Power Guards

Using motor controllers with large motors can pose a risk for your power supply. If your supply does not have protective features built-in, you can use a Power Guard Phidget to prevent damage from power spikes from back EMF that is generated when motors brake or change direction. We recommend that you use the SAF2000 for any motor with a coil current between 1.5 and 5 amperes, and the SAF1000 for motors above 5A.

Product
Image	Part Number	Price
	SAF1000_0	$60.00
	SAF2000_0	$10.00

Bipolar Stepper Motors

The STC1003 can control both unipolar and bipolar motors, but in almost all cases you're better off with a bipolar motor due to their increased power and more precise step angles. If you care about torque, large motors with high gear ratios are your best bet. If you car about speed, motors with no gearbox and high step angles are better. If you want precision, steppers without gearboxes and low step angles are best because while gearboxes do result in smaller steps, they also introduce a flat 1-3 degrees of positional error due to backlash in the gears.

Product			Motor Properties			Electrical Properties	Physical Properties		Gearbox Properties
Image	Part Number	Price	Step Angle	Rated Torque	Maximum Motor Speed	Recommended Voltage	Shaft Diameter	Weight	Gear Ratio
	3320_0	$16.00	1.8°	520 g·cm	426 RPM	12 V DC	5 mm	111.4 g	—
	3321_0	$36.00	0.067°	14 kg·cm	80 RPM	12 V DC	6 mm	217.5 g	26 103⁄121 : 1
	3322_0	$38.00	0.018°	32 kg·cm	20 RPM	12 V DC	6 mm	243.6 g	99 1044⁄2057 : 1
	3323_0	$16.00	1.8°	1.2 kg·cm	2150 RPM	12 V DC	5 mm	200 g	—
	3324_0	$16.00	1.8°	3.3 kg·cm	2150 RPM	12 V DC	5 mm	289 g	—
	3325_0	$40.00	0.35°	18 kg·cm	415 RPM	12 V DC	8 mm	457 g	5 2⁄11 : 1
	3326_0	$42.00	0.13°	30 kg·cm	150 RPM	12 V DC	8 mm	502 g	13 212⁄289 : 1
	3327_0	$44.00	0.067°	30 kg·cm	80 RPM	12 V DC	8 mm	503 g	26 103⁄121 : 1
	3328_0	$46.00	0.035°	48 kg·cm	40 RPM	12 V DC	8 mm	564 g	50 4397⁄4913 : 1
	3329_0	$48.00	0.018°	48 kg·cm	20 RPM	12 V DC	8 mm	564 g	99 1044⁄2057 : 1
	3330_0	$28.00	0.9°	11.2 kg·cm	1075 RPM	12 V DC	1⁄4″	695 g	—
	3332_0	$70.00	0.42°	46.6 kg·cm	375 RPM	12 V DC	12 mm	1.2 kg	4 1⁄4 : 1
	3333_0	$72.00	0.12°	150 kg·cm	116 RPM	12 V DC	12 mm	1.3 kg	15 3⁄10 : 1
	3334_0	$74.00	0.023°	240 kg·cm	25 RPM	12 V DC	12 mm	1.5 kg	76 49⁄64 : 1
	3335_0	$60.00	1.8°	30 kg·cm	200 RPM	30 V DC	12 mm	1.8 kg	—
	3336_0	$80.00	1.8°	106 kg·cm	1500 RPM	30 V DC	5⁄8″	5.2 kg	—
	3340_0	$20.00	0.9°	3.3 kg·cm	1075 RPM	12 V DC	5 mm	288 g	—

VINT Hubs

This Phidget is a smart device that must be controlled by a VINT Hub. For more information about VINT, have a look at the VINT Primer. You can use a Phidget Cable to simply and easily connect the two devices. Here's a list of all of the different VINT Hubs currently available:

Product			Board
Image	Part Number	Price	Number of VINT Ports	Controlled By
	HUB0000_0	$30.00	6	USB (Mini-USB)
	HUB5000_0	$60.00	6	Local Network (Ethernet or Wi-Fi)
	SBC3003_0	$120.00	6	—

Phidget Cables

Use a Phidget cable to connect this device to the hub. You can solder multiple cables together in order to make even longer Phidget cables, but you should be aware of the effects of having long wires in your system.

