38

E le k to r E le c tro n ic s 1 2 /9 9
K.S.M. Walraven
The control is a compact design for driving bipolar stepper motors.
Driver stages I C
2
and I C
3
are modern types from ST Microelec-
tronics. Because of the combination of CMOS logic with D-MOS
power transistors, these devices need few external components.
Also, compared with the previous generation of bipolar devices
such as the L298, the D-MOS transistors drop lower voltages so
that the internal dissipation is smaller.
The input stage, I C
1
, enables the motor to proceed one step
for each pulse at its input pin 18. The level at pin 17 (CW/CCW)
determines whether the motor
rotates clockwise or anticlock-
wise. The level at pin 19 decides
whether the motor moves whole
or half steps for each pulse at
pin 18. I n normal operation, pin
20 (reset), pin 11 (control), and
pin 10 (enable) should be linked
to the +5 V supply. Pin 1 (sync)
is an output used when several
L297s are driven in tandem and
should be left open in the pre-
sent design. Pin 3 (home) is an
output that indicates when out-
puts A, B, C, and D, assume the
binary code 0101, and is not
used in the present design. The
other pins are of less impor-
tance and will in most cases not
be used at all further informa-
tion may be obtained from
I nternet address
http://www.us.st.com
Since the current through
the motor coils must not only be
switched on and off, but also be
reversed, the driver I Cs contain
a complete bridge formed by
four D-MOSFETs. The upper
two need to be driven by a
potential that is higher than the
supply voltage, and this is
obtained with the aid of a boot-
HALF/FULL
CONTROL
CW/CCW
ENABLE
SENS1
SENS2
RESET
L297
IC1
VREF
INH1
INH2 SYNC
HOME
STEP
OSC
17
18
19
20
10
15
14
13
12
16
11
4
A
6
B
7
C
9
D
5
8 1
3
2
ENABLE
BOOT1
SENSE
L6203
BOOT2
IC2
OUT1
OUT2
VREF
IN1
IN2
11
10
3
4 7
1
2
6
5
8
9
ENABLE
BOOT1
SENSE
L6203
BOOT2
IC3
OUT1
OUT2
VREF
IN1
IN2
11
10
3
4 7
1
2
6
5
8
9
K1
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R2
3
k
9
R3
1
k
R1
2
2
k
C1
3n3
R7
0

5
C3
220n
R6
0

5
C4
220n
C10
100n
C9
100n
C5
15n
C6
15n
C7
15n
C8
15n
C11
22n
R4
1
0

C12
22n
R5
1
0

C2
100n
L1
L2
C13
10
63V
5V 5V
5V
5V
994065 - 11
( C ) S e g m e n t9 9 4 0 6 5 - 1
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
C8
C9
C
1
0
C11
C12
C13
H1H2
H3 H4
IC1
IC2
IC3
K1
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R
6
R
7
0
+
L2 L1
994065-1
( C ) S e g m e n t9 9 4 0 6 5 - 1
009
s t ep p er m o t o r c o n t r o l
39
E le k to r E le c tro n ic s 1 2 /9 9
strap circuit (C
5
, C
6
). Network R
4
-C
11
suppress voltage peaks
across the motor terminals. Most of the other capacitors in the dia-
gram are decoupling (bypass) elements.
The driver I Cs can handle currents of up to 4 A at voltages up
to 42 V. For safetys sake, it is better for the voltage to remain well
below 42 V; the current is internally limited to 4 A. Any tendency
of the current to rise above this level is sensed by resistors R
6
and
R
7
, whereupon the I C is disabled. The value, R, of these resistors
must, therefore, be in line with I
m
, the motor current: R=1/I
m
.
The driver I Cs are provided with internal thermal protection,
but when the dissipation is large, it is advisable to mount them on
a suitable heat sink. They do not get damaged by heat, but they do
switch off the motor when the temperature rises above the maxi-
mum specified temperature.
Finally, it should be noted that I C
1
operates from a +5 V sup-
ply (via K
1
) from which it draws a current of about 50 mA. The
voltage at pins 0 and + is intended for the stepper motor and
should be equal to, or a little higher than, the rated motor voltage.
[994065]
Parts list
Resistors:
R
1
= 22 k
R
2
= 3.9 k
R
3
= 1 k
R
4
, R
5
= 10
R
6
, R
7
= 0.5 , 3 W (see
text)
Capacitors:
C
1
= 3.3 nF
C
2
, C
9
, C
10
= 100 nF
C
3
, C
4
= 220 nF
C
5
C
8
= 15 nF
C
11
, C
12
= 22 nF
C
13
= 10 F, 63 V, radial
Semiconductors:
IC
1
= L297
(ST Microelectronics)
IC
2
, IC
3
= L6203
(ST Microelectronics)
Miscellaneous:
K
1
= 10-way header
PC
1
PC
6
= PCB pins
L
1
, L
2
= bipolar stepper
motor
PCB Order no. 994065-I
Design by V. Mitrovic
The LM3914 is a truly versatile component. Besides LEDs, only a
few other components are needed to make the bidirectional bar-
graph voltmeter shown here. The circuit is similar to a conven-
tional bar display, but it offers a possibility to change the direction
in which the LEDs are switched on. This may be useful, for exam-
ple, when positive and negative voltages are measured. For a pos-
itive input voltage, the LEDs are switched on in the usual manner,
that is, from D3 to D12, while for negative voltages, the LEDs are
switched on in the opposite direction, from D12 to D3. Obviously,
the negative voltage must be rectified, i.e. inverted, before the
measurement. A suitable circuit for this purpose is presented in
the article Absolute-value meter with polarity detector (reference
number 994020-1) elsewhere in this issue.
A set of transistor switches (MOSFETs) controls the direction in
which the LEDs light. When the control voltage is high (+ 6V,
according to the schematics, but any voltage that is at least 3V
higher than reference voltage
will do), T1 and T4 are switched
on, while the other two MOS-
FETs are off. I n this way, the
LM3194 is configured in the
usual manner with the top end
of the resistor network con-
nected to the internal voltage
reference and the low end con-
nected to ground. As the input
voltage rises, the comparators
inside the LM3914 will cause
the indicator LEDs to be
switched on one by one, starting
with D3.
When the control voltage is
lower than about 3V, T2 and
T3 are switched on while T1
and T4 are off. Consequently,
the ends of the resistor network
are connected the other way
around: the top end goes to
ground and the low end, to the
reference voltage. The first
LED to be switched on will then be D12; i.e., the LEDs that forms
the bargraph display light in the opposite direction. Although not
documented by the manufacturer of the LM3914, this option
works well, but only in bar mode (in dot mode, internal logic dis-
ables any lower-numbered LEDs when a higher-numbered LED
is on, which obviously conflicts with our purposes).
To achieve good symmetry, an adjustable resistor is added to the
voltage divider in the LM3914. Using a DVM, adjust the preset
until the voltage across P1+R4 equals 1/11th part of U
refout
.
Sensitivity is determined with the ratio of resistors R5 and P2. I f, for
example, the reference voltage is set to 2.2 V by means of P2, there
will be a voltage drop of 200 mV per resistor in the ladder network
(including R4-P1). So, the first LED will switch on when the input
voltage exceeds 200 mV, the second, at 400 mV, and so on, and the
whole display will be on at 2 V.
The circuit draws about 100 mA when all LEDs are switched on.
(994012-1)
R5
2
k
2
R2
1
0
0
k
R1
1
0
0
k
R3
10k
R4
820
4k7
P2
1k
P1
T4
BS170
T1
BS170
T3
BS250
T2
BS250
D1
6V2
D2
D10
D9
D8
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D12
D11
REFOUT
REFADJ
LM3914
IC1
MODE
SIG
RHI
RLO
L10
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
L9
L8
L7
L6
L5
L4
L3
L1
18
L2
9
5
8
4
6
7
3
2
1
D13
1N4001
C2
100n
C1
100 25V
500mW
2x
U
IN
+/ 6V
control
994012 - 11
9V
010
+ / v o l t a g e o n b a r g r a p h d i s p l a y