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Simple manual control of stepper motors without a PIC or PC

Simple manual control of stepper motors without a PIC or PC

This instructable will show you how to control stepper motors (Unipolar OR Bipolar) manually with a knob, without the use of a PIC or PC, so no programming is needed. The position of the knob determines the position of the motor shaft, which will stay in that position until the knob is turned again. The unipolar and bipolar circuits are different, but each requires only 1 chip.

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Step 1Here's what you'll need.

For the Unipolar board - (1) rotary encoder

(4) 1K 1/4W resistors

(1) ULN2003 I.C.

For the Bipolar board - (1) rotary encoder

(2) 1K 1/4W resistors

(2) 10k 1/4w resistors

(2) 2N3904 transistors

(1) L293D I.C. (or equivalent such as SN754410NE)

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30 comments

May 9, 2012. 10:07 AMdenverd0n says:

This is exactly what I need except for one thing... I have a stepper motor that is rated for 1.5 amps at 3.5 volts. The ULN2003 would not appear to be able to handle that. Can anyone suggest a different IC that would work for this, but that has the voltage and current range for my motor? Thanks!

Jan 3, 2012. 6:23 AMjarpo82 says:

Hi, I need to know if a rotary encoder is the same that a variable resistor? Like volume..?

This is an easy proyect and very usefull.
Thank so much! Regards
Jarpo

Jan 3, 2012. 8:31 AMjhoffnun (author) says:

It looks like a potentiometer but it definitely is not. When connected as in this project, is outputs 1's and 0's in the desired sequence. See attached documentation.

Jan 3, 2012. 2:29 PMjarpo82 says:

Thanks!! I'll tray to get it in some electronic home. I'll work with this proyect, soon comments... thanks

Nov 18, 2011. 1:02 PMJim1614 says:

Is there a way to make the motor drive faster that the rotary encoder? Simiar to a gear ratio. Example: for one revolution of the rotary encoder i get 3 revolutions of the stepper motor.

Jun 24, 2011. 9:34 PMTRSDOS says:

This is something i`ve been wanting to do for some time. I have a usb Microscope that i have wanted to create 3 axis manual control (small) platform to attach it to. One question.... can you make it so that if you turn the nob the motor will continue microstepping until you let go? Hope i`m not pushing it to much LOL. Im currently building a 4' X 4' CNC router now.

Jun 27, 2011. 6:07 AMjhoffnun (author) says:

This setup is strictly for manual control. Sounds like you need automatic stepping triggered by a toggle type push button. You should have no trouble finding a circuit on-line to satisfy your needs.

Jun 27, 2011. 10:26 AMTRSDOS says:

Thanks for your reply and i will try looking for "automatic stepping control" of some kind.

Jun 27, 2011. 7:06 PMTRSDOS says:

thanks for the help...im not much of "web Serfer" :)

Jun 15, 2011. 10:16 AMApolo8 says:

One question...are the boards already mirrored for toner transfer?

a quick, really simple compared to others in net,and really nice for projects...

Thank you.

Un Saludo...

Jun 1, 2011. 3:48 PMstixchicken says:

oh its the bipolar circuit

Jun 1, 2011. 3:47 PMstixchicken says:

i Built the circuit and it works ok but i get alot of noise on the stepper any ideas why

Mar 24, 2011. 4:46 AMSharpyWarpy says:

I guess I should say I built the bipolar board and it works good. Thank you, jhoffnun, for doing this instructable. Now if I can find something to do with it. Nevertheless it was very rewarding.

Feb 27, 2011. 11:11 PMSharpyWarpy says:

Hi, jhoffnun. I have found what I believe is a small discrepancy in the bipolar board layout. R4 is shown leading to pin 9 of IC3 where it should be leading to pin 10. Also the other end of the same resistor needs 5v before leading to pin 10 and the collector of T2. I'm assuming the schematic is correct. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Mar 1, 2011. 5:32 PMjhoffnun (author) says:

R4 goes from pin 9 to pin 10 as shown on the schematic, and pin 9 gets +5V as shown in the schematic. R4 "pulls up" the collector of T2 and pin 10 to +5V, as in the schematic. I don't see a discrepancy. Eagle is a great program; as long as you create your board directly from your schematic and keep both open from then on, they stay consistent!

Mar 1, 2011. 7:12 PMSharpyWarpy says:

I was referring to the board layout, not the schematic. The board file is not consistent with the schematic file.

Mar 2, 2011. 4:29 PMjhoffnun (author) says:

I was referring to the board layout; the board is consistent with the schematic. Trace it out and you will see...

Mar 2, 2011. 8:24 PMSharