+

Looks good will try it out

also see possable use as 3 phase inverter driver??
James Newton replies: Possibly. Please let us know if it works out for you.+
+

How big must the capicitator over r2 be??? James Newton replies: That depends
on the size of R2 and the ramp you wish to create.+
+

how to design a stepper motor that would complete one revolution in one day(24
hrs)? James Newton replies: You would need an accurate timebase such as a
clock, and then a divider that would produce one step pulse every so many clock
pulses. For example, with a 1 second pulse from the clock, a 200 step / revolution
stepper motor, and the controller set for 1200 step (or 6th microstepping) you
would need to divide the clock pulse by 72 (producing one step pulse per 72 clock
pulses) in order to turn the stepper motor one revolution per day. Since the
linistepper is an open source project, if are yourself or you have access to an
experienced PIC assembly language programmer, these functions could be added
to the chip in the linistepper itself. Or they could be developed externally in
hardware or in software using existing programmable hardware.+
+

jacknjean~NOSPAM~ at wilkins.net asks:

Hi,
I really like your way of thinking on stepper motor control. I started out getting
involved in model railroading, but my eyes have gotten so poor at age 66 that I
decided to convert my small Myford lathe into a mill so I could drill holes more
accurately. Then I started thinking about adapting CNC to it. This would allow
me to program for repeat hole patterns etc.
What I want to know is if it is possible to adapt a 555 timer chip so I could have
manual control for a small mill job or just to have a rapid traverse? This would
also require direction control. Also, what provisions do you have for limit
switches and home position? Thanks so much. Jack
James Newton replies: While your 555 mod should be possible, I would think this
would be better supported via the PC software. Turbo CNC and others support
joystick or mouse interfaces that run the motors under your manual control. Limit
and home switches are also best supported by the software.+

rmustakos~NOSPAM~ at att.net asks:

Very nice! I have a question about the tuning of the linearity of the C-R2 circuit
for different stepping speeds. If I put a digital pot between the C and the Base
junction with R2, will that vary the charge time and let me tune on the fly?
R(digital pot) would vary with step time and inverse with step size (longer time
between steps == lower R, smaller steps == higher R).
Thanks
RM
James Newton replies: I would imagine so...
+

Aldershof-MSII~NOSPAM~ at Prodigy.net asks:

Looks like what I need, but first -- a bit of guidance. I want to drive and control,
remotely, three needle valves. The inputs would be three potentiometers, giving
some kind of voltage input to your control boards. Each board would control a
stepper motor, geared or otherwise connected to a needle valve shaft. Turning the
potentiometers from zero to max. would then turn the needle valves from fully
closed to fully open.
This is obviously a low-power application, but will require fast response and
frequent changes, up and down. The system will be in continuous duty, over a
period of hours. I don't see any need for mode changes; we would presumably set
it permanently in microstepping mode.
Questions:
1. Is this feasible, as it appears to be?
2. What would be the appropriate voltage to apply across the input potentiometer,
and exactly how would that be applied to the control board inputs?
3. Recognizing that a needle valve requires several revolutions from fully closed
to fully opened, how would the input voltage range be converted into several
stepper revolutions? Would it be necessary to use gears, or can zero-to-max input
produce, say, four full stepper revolutions?
4. Am I on the wrong track here? Is there a simpler and cheaper way to
accomplish what I am trying to do?
Thanks for your advice. BTW, your presentation here seems outstanding,
remarkably complete, and very clear. The apparent quality of your kit, and the
user guidance, are excellent.

