Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] 5 phase driver ? ( was Re:Gecko help

turbulatordude wrote:

> I am not sure what a 5 phase driver is.
>
> seems the stepper has a 5 phase lable?
> but is it not just a 5 wire stepper ?

Most stepper motors are 2-phase. the well-known, 4- 6- and 8-wire motors
are all 2-phase. The 4-wire has 2 wires per phase, and can only be used with
bipolar drives. The 6-wire has center-tapped windings, which can be used with
unipolar or bipolar drives. With bipolar, you can only use one half of the winding
to reduce inductance. The 8-wire motors can be used with either bipolar or
unipolar drives, and can be connected in series or parallel with the bipolar.

But, there are also 5-phase stepper motors, usually with 5 wires, but sometimes
with 10. They are made by Berger-Lahr and under their license by Oriental
Motor, using the trade name of Vexta. (O.M. also makes 2-phase motors
under the Vexta label.) The advantage is that the current in each winding only
has to reverse every 5 steps (I think) instead of every other step. This allows
the motors to run a LOT faster. 20,000 steps/second = 3000 RPM is pretty
normal for these motors.

Jon