Chapter 1

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 1
SPECIAL OF ELECTRICAL
MACHINES
3/14/2022 4th year Electrical Department
Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 2
STEPPER MOTOR
3/14/2022 Chapter (1)
Stepper Motor
3
Stepper motors provide a means for precise positioning and

speed control without the use of feedback sensors. The basic
operation of a stepper motor allows the shaft to move a
precise number of degrees each time a pulse of electricity is
sent to the motor. Since the shaft of the motor moves only the
number of degrees that it was designed for when each pulse is
delivered, you can control the pulses that are sent and control
the positioning and speed.
The rotor of the motor produces torque from the interaction
between the magnetic field in the stator and rotor. The strength
of the magnetic fields is proportional to the amount of current
sent to the stator and the number of turns in the windings.
Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Stepper Motor
4
 The stepper motor uses the theory of operation for magnets

to make the motor shaft turn a precise distance when a
pulse of electricity is provided. You learned previously that
like poles of a magnet repel and unlike poles attract. Figure
1 shows a typical cross-sectional view of the rotor and stator
of a stepper motor.
 From this diagram you can see that the stator (stationary
winding) has eight poles, and the rotor has six poles (three
complete magnets). The rotor will require 24 pulses of
electricity to move the 24 steps to make one complete
revolution.

Stepper Motor
5
 Another way to say this is that the rotor will move precisely
15° for each pulse of electricity that the motor receives. The
number of degrees the rotor will turn when a pulse of
electricity is delivered to the motor can be calculated by
dividing the number of degrees in one revolution of the
shaft (360°) by the number of poles (north and south) in the
rotor. In this stepper motor 360° is divided by 24 to get 15º
 When no power is applied to the motor, the residual
magnetism in the rotor magnets will cause the rotor to detent
or align one set of its magnetic poles with the magnetic
poles of one of the stator magnets.

Stepper Motor
6
 This means that the rotor will have 24 possible detent

positions When the rotor is in a detent position, it will have
enough magnetic force to keep the shaft from moving to the
next position. This is what makes the rotor feel like it is
clicking from one position to the next as you rotate the rotor
by hand with no power applied.

Stepper Motor
7
Fig (1) Diagram that shows the position of the six-pole rotor and eight-pole stator of a
typical stepper motor

Stepper Motor
8
 When power is applied, it is directed to only one of the

stator pairs of windings, which will cause that winding pair
to become a magnet. One of the coils for the pair will
become the North Pole, and the other will become the South
Pole. When this occurs, the stator coil that is the North Pole
will attract the closest rotor tooth that has the opposite
polarity, and the stator coil that is the South Pole will attract
the closest rotor tooth that has the opposite polarity.
 When current is flowing through these poles, the rotor will
now have a much stronger attraction to the stator winding,
and the increased torque is called holding torque.

Stepper Motor
9
 By changing the current flow to the next stator winding, the

magnetic field will be changed 45°. The rotor will only move
15° before its magnetic fields will again align with the
change in the stator field.
 The magnetic field in the stator is continually changed as the
rotor moves through the 24 steps to move a total of 360°.
Figure 2 shows the position of the rotor changing as the
current supplied to the stator changes.

Stepper Motor
10
Fig (2) Movement of the

stepper motor rotor as
current is pulsed to the stator.
(a) Current is applied to the
A and A’ windings, so the A
winding is north, (b) Current is
applied to B and B’ windings,
so the B winding is north, (c)
Current is applied to the C
and C’ windings, so the C
winding is north, (d) Current is
applied to the D and D’
windings so the D winding is
north. (e) Current is applied
to the A and A’ windings, so
the A’ winding is north.

Stepper Motor
11
 In Fig. 2a you can see that when current is applied to the A

and A’ stator windings, they will become a magnet with the
top part of the winding being the North Pole, and the
bottom part of the winding being the South Pole. You should
notice that this will cause the rotor to move a small amount
so that one of its south poles is aligned with the north stator
pole (at A), and the opposite end of the rotor pole, which is
the north pole, will align with the south pole of the stator (at
A’).
 A line is placed on the south-pole piece so that you can
follow its movement as current is moved from one stator
winding to the next.

Stepper Motor
12
 In Fig. 2b current has been turned off to the A and A”

windings, and current is now applied to the stator windings
shown at the B and B’ sides of the motor. When this occurs,
the stator winding at the B’ position will have the polarity
for the south pole of the stator magnet, and the winding at
the B position will have the north-pole polarity. In this
condition, the next rotor pole that will be able to align with
the stator magnets is the next pole in the clockwise position
to the previous pole. This means that the rotor will only need
to rotate 15° in the clockwise position for this set of poles to
align itself so that it attracts the stator poles.

Stepper Motor
13
 In Fig. 2c you can see that the C and C’ stator windings are
again energized, but this time the C winding is the north
pole of the magnetic field and the C’ winding is the south
pole. This change in magnetic field will cause the rotor to
again move 15° in the clockwise position until its poles will
align with the C and C’ stator poles. You should notice that
the original rotor pole that was labeled 1 now moved three
steps in the clockwise position.

Stepper Motor
14
 In Fig.2d you can see that the D and D’ stator windings are
energized, the winding at D position is the north pole. This
change in polarity will cause the rotor to move another 15°
in the clockwise direction. You should notice that the rotor
has moved four steps of 15° each, which means the rotor
has moved a total of 60° from its original position. This can
be verified by the position of the rotor pole that has the line
on it, which is now pointing at the stator winding that is
located in the 2 o'clock position.

Stepper Motor
15
 In Fig.2e you can see that the A and A’ stator windings are
energized, the winding at A position is the south pole. This
change in polarity will cause the rotor to move another 15°
in the clockwise direction. You should notice that the rotor
has moved four steps of 15° each, which means the rotor
has moved a total of 75° from its original position. Thus the
sequence of energizing ABCDA will move the rotor in the
clockwise direction. It can be easily verified that for the
counter clockwise direction the sequence should be ADCBA.

Variable Reluctance Stepper Motors
16
 Fig (3) presents the basic circuit configuration of a typical 4-

phase, 2-pole, single-stack, variable reluctance stepper
motor. The stator is made of a single stack of steel
laminations with the phase windings wound around the stator
poles. The rotor is made of stack of steel laminations without
any windings. The main principle of operation depends on
aligning one set only of stator and rotor poles by

17
 energizing the stator windings. Therefore, the number of

poles in the stator and rotor windings has to be different.
The stator windings are energized by a DC source in such a
sequence to generate a resultant rotating air-gap field
around the rotor in steps. The rotor is made of ferromagnetic
material that provides a tendency to align the rotor axis
along the direction of the resultant air-gap field. Therefore,
the rotor tracks the motion of this stepped field

18
Fig (3) Basic circuit configuration of a typical 4-phase, 2-pole, single-stack, variable
reluctance stepper motor

19
 Fig (4) illustrates the different modes of operation of the 4-

phase, 2-pole, single-stack, variable reluctance stepper
motor for 45 ° step in the following energizing sequence A,
A+B, B, B+C, C, C+D,D, and then D+A. Then this switching
sequence is repeated. •
 Energizing winding A: The resultant air-gap flux will be
aligned along the axis of pole A windings. Consequently,
the rotor aligns itself along the phase A axis as shown in
the right upper part of Fig. 4. •

20
 Energizing windings A and B: The resultant air- gap flux will

be oriented in the midway between pole A and pole B
i.e., the resultant mmf rotated 45 ° in the clock wise
direction. Consequently, the rotor aligns itself with the
resultant mmf (45 °) as shown in the lower part of Fig. 4.
 Energizing winding B: The resultant air-gap flux will be
aligned along the axis of pole B windings. Consequently,
the rotor aligns itself along the phase B axis as shown in the
left part of Fig. 4.
 and so on. The direction of rotation can be reversed by
reversing the switching sequence to be A, A+D, D, D+C,C,
C+B, B, and then B+A. Then this switching sequence is
repeated.

21
C A
Fig (4) Operation modes of single-stack, 2-poles, variable reluctance stepper motor
with 45 ° step

22
 In this type, the motor is divided along its axis into a number
of stacks. Each stack is energized by a separate winding
(phase) as shown in Fig. 5. These stacks are magnetically
isolated from each other. The most common type is the three-
stack, three-phase motors; however, number of stacks and
phases up to seven are also available

23
Fig (5) Cross section view of a typical three-stack variable reluctance stepper motor

24
 These motors are characterized by have the same number

of teeth in each of the stator stacks as those in each of the
rotor stacks. However, the rotors teeth in the different stacks
are aligned while those in the stator stacks are not as shown
in Fig. 6.

25
Fig (6) Teeth position for a 3-phase, 4-pole, 12-teeth, three-stack, variable reluctance
stepper motor when phase a is energized

26
 Fig. 6 also illustrates the rotational sequence of a 3-phase,

4-pole, 12-teeth, three-stack, variable reluctance stepper
motor for 10 ° step in a clockwise direction according to the
following energizing sequence A, B, and C. Then this
switching sequence is repeated. •
 Energizing phase (stack) A: when stack A winding is
energized, the rotor teeth will move to align themselves with
the stator teeth is stack A as shown in Fig. 6. •
 Energizing phase (stack) B: when stack B winding is then
energized while stack A winding is de-energized, the rotor
teeth will move to align themselves with the stator teeth is
stack B . This will result in a clockwise rotation of the rotor
by 10 ° as shown in Fig. 6.

27
 Energizing phase (stack) C: when stack C winding is then

energized while stack B winding is de- energized, the rotor
teeth will move to align themselves with the stator teeth is
stack C . This will result in another clockwise rotation of the
rotor by 10 °. After this stage the rotor has moved one rotor
tooth pitch as illustrated by Fig. 6
 and so on.
 The direction of rotation can be reversed by reversing the
switching sequence. Assume that the total number of stacks
(phases) is N
 while the total number of teeth in each stack is x . The tooth
pitch (τp) can be expressed by

28
360°
τp =
x
 Moreover, the step size (∆θ )can be expressed by,
360°
∆θ =
xN
 Consequently, the number of steps per revolution (n) is given
by
360
°
=n = xN
∆θ
 As an example, for the motor in Fig. 6, x = 12 and N = 3
. Therefore
360° 360°
τ p = = 30°
=
x 12

29
360° 360°
θ
∆= = = 10°
xN 12 × 3
360°
=n = 36
10

30
Advantages
Simple construction- no brushes, commutator, or permanent magnets, no Cu or Al in the
rotor.
High efficiency and reliability compared to conventional AC or DC motors.
High starting torque.
Cost effective compared to bushless DC motor in high volumes.
Adaptable to very high ambient temperature.
Low cost accurate speed control possible if volume is high enough.
Disadvantages
Current versus torque is highly nonlinear
Phase switching must be precise to minimize ripple torque
Phase current must be controlled to minimize ripple torque
Acoustic and electrical noise
Not applicable to low volumes due to complex control issues

31
Advantages
Simple construction- no brushes, commutator, or permanent magnets, no Cu or Al in the
rotor.
High efficiency and reliability compared to conventional AC or DC motors.
High starting torque.
Cost effective compared to bushless DC motor in high volumes.
Adaptable to very high ambient temperature.
Low cost accurate speed control possible if volume is high enough.

32
 Disadvantages
 Current versus torque is highly nonlinear
 Phase switching must be precise to minimize ripple torque
 Phase current must be controlled to minimize ripple torque
 Acoustic and electrical noise
 Not applicable to low volumes due to complex control issues
 The rotor is a soft iron cylinder with salient (protruding) poles.
 This is the least complex, most inexpensive stepper motor.
 The only type stepper with no detent torque in hand rotation of a
de-energized motor shaft.
 Large step angle
 A lead screw is often mounted to the shaft for linear stepping
motion.
Permanent Magnet Stepper Motor
33
 The permanent-magnet stepper motor operates on the

reaction between a permanent-magnet rotor and an
electromagnetic field. Figure 6 shows a basic two-pole PM
stepper motor. The rotor shown in Figure 6(a) has a
permanent magnet mounted at each end. The stator is
illustrated in Figure 7(b). Both the stator and rotor are shown
as having teeth. The teeth on the rotor surface and the stator
pole faces are offset so that there will be only a limited
number of rotor teeth aligning themselves with an energized
stator pole.
34
 The number of teeth on the rotor and stator determine the

step angle that will occur each time the polarity of the
winding is reversed. Greater the number of teeth, smaller
the step angle. Figure 7
 When a PM stepper motor has a steady DC signal applied
to one stator winding, the rotor will overcome the residual
torque and line up with that stator field. The holding torque
is defined as the amount of torque required to move the
rotor one full step with the stator energized. An important
characteristic of the PM stepper motor is that it can maintain
the holding torque indefinitely when the rotor is stopped

35
Fig (7) Components of a PM stepper motor: (a) Rotor; (b) stator

36
 When no power is applied to the windings, a small magnetic

force is developed between the permanent magnet and the
stator. This magnetic force is called a residual, or detent
torque. The detent torque can be noticed by turning a
stepper motor by hand and is generally about one-tenth of
the holding torque.
 Figure 8(a) shows a permanent magnet stepper motor with
four stator windings. By giving pulses the stator coils in a
desired sequence, it is possible to control the speed and
direction of the motor. Figure 8(b) shows the timing diagram
for the pulses required to rotate the PM stepper motor
illustrated in Figure 8(a).
37
 This sequence of positive and negative pulses causes the

motor shaft to rotate counterclockwise in 90° steps The
waveforms of Figure 7(c) illustrate how the pulses can be
overlapped and the motor made to rotate counterclockwise
at 45° intervals.
 more recent development in PM stepper motor technology is
the thin-disk rotor. This type of stepper motor dissipates
much less power in losses such as heat than the cylindrical
rotor and as a result, it is considerably more efficient.
Efficiency is a primary concern in industrial circuits such as
robotics, because a highly efficient motor will run cooler and
produce more torque or speed for its size.
38
Fig (8) (a) PM stepper motor; (b) 90 step; (c) 45 step. Components of a PM stepper
motor: (a) Rotor; (b) stator
39
 Thin-disk rotor PM stepper motors are also capable of

producing almost double the steps per second of a
conventional PM stepper motor. Figure 9 shows the basic
construction of a thin-disk rotor PM motor. The rotor is
constructed of a special type of cobalt-steel, and the stator
poles are offset by one-half a rotor segment.

40
Fig (9) Thin-disk rotor PM stepper motor.

41
• The rotor is a permanent magnet, often a ferrite sleeve magnetized with

numerous poles.
• Can-stack construction provides numerous poles from a single coil with
interleaved fingers of soft iron.
• Large to moderate step angle.
• Often used in computer printers to advance paper.

Hybrids Stepper Motor
42
 Hybrid stepper motors have similar stators’ construction to

that of variable reluctance stepper motors. However, their
rotors constructions combine both variable reluctance and
permanent magnet constructions. The rotors are made of an
axial permanent magnet at the middle and two identical
stacks of soft iron poles at the outer ends attached to the
north and south poles of the permanent magnet. The rotor
poles connected to the north pole of the permanent magnet
forms north pole, while the other form the south poles as
shown in Fig. 10.

43
Fig (10) Construction of 4-pole stator and 5-pole rotor hybrid stepper motor

44
 This figure also presents two different views of these motors

types. Fig. 11 presents a complete cross section view of 4-
pole stator and 5-pole rotor hybrid stepper motor while Fig.
12 presents the different components of standard hybrid
stepper motor. These types of motors have similar operation
modes as the permanent magnet types. Moreover, they are
characterized by smaller step sizes but they are very
expensive compared to variable reluctance stepper motors.

45
Fig (11) Cross section view of 4-pole stator and 5-pole rotor hybrid stepper motor

46
Fig (12) Different components of standard hybrid stepper motor .

47
 Consider a 3-phase, 3-poles stepper motor as shown in Fig.

13. When energizing phase B , the rotor starts to rotate in
an anticlockwise direction to align itself with pole 2 . It is
supposed theoretically, that the rotor will come to rest once
its axis is aligned with pole 2 axis. However, practically,
due to the inertia of the rotor, the rotor will overshot and
pass the central line of pole 2 . After that, the magnetic
field generated from pole 2 pulls the rotor in the opposite
direction. The rotor will swing around the central line of
pole 2 until finally it comes to rest after being aligned.