Product			Physical Properties
Image	Part Number	Price	Cable Length
	3002_0	$2.00	600 mm
	3003_0	$1.50	100 mm
	3004_0	$3.00	3.5 m
	3034_0	$1.50	150 mm
	3038_0	$2.25	1.2 m
	3039_0	$2.75	1.8 m
	CBL4104_0	$1.75	300 mm
	CBL4105_0	$2.00	900 mm
	CBL4106_0	$2.50	1.5 m

Power Supplies

This Phidget requires a power supply between 8 and 30V DC. We recommend that you use a 12V DC power supply for small steppers and a 24V DC supply for larger ones. If you're not sure, check the data sheet for your motor for the recommended power supply voltage (not to be confused with the coil voltage, which is usually much lower). For best results, we recommend getting a 5 amp supply. Select the power supply from the list below that matches your region's wall socket type.

Product			Electrical Properties		Physical Properties
Image	Part Number	Price	Power Supply Current	Output Voltage	Wall Plug Style
	3022_0	$10.00	2 A	12 V	Australian
	3023_1	$10.00	2 A	12 V	European
	3024_1	$10.00	2 A	12 V	North American
	3025_0	$10.00	2 A	12 V	British
	3084_0	$1.50	500 mA	12 V	European
	3085_0	$1.50	500 mA	12 V	North American
	3086_0	$10.00	1 A	24 V	North American
	PSU4013_0	$20.00	2.5 A	24 V	—
	PSU4014_0	$40.00	5 A	24 V	—
	PSU4015_0	$20.00	1 A	24 V	—
	PSU4016_0	$40.00	15 A	24 V	—
	PSU4017_0	$75.00	15 A	24 V	—
	PSU4018_0	$20.00	5 A	12 V	—

Power Supply Pigtail

You can use a pigtail wire if you want to avoid removing the barrel jack connector from your supply's cord:

Product			Physical Properties
Image	Part Number	Price	Connector A	Connector B	Cable Length	Cable Gauge
	3031_0	$2.75	Power Jack 5.5 x 2.1mm (Female)	2 Loose Wires	250 mm	20 AWG

Getting Started

Welcome to the STC1003 user guide! In order to get started, make sure you have the following hardware on hand:

• STC1003- 4A Stepper Phidget
• VINT Hub
• Phidget cable
• USB cable and computer
• Power supply (8-30V DC)
• 4-wire, 6-wire, or 8-wire stepper motor

Next, you will need to connect the pieces:

1. Connect the STC1003 to the VINT Hub using the Phidget cable.
2. Connect the stepper motor to the Phidget's output terminals. See your motor's data sheet or product page for wiring instructions.
3. Connect the VINT Hub to your computer with a USB cable.
4. Connect the power supply to the power terminals on the STC1003.

Now that you have everything together, let's start using the STC1003!

Using the STC1003

Phidget Control Panel

In order to demonstrate the functionality of the STC1003, the Phidget Control Panel running on a Windows machine will be used.

The Phidget Control Panel is available for use on both macOS and Windows machines.

Windows

To open the Phidget Control Panel on Windows, find the icon in the taskbar. If it is not there, open up the start menu and search for Phidget Control Panel

macOS

To open the Phidget Control Panel on macOS, open Finder and navigate to the Phidget Control Panel in the Applications list. Double click on the icon to bring up the Phidget Control Panel.

For more information, take a look at the getting started guide for your operating system:

• Getting started with Windows
• Getting started with macOS

Linux users can follow the getting started with Linux guide and continue reading here for more information about the STC1003.

