Re: Voltage to steppers

Stan,

I like the way you think. Being inventive is to simply look a problem
from an unconventional perspective.

Rather than limiting current (a current source takes care of that all
by itself), is to vary the supply voltage the current source has to
work with. That is something you can predict based on the "steps per
second".

What you are proposing is a closed-loop feedback to prevent the motor
from stalling by adjusting the power supply. That is a good idea.

Unfortunately it requires overly complex circuitry to accomplish; I
know because I spent some time with the idea before I abandoned it.
The competing concept was to simply "brute force" it by having a high
voltage present at all times. Can't beat a simple solution, imperfect
as it may be.

Mariss

> Hi,
>
> It occurred to me that if the controller program kept track of the
> steps per second, it could also predict the current needed from the
> power supply.
>
> Also, one could write the controller program to limit the current
> needed from the power supply by limiting the steps per second. When
> the steps per second approached the limit, the program could

stretch

> out the clock period such that the issuing of step pulses to the
> stepper motors is slowed uniformly.
>
> Is this in any controller program?
>
> Newbie Stan