Kent
James Newton replys:
Answers by the number:
1. Sure
2. The linistepper (as is) does not respond to an analog signal but rather to
step and direction digital inputs. You would have to either A) Change the
programming of the on board PIC microcontroller to use an A/D converter
and read the signal then generate step and direction commands for the
existing stepper controler code, which you CAN do because Roman has
made this an open source project, or B) build some other controler that
translates the analog voltages into step and direction commands. A PIC or
SX would be fine for doing that. Probably even a basic stamp.
3. See the answer to #2. But there is no limit on the rotation of the steppers.
4. It depends on what you really need. I think you are looking for a servo
based system rather than steppers, because some servos can adjust position
based on an analog input and it is easy to convert an analog input into the
pulse width signal that standard servos accept, but the cost of a servo that
is strong enough will probably be higher than the cost of a stepper and
controller. Servos include feedback (which is not usually necessary with a
stepper), electronics and gearing which increase the cost. Also, I haven't
seen a servo that would do more than about 180' (they may exist, I just
haven't seen one) so that requires gearing as you suspect. Finally, you may
find that a simple 1:1 relationship between the analog input and the valve
position is not what you actually need. In that case, haveing a
microcontroller in there would allow you to vary the valve position as you
wish.

How to build it! Assembly Instructions for the Kit.

You need the usual small electrical tools and soldering iron with FINE tip, preferably
temperature controlled. Although assembly is very simple and clearly laid out, it is
expected that you have good soldering skills and some experience with closely packed
circuit boards.
* HEATSINK! Cut and drill the alloy heatsink bracket
Please note that this is the heatsink bracket and is not a heatsink itself. A (much) larger
heatsink should be clamped to the bracket.
CAUTION: The Linistepper requires suitable, large heatsinking. Such as standard
chunky aluminum/alloy heatsinks with fins. For additional heat dissipation use a
bigger heatsink with extra fins, or even add a small computer fan to remove the
excess heat. (steel is not a suitable heatsink)
Use 25mm x 25mm x 3mm alloy angle, available at any hardware store. US size is 1" x
1" x 1/8". You need 100mm (4") length for larger motors like 1A and above, but can use
a shorter piece (like the same width of the board) for smaller motors. See the picture for
the 100mm example. Thanks to George Richards for sending along his PDF bracket
cutting guide

Drill 4 holes to suit the 4 PCB holes, use the PCB as a template held against the alloy and
use a ballpoint pen to mark the holes. See the picture for the positioning of the bracket.
Drill the 4 holes 3mm or 1/8 inch diameter.

Drill 2 or 3 more holes on the other wall of the angle bracket which allow it to be bolted
to the heatsink. Small motors may not need the additional heatsink, the bracket might be
enough once mounted in a metal box etc.

With a 1A motor you need a big heatsink, about 1.5'C/watt as a minimum size, (that is
about 400g weight (a pound) of alloy) It will be cheaper to use a smaller heatsink and a
cheap computer fan (fans available for under $2 these days). Remember to heat-test your
heatsink for at least 1/2 hour at full power to make sure that the 4 main transistors don't
get over 25'C rise (not over 45'C total).
* Check all the bits are there
Check through the parts and compare to the parts list to see if there are parts missing,
damaged or exchanged for different types. If you are building a special version of the
board, like a high current one that needs different resistors, make sure you have the extra
parts before you start. * Inspect the board
Check the board is ok, check for broken tracks, filled solder holes etc.
Part Package

Description

Q1-4 TIP122

Power transistors

Q5-8 TO-92

Switching Transistors

PIC Microcontroller
IC1

DIP 18
Socket

R1-2 3 Watt

Power Resistors

R3-6

not
supplied

used to tune for higher power

R731

1/4 Watt

Resistors

C1

big radial

470uF Electrolytic Capacitor

C2,4 Disk

22pF CapacitorsNo longer needed or supplied

C3

10 to 22uF Tantalum Electrolytic Capacitor

blob

C5,6 disk/blobs

2.2 to 4.7uF Electrolytic Capacitors

D1-6 axial glass

1N4148 Diodes

XT1 blue disk

ceramic resonatorNow a three lead

resonator(eliminates C2 and C4)
Misc: Nuts, bolts, washers, mica insulators,
heatsink greasepin headers, connectors, etc...

This means resistors and diodes mainly.

Resistors
The resistors come in two types, 4 band and 5 bands, referring to the number of colors on
the bands. The kit may come with 5 band metal film resistors, 1% tolerance. Make sure
you get the resistor values right BEFORE soldering them in!