First Look

After plugging the STC1003 into your computer and opening the Phidget Control Panel, you will see something like this:

The Phidget Control Panel will list all connected Phidgets and associated objects, as well as the following information:

• Serial number: allows you to differentiate between similar Phidgets.
• Channel: allows you to differentiate between similar objects on a Phidget.
• Version number: corresponds to the firmware version your Phidget is running. If your Phidget is listed in red, your firmware is out of date. Update the firmware by double-clicking the entry.

The Phidget Control Panel can also be used to test your device. Double-clicking on an object will open an example.

Stepper Motor

Double-click on the Stepper object, labelled Stepper Phidget, in order to run the example:

General information about the selected object will be displayed at the top of the window. You can also experiment with the following functionality:

• Toggle the Engage button to provide power to the motor coils.
• By default, motor position, velocity, and acceleration are measured in sixteenths of a step. If you want to use different units, change the value in the Rescale Factor textbox.
• Use the Target Position slider to set a new target position. Change the Acceleration and Velocity sliders to speed up or slow down the STC1003's approach.
• Select the Velocity (Continuous) Control tab for continuous rotation instead of specifiying a position.

Finding The Addressing Information

Before you can access the device in your own code, and from our examples, you'll need to take note of the addressing parameters for your Phidget. These will indicate how the Phidget is physically connected to your application. For simplicity, these parameters can be found by clicking the button at the top of the Control Panel example for that Phidget.

In the Addressing Information window, the section above the line displays information you will need to connect to your Phidget from any application. In particular, note the Channel Class field as this will be the API you will need to use with your Phidget, and the type of example you should use to get started with it. The section below the line provides information about the network the Phidget is connected on if it is attached remotely. Keep track of these parameters moving forward, as you will need them once you start running our examples or your own code.

Using Your Own Program

You are now ready to start writing your own code for the device. The best way to do that is to start from our examples:

This Phidget is compatible with the Stepper Examples.

Once you have your example, you will need to follow the instructions on the page for your programming language to get it running. To find these instructions, select your programming language from the Programming Languages page.

Technical Details

Rescale Factor

Further Reading

For more information, have a look at the Stepper Motor and Controller Primer.

What to do Next

• Programming Languages - Find your preferred programming language here and learn how to write your own code with Phidgets!
• Phidget Programming Basics - Once you have set up Phidgets to work with your programming environment, we recommend you read our page on to learn the fundamentals of programming with Phidgets.

Product Specifications

Software Objects

API

Documents

• Stepper Motor and Controller Primer
• Mechanical Drawings
• Download 3D Step File
• Programming Resources

Library & Driver Downloads

• Windows libraries
• macOS libraries
• Linux libraries
• iOS libraries
• Android libraries

Code Samples

Projects

• Sorting Coloured Beads (February 9, 2018)
• Motor Music: Play MIDI Files using Phidget Stepper Motors (June 1, 2015)
• How to Destroy a Motor Controller (June 3, 2014)
• Steppers with Encoders: When Open-loop Control Is Not Enough (May 13, 2014)

Product History

Have a look at our stepper controllers:

Product			Controller Properties			Electrical Properties
Image	Part Number	Price	Motor Position Resolution	Stepper Velocity Resolution	Stepper Velocity Max	Available Current per Coil Max
	1067_0B	$90.00	1⁄16 Step (40-Bit Signed)	1 1/16 steps/sec	250000 1/16 steps/sec	4 A
	STC1000_0	$55.00	1⁄16 Step (40-Bit Signed)	1 1/16 steps/sec	115000 1/16 steps/sec	4 A
	STC1002_0	$80.00	1⁄16 Step (40-Bit Signed)	1 1/16 steps/sec	115000 1/16 steps/sec	8 A
	STC1003_0	$40.00	1/16 Step (40-Bit Signed)	1 1/16 steps/sec	115000 1/16 steps/sec	4 A