48
Fig (13) 3-phase, 3-poles stepper motor .

49
 Fig. 14 a presents the variation of the rotor position and the

rotor speed as a result of energizing phase B .
Fig (14-a) Effect of inertia on rotor angular speed and angular position .
Fig (14-b) Effect of inertia on rotor angular speed and angular position .

50
 There are two main modes of operation of stepper

motors that can be summarized as follows:
 Start-Stop Mode:
 In this mode the motor is controlled to settle down (rest) after
each step before advancing to the next step. The rotational
speed will be in the form of pulses that drops to zero at the
end each step while the rotor position will be in the form
of pulses also but with an increasing steady state value with
time as shown in Fig. 15. This mode is sometimes referred to
by the start without error mode .

51
 A maximum permissible stepping rate is required for this

mode of operation; otherwise, the motor will not be able to
track the control current pulses and the step will be lost. This
minimum rate depends on the motor inertia and the loading
condition. Fig. 16 presents the torque-speed (steps per
second, where each step equivalent to 1.8 °) characteristic
for this mode of operation represented by:
 Curve 1: Low inertia. If the motor drives a load of 1.4 N.m
then the maximum permissible pulse rate is 500 steps per
second.
 Curve 2: Higher inertia. If the motor drives a load of 1.4
N.m then the maximum permissible pulse rate is 400 steps
per second

52
Fig (15) Rotor angular speed and angular position for different operating modes .

53
 Slew Speed Mode:

 In this mode the motor is controlled to rotate at a constant
uniform speed without stopping at the end of each step and
the rotor position varies linearly with time as shown in Fig.
15. The torque speed characteristic of this mode will not be
affected by the system inertia because of the constant
speed. Moreover, for a specific pulse rate (500 steps per
second) this mode allows the motor to drive higher torque
load as in the start-stop mode as shown in Fig. 16.

54
Fig (16) Torque-speed characteristic .

55
• The step angle is smaller than variable reluctance or permanent magnet

steppers.
• The rotor is a permanent magnet with fine teeth. North and south teeth are
offset by half a tooth for a smaller step angle.
• The stator poles have matching fine teeth of the same pitch as the rotor.
• The stator windings are divided into no less than two phases.
• The poles of one stator windings are offset by a quarter tooth for an even
smaller step angle.

56 END OF CHAPTER ONE

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Chapter 1

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Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 1

Stepper motors provide a means for precise positioning and

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 The stepper motor uses the theory of operation for magnets

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 This means that the rotor will have 24 possible detent

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 When power is applied, it is directed to only one of the

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 By changing the current flow to the next stator winding, the

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Fig (2) Movement of the

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 In Fig. 2a you can see that when current is applied to the A

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 In Fig. 2b current has been turned off to the A and A”

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 Fig (3) presents the basic circuit configuration of a typical 4-

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 energizing the stator windings. Therefore, the number of

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 Fig (4) illustrates the different modes of operation of the 4-

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 Energizing windings A and B: The resultant air- gap flux will

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 These motors are characterized by have the same number

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 Fig. 6 also illustrates the rotational sequence of a 3-phase,

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 Energizing phase (stack) C: when stack C winding is then

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 The permanent-magnet stepper motor operates on the

 The number of teeth on the rotor and stator determine the

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Fig (7) Components of a PM stepper motor: (a) Rotor; (b) stator

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 When no power is applied to the windings, a small magnetic

 This sequence of positive and negative pulses causes the

 Thin-disk rotor PM stepper motors are also capable of

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Fig (9) Thin-disk rotor PM stepper motor.

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

• The rotor is a permanent magnet, often a ferrite sleeve magnetized with

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 Hybrid stepper motors have similar stators’ construction to

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

 This figure also presents two different views of these motors

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022

Dr/ Ahmed Kalas 3/14/2022