Do them in blocks of 4 or 5, the way the board is layed out. Insert the 4 resistors, put the
colours the same way around making them easier to read, and splay the legs a bit to hold
them in. Then invert the board and solder them in, finishing by removing the excess legs
with fine point wire clippers.
Notice below the 6 "microstep tuning" resistors are mounted on a bit of an angle to
make them fit.

Diodes:There are 6 diodes, WATCH OUT the diodes are NOT all the same way around,
they are layed out like in the circuit diagram:
----|

|-|---

----|

|-|---

The diodes MUST be the correct way around.

PIC Chip
First solder in the socket, making sure the notch end of the socket goes toward the
OUTSIDE of the board. The socket and the PIC must be the correct way around!
Don't insert the PIC into the socket until the board is complete.

Oscillator/PIC parts
The PIC has a 16 MHz ceramic resonator which is now supplied as a three lead unit that
does not require the 2 small 22pF caps C2 and C4. Insert the the resonator, keeping the
writing on the parts pointed out so you can read it.
Capacitors
Insert the tantalum cap C3 next to the PIC. It MUST be in the correct way around, the
+ lead (which is the longer lead; the mark is hard to read on the cap) goes toward
the board edge.
Other caps
The two small caps (C5,C6) and large electro cap (C1) can be inserted next. All these

caps MUST be inserted the correct way around! In each case the + of the cap goes
towards the big transistors.
Connector pins
Make sure these are cut into 2 strips of 7 pins, and solder in as shown in the picture
above. These have a low melting point, and must be soldered QUICKLY with a clean
soldering iron tip and fresh solder. It may help to clamp the pins with a metal clamp etc
to keep them cool when soldering.
Small transistors
The 4 small transistors Q5,6,7,8 are inserted as shown on the board itself. Don't push
them all the way down, leave about 4mm of legs above the board. Solder each one by one
leg only to start with, and then you can straighten them and make them look neat before
soldering the other legs.
* The big transistors need special attention
Once the flat parts are all done you can do the fiddly stuff, of which the most fiddly are
the power transistors.
* mount the heatsink bracket to the board with 2 bolts, the outside two. The bracket goes
on TOP of the board.

* once the bracket is secured, it's time for the 2 middle transistors to go in;

tiny blob of heatsink grease on the bracket where the transistor will go.
cut the clear mica insulator to size, see picture

place insulator on blob

another blob on top of insulator
bend transistor legs NOT QUITE 90 DEGREES (see picture)

place transistor in correct spot and add the bolt, nut and washer (see picture)
solder legs before final tighten of the bolt

* Do the middle 2 transistors first, the outer 2 after.

IMPORTANT!
After insterting all 4 of the power transistors make sure the clear mica washers and
cream insulator washers are in correctly. This can be checked by testing that the
metal tag of the transistors ARE NOT CONNNECTED to the alloy heatsink bracket
(use an ohm meter).
Next are the big 3W resistors
mount these about 6mm above the board to keep them cooler, and also this provides a
place to attach the CRO leads if you wish to view the current waveform.
IMPORTANT!
You must add two 470 ohm resistors on the bottom of the board and these must be
added exactly as shown in this photo (bend and cut the leads to suit and then solder);

Finally you should have a completed board!

Check the board carefully with the photos and board layout diagram. Be sure to check the
following:

capacitors are the correct way around

right resistors in the right places
power transistors NOT shorted to heatsink!!
PIC chip inserted with "notch" toward the board edge

Hopefully it will look something like this:

Now you can move on to using the board and keeping it cool. at
http://www.piclist.com/io/stepper/linistep/lini_use
We very much recommend using our Linistepper "4 AXIS / Mode / 555 / PWR" kit to
drive the Linistepper.
Questions:

SPAMandreas at kaenner.de asks: " what are the two 470 Ohm resistors for? I
can't find them in the circuit diagram." +They are added to the bottom of the
board, as shown in the picture above (second to last photo) This was a
modification that was added to improve function after the PCB's where already
made.
Dale askes: "James, I'm stumped. Resistors R18/19 thru R28/29 don't seem to
match the circuit diagram with the the pictures on the web site. I have enough
parts to populate the board but the resistors would have to be vertical, the picture
looks like only half of the resistors are used??? Please advise."
The extra holes and resistors shown on the circuit are actually a prototyping
area, as using two resistors lets you fine tune the microstep currents. For the
standard currents of 1200 steps I was able to choose resistor values using 1%
resistors that give good current settings. But this is a design that can be used for
more than one setup, and hence the extra holes let you tune microstep currents by
putting 2 resistors in series to get in-between resistor values.
There are also extra holes for the large resistors, to allow the use of extra power
resistors in parallel. This enables tuning the MAIN current, ie the 100% value
that all the microstep currents are based upon.
Thank you for pointing that out... It does need to be made a bit clearer. In the
instructions that Roman wrote, the board layout picture was not included, only
the actual photos of the board. At the suggestion of another person, I added the
board layout picture, which had not been updated since the change. I have now
updated the board layout picture that should correct the confusion, but your
question and this answer should be of use as well.

How to "tune" it to suit special needs!

It was never my intention to make the "worlds best stepper driver"... The
linistepper was designed for my own use, and where it lacks some precision and
energy efficiency it IS well suited for many hobby and low power industrial tasks.
The main aim in the design was to provide a cheap platform that can accept common and
cheap power transistors and use a PIC to do the "hard work" of current control and
microstepping. It is very versatile and can be "tuned" for many different applications.
When properly tuned it will out-perform any microstep driver in a similar price
range, and even outperform many expensive high-end drivers in specific
applications.

General Issues
Current control.
The linistepper is a constant current driver, ie it CONTROLS the amount of current
through each motor coil.
Microstepping requires that TWO separate current levels are controlled, one for each
motor phase. I used simple current control, based on the voltage Vbe of the power
transistors, as this system has worked well for me in the past and is simpler than a closed
loop system typically using op amps etc.
The system I chose is fairly easy for a beginner to understand, and more importantly,
adapt to their own needs. And it uses minimum parts count. :o)
The current control system I chose does have some drawbacks;

some heat sensitivity

some voltage sensitivity
power loss (heat) on the current sense resistors

Heat sensitivity
The transistor characteristics change with junction temperature, so the transistors perform
differently when hot. When the transistors are cold the current will be 5% to 10% less
than the "tuned" current at the typical operating temperature of 45 degrees celcius.
I have chosen resistor values that give decent microstepping accuracy when the
transistors are at operating temperature, ie I have "tuned" the thing hot as you would
expect. :o)
Normally this is not a problem, as the microstepping angular accuracy of the motor itself
is rarely within 5%.

If you have specific needs for high accuracy, and you have special- purpose high
angular accuracy motors, you can adjust the resistors for a specific temperature range
and then keep the driver in that temp range to suit.
For most apps this is really not necessary, the linistepper will be a few percent low in
current when cold and soon drift to a close- enough current when at operating
temperature.
Voltage sensitivity
This is a very small problem. If you vary the psu voltage by a large amount the current
will drift a small percentage. The typical 10% or so that a psu droops voltage under load
will generally cause less than 1% change in current. In most cases this can be totally
ignored.
Power loss in the sense resistors
Again this is a very small problem. My design calls for 1v across the sense resistors when
the phase is at 100% current. It is easy to see and tune phase "current" on the CRO. At
phase currents of 1A, and using resistors of 1 ohm, each resistor will dissipate a
maximum of 1W.
Average dissipation (ie a running motor) will be about 0.7 volts per resistor, (ie 0.7W)
and the kit contains 3W resistors which will run at a reliable temperature.
This may become an issue when tuning the linistepper for higher-current motors, more
about that later.

Thermal Runaway!
As the transistors heat up to their normal operating temperature the current will increase a
few percent.
If you don't have enough heatsinking and the transistors get TOO HOT it is possible for
the driver to go into thermal runanway where the transistors are destroyed and possibly
your motor too.
This is typical of linear amps, and some designers use temperature sensors mounted close
to the heatsink that will shut down the device if it gets too hot. I chose the simple,
minimum parts count solution where you simply use a big enough heatsink and forget
about it. :o)
It is IMPORTANT to run the motor at a standstill for one hour at FULL
CURRENT and measure the temperature of the transistors. As the system will draw from
50% current to 100% current depending on what microstep it is on, the only way to do
this is set the driver to 200 step mode (full step mode) where it always draws 100%
current through BOTH COILS. This is your worst case current load.

