Page 31 - EE Times Europe Magazine | March 2020

EE|Times EUROPE 31

Noise Reduction in Stepper Motors

applications in which a host microcontroller is unavailable
or is overburdened.
Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corp. also
offers a wide selection of stepper motor drivers. The
TB67S128/249/279/289 devices feature the proprietary Active
Gain Control (AGC) technology. AGC dynamically adjusts the
stepper motor driving current in order to address heavy torque
conditions, resuming normal current value in real time and in
open-loop designs. AGC technology saves significant power
and reduces or eliminates a more complex closed-loop design.
The TB67S128/249/279/289FTG devices provide 5.0 A,
4.5 A, 2.0 A, and 3.0 A, respectively, with 10-V to 42-V motor
operating voltage. These devices also include a 32-step and
128-step microstepping capability in one quadrant that
makes them suitable for a wide range of industrial precision
motor control applications (Figure 2).
Stepper motors have a simple structure and are easy to
control. As a digital electronic component, stepper motors
are widely used in many open-loop control systems. How-
ever, they have a disadvantage in relation to the noise that
affects the overall performance. The noise and the reso-
Figure 2: Typical application of the TB67S128 motor driver (Image: Toshiba) nances come mainly from the drive circuit and from the
mechanical structure of the resonance. Most stepper motor
results in reduced audible motor noise, increased step accuracy, and applications require smooth movement. To obtain extremely
reduced power dissipation. fluid movements, some engineers modify the voltage, the current, and,
The translator feature greatly simplifies the design of the motor more often, the microstep setting. ■
control system. By applying one pulse on the STEP input pin, the
motor is driven one step. No phase sequence tables or high-frequency Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio is a staff correspondent at AspenCore,
control lines are needed, making the A3982 the right choice for editor of Power Electronics News, and editor-in-chief of EEWeb.

Focused on
POWER ELECTRONICS?

Exhibit at the PCIM Europe!

International Exhibition and Conference pcim-europe.com/exhibitors
for Power Electronics, Intelligent Motion,
Renewable Energy and Energy Management

Nuremberg, 5 – 7 May 2020

# pcimeurope