Small Arduino USB Stepper Motor - Need Help

hi Jason

even i am a beginner and am trying to learn and understand electronics 

few days backs i was playing around with my arduino uno r3 kit ( ordered for US$ 29 )

it came with this 5V  stepper motor ( part number  28BYJ- 48 ) ( easily found on ebay and very cheap )

the same can be found with 12V

i found this motor very easy to use and control using arduino uno r3 

• Speed Variation Ratio ： 1/64
• Stride Angle ： 5.625° /64
• one complete rotation is 4096 steps 

this motor needs a ULN2003 Driver Board which is again very simple to use , understand and even make yourself

it can be very easily found on ebay for very cheap ( around US$ 2 )

you will find the set for less then US$ 5 on ebay

connection of the driver board with arduino is also simple just the 4 pins for the arduino which are set in the program will connect to the in1 in2 in3 and in4 

you have to connect 5V or 12V (depending on the motor ) and ground to the driver board as the motor doesnt run safely on power from arduino

the 5V motor does run but i have found people saying its not safe 

the program required to run the motor can be found in the examples in the arduino software  its very easy to understand, the program is written with explanation so you can just read through, the program can be modified to do exactly what you want maybe add a switch maybe add a sensor

it just takes 3 4 hours (as a beginner) to get used to it 

you can also read the link below it has the details about the motor andthe driver board and an example program which can also be used on arduino

http://www.geeetech.com/wiki/index.php/Stepper_Motor_5V_4-Phase_5-Wire_%26_ULN2003_Driver_Board_for_Arduino

hope i was helpful

i find www.sparkfun.com to be over priced, you can find the same items on ebay for a lot cheaper, and if you are new with arduino its better to buy a clone of it which you can find on ebay for around US$ 10 and it works exactly the same  the real arduino uno r3 is for US$ 29 its 3 times the price  and since i am a beginner i dont want to buy the the real one just for a few stickers that come with it  then endup burning the board by making a few wrong connections 

Good luck then with getting support from the vendor.

At least with most of the 'non ebay' suppliers, you get supporting information.

Element14 has very competitive pricing, along with support   ...even this forum.

When you buys a genuine UNO, you get far more than 'just a few stickers'.

Mark

Jason C,

     I'm going to back up a bit in response to Shabaz's post. I misunderstood the product that I posted for you. You can still make it stop at any given degree, but it would not be nearly as simple as I made it sound originally. You should still consider the servo idea, but your stepper motor might be easier than the continuous rotation servo. Hope I haven't hurt your project too much.

sahil

They are indeed a very good basic stepper and driver board.

Because of the gearing, have good output torque and low current, but the driver board is very limited.

Many other boards have half-step/micro-stepping and motor current limiting.

This helps protect both the motor and your load.

Steppers can be pulsed to stop at any position, but it always assumes that every pulse results in movement.

If the load is greater than the stepper torque, it can easily result in getting out of sync.

You can use an encoder, which will confirm it moves, or a 'home' position to reset every revolution.

A geared motor can be controlled but needs to have an encoder, which will give the ability to stop at a known position.

mark

i prefer finding the cheapest way of doing very thing because i am a student have no sorce of income, just the pocket money i get. and doing this i feel i am getting a little more knowledge on the components and learn more since i have to do a little more research because of the lack of support given by cheap item sellers. my last option i cry on element14  and some well experienced people like you help me out

it makes me happy if i am able to do the same task using less money

i do love the work arduino is doing and i will support the company by buying their products when i have my sorce of income 

according to me 28BYJ- 48 5V stepper motor can be useful in projects where less torque is required, its very easy to use and very cheap

oh ok thanks

ok so u mean the motor is good but i got to find a better driver

could u please suggest me a drive which will do good with the motor

is it possible that i can make the arduino do the encoders work aswell, or can u tell me how can i use the encoder ( connections with the motor and the uC ) or maybe a link where i can find it

thank you very much, i appreciate all the tips and info 

sahil

For your purpose, there is nothing wrong with the board.

Its something to be aware of when using/developing bigger projects.

Re budget

There is nothing wrong with your choice of supplier, however do bear in mind the forum is provided by element14, so suggestions to others to use xyz is not always a good idea.

If your budget is limited, then your choices are limited.

It is still worth noting that sometimes you get the same, other times you get less, so YOU may need to do more research to find the answers.

Luckily someone invented a search engine called Google, which becomes very useful, even to more experienced people.

This search thing is very useful to find answers to what you're doing, as the chances are someone else has done a lot of it before you.

In my experience, I've always found that searching out the answer has resulted in remembering the answer, and often lead to a better understanding, than someone telling me the answer.

So before asking, try the examples, find code that might suit, or at the least show you've attempted it.

mark

i understand and also agree to what your saying 

thank you very much