As the motor properties are known, if it is heatsunk adequately for this one hour test it
will be reliable long term and you won't have to worry about this again.
NEVER assume that because it runs cool for 10 minutes the heatsink is big enough!!
Also make sure the operating conditions are typical, ie; allow for a hot summer
environment. :o)
If the transistors fail, they will fail short circuit and expose your motor to excessive
current, which depends on your psu voltage and may be a few times the normal phase
current. This is enough to cook the motor if left unattended.
Simple solutions are:

A slow-blow fuse rated about 2.5x the max normal phase current (if motor is 1
amp/phase use a 2.5 amp slow blow fuse placed before the linistepper) Fuses are
always a good idea!

Thermal switch (goes open circuit at rated temperature) are available in a few
packages. Attach a 80 degree celcius or thereabouts thermal switch close to the
transistors. This is worthwhile if your motors are expensive, even though the
switch will only ever activate in a severe fault situation.

In most cases a simple fuse and a TESTED HEATSINK will give all the reliability you
require. Remember the number one rule: Keep the transistors under 50 degrees
celcius!
Please don't let my "idiot proof warnings" put you off the linistepper. It WILL be
reliable, providing you understand the basic concept of heatsinking and do the
simple one hour test. :o)

Changing Current
The linistepper kit is supplied with 1 ohm sense resistors. These will give 1 amp per
motor phase (2 amps max).
Tuning the motor current is easy;
current = 1 / ohms
1 ohm = 1 amp/phase (the 1 ohm resistors are supplied with the kit)
2 ohms = 0.5 amp/phase
3 ohms = 0.333 amp/phase
0.667 ohms = 1.5 amp/phase (maximum!)
etc.

Remember to tune current with the driver transistors at the expected operating
temperature, normally about 45 degrees celcius or 113 F.
A simple trick!
The reciprocal nature of the sense resistors means that it is easy to add resistors in parallel
to give the required current.
The circuit board has provision to add up to 3 resistors in parallel, to allow fine tuning of
motor current.
If you have 1 ohm resistors, ie 1 amp/phase and you desire phase current of 1.1 amps,
you can simply add a pair 10 ohm resistors AS WELL AS the original 1 ohm resistors to
give total 1.1 amps. The 10 ohm resistors simply ADD another 0.1 amp. :o)
This calculator can help you find the resistors to combine for any desired current.
Target current

1.5

Amps

Tolerance on search

Percentage
(Results show in new window)

This Electronics design utility finds sets of resistor, using standard values which, when
paralleled together, give your target current value.
----------------------------------------------------------------------Tuning For High Currents!
----------------------------------------------------------------------The standard parts supplied with the linistepper kit are good for 1.5
amps/phase maximum. That is a total motor current of 3 amps.
(note 1.5A will require the purchase of a pair of 2 ohm 1W resistors)
This is enough for most 23 frame (and smaller) motors provided they are
high inductance motors. Motor type can usually be confirmed by the
ratio
between rated coil volts and amps (written on motor).

Typical high-inductance motors:

12v 0.6A (per phase)
5v 1A
3.5v 1.5A (etc)
Typical low-inductance motors:
2v 3A
1.8v 4.7A (etc)
The low inductance motors CAN be used with the linistepper but are not
very efficient and the linistepper will waste lots of heat. It is also
possible you have BIG motors, ie 34 frame or bigger, and because of the
huge motor size they simply require larger currents.
If you require currents greater than 1.5A/phase you will need to
change some parts values in the linistepper.
The main transistors are rated for max 5A. They CAN be used for
motor currents of up to 5 amps/phase. (You can even purchase darlington
transistors the same physical size good for over 10 amps!)
However using currents greater than 1.5A/phase will cause some
headaches;
*
*
*
*
*

heat sensitivity increases (more temp drift)

much larger heatsink will be needed (more heat)
sense resistors will need to be larger wattage type (more heat)
microstepping tuning resistors need to be changed
you will need electronics skills and test equipment!

I won't go into great detail here but it is viable to get up to

3A/phase
from the linistepper but currents of 5A/phase etc are not very
sensible.
The bulk of the problems arise from the increased thermal effects on
the
transistor Vbe junction, and base drive current (darlington beta).
The effects of this are that the microstep currents become less
accurate,
and changes in microstep currents from cold to hot become much greater.
It is quite viable to run 5A/phase or more, IF you do not require great
microstep accuracy.
If you only require full stepping (which has no microstep current
levels)
you can use whatever currents the transistors will tolerate. This
requires
using lower value sense resistors, to reduce heat losses on the
resistors,
and some attention to the voltages supplied to the transistor bases by
the
PIC and base resistors.
Likewise the hi-torque half stepping mode only requires 2 current
levels

per phase; 100% and 40%, and you should be able to get high currents in
that mode with acceptable heat range accuracy.
You can get 3A/phase AND microstepping if you reduce the values of R14R17
and change the values of R18-R29 to give the correct phase currents.
Make sure you understand how the hardware microstepping works;
click here for how it works
and I also suggest having a test setup to run the motor in 1200 step
mode
at about 2 revs/second so you can see the hardware microstep levels on
the
CRO. I also suggest reducing the voltage on the sense resistors so that
100% phase current equals about 0.5v on the sense resistors and yes
that
means living with more temperature drift so tuning at rated temperature
becomes more critical.
So YES it can be done, and you can get 3A/phase or more AND
microstepping,
but you need to know what you are doing. Considering that 3A/phase
microstep drivers cost $200 USD and more, and these still do not
provide
the linear current ramping of the linistepper, it can be worth the
effort.
I have seen 3A/phase microstepping ramped drivers costing $500 USD.
----------------------------------------------------------------------Microstepping Tuning!
----------------------------------------------------------------------One of the great advantages of the linistepper is that it has "brains
on
board".
If you can write PIC software, the PIC has enough processing power to
do
any microstep mode you choose, all the way up to infinite step angle or
"soft stepping". This can be very useful for systems that require fine
angular adjustment like camera pan/tilt setups which have a camera
glued
to the end of a motor shaft. Obviously 200 steps/rev gives clunky
camera
movement but the PIC has unlimited control of phase current through
software PWM and can move the camera to ANY possible angle.
The software I have provided does 200/400/1200/3600 steps/rev with a
standard 200 step motor. Only the 3600 mode uses software pwm, the
other
3 modes use microstepping currents determined by hardware, specifically
resistors R14 to R29 balanced against the Vbe performance of the main
transistors.

Excitation energy represents the energy lost as the motor "jumps"

jerkily
from one step to the next. The smaller the microstep, the smoother and
better the motor performance.
It is possible to change these resistor values (and change PIC
software)
to give other microstepping modes.
Popular microstepping modes are 800 steps (quarter) and 1600 steps.
800 can be done with hardware alone, but 1600 steps will probably
require
software pwm. This may be worthwhile if your CNC software requires one
of these microstepping modes.
If you need slow performance with minimum resonance (a common need)
then
the PIC can be reprogrammed easily to give 7200 or 10800 steps/rev with
simple changes to the step table structure in the software. Coupled
with
the hardware current ramping capacitors, this will give almost totally
smooth motor rotation even at the slowest speeds. This is rare even in
the expensive commercial drivers.
With the ability to change component values and PIC software the
linistepper will suit a huge range of applications from hobby robot
motor
drive to super-smooth motion control.
There is plenty of program memory still available in the PIC to do
indexing, motion control and even complete machine control from the one
small circuit board.
-end

Interested:

Questions:

TakeThisOuTfernandezl at gmail.com asks: " Its posible changing the power

resistors to make linistepper compatible with motors from old disk? they are rated
150ma.
" James Newton replies: Sure... Just put .150 amps into the calculator on this
page and it will give you the correct values for the resistor.+
+

TakeThisOuTtony_joy114 at yahoomail.com asks:

Can you explain me really the difference between bipolar chopper and linear
stepper drivers and why linear stepper drivers more significant. How smooth the
operation can be. show me how linear operation does work.
James Newton replies: Please see: How it works and How smooth is smooth?.+

Linistepper Modifications
Also: Gallery
Since the Linistepper is an open source project, users can easily modify the code or
hardware to support thier needs. A few have taken the time to share thier favorite mods:
Max Ries: two modes (3600 and 400 step/rev) w/ on the fly switching and available IO.
OCNC says:
I made a mechanical modification to the Linistepper by installing 3-position female
headers (digikey S7036-ND) where the TIP 122's go. I then took the heatsink from a
Masscool CPU Cooling Fan (tigerdirect item #S457-1111) and drilled and tapped four
holes into it at 1/2" centers and 9/16" up from the edge. I also drilled and tapped two
holes on the fin surface of the heatsink (lies coplanar with the circuit board). These holes
line up with the two outer TIP holes and are 19/32" from the heatsink edge (same edge
that the TIP holes are referenced from). They also are drilled and tapped to a depth to
penetrate two fins. The stand off's were cut from 1/4" aluminum tubing to a finish length
of 9/16". The screws used are all #4-40.
The ones holding the TIP's down are 3/8" long and the two for the stand off's are 1" long.
Following the best mechanical practise I used a lock washer and flat washer under the
head of each screw. Belleville washers are recommended for the TIP's but they seem too
expensive at $.50 each so I used split ring. I rubbed the backs of the TIP's on a sharp file
to get the best contact surface possible. I also filed the mating heatsink surface and then
polished it with some steel wool. In place of mica and paste I used Berquist silicone heat
pads (digikey BER220-ND). With 1A steppers at 24V I'm unable to detect by touch any
heat rise in the TIP's.
I feel that this is a better solution than the bracket that the kit suggests because it
eliminates a heat transfer junction and it allows for very easy replacement of the TIP's.
Also if you have to drill and prepare a piece of angle for a bracket why not just do the
same right on a fan cooled heatsink? The small cost of the additional parts seems
insignificant compared to the utility of the final product.

J.R. Hatcher says:

I included a few pictures, one is my invention to hold the board while soldering, it's fast
because it's just laying in the groove very loose, yet it holds it flat and off the table.

Posix says:
Well folks I have completed my drivers, the knee-mill and I can tell you that linistepper
and dremel can dig into a piece of pine like hot knife through butter! I just did some
engraving on the back piece of a pcb and it works nice. I even made a mistake of
inputting -2mm rather than -0.2mm and it just dug into the pcb and started writing. So I
can conclusively say that linistepper with 1.2A step-syn motors works like a charm! I'm
using a 12v ATX PSU and an additional $5 12v computer case fan is blowing across the
linistepper to provide some fresh air to those alu coolers.
I can tell you that at 200 steps you get your standard driver with all the buzzing and
vibrations of any other full step driver. 400 improves somewhat and brings a smile to a
newbie.
1200 is where the action begins and a big grin materialises on anyones face who is used
to steppers buzzing and jumping and vibrating. If anyone say the gecko video of mariss
drawing that spiral will immediately know what I'm talking about.
The linistepper really is good value for money, whether you build it or buy it from
piclist.com. The reason I didn't buy mine from james are twofold, first they would've
gotten "lost in the post" and second educational value. For someone who burns their
fingers on a soldering iron regularly then, by all means, purchase a finished quality item
from james at piclist.
{Ed: Posix has made his own linistepper PCBs since he likes to do that sort of thing. The
Linistepper is an open source project and I enjoy seeing people take advantage of that
when they are able. Posix was also kind enough to share his board files (done in Eagle)
and I've agreed to host them here. If you aren't big on makeing your own PCBs, do keep
in mind that we sell the PCB for less than you can pay a board house to make them and
the kit of all parts (including the pre-programmed PIC) is less than what you can buy the
parts for from any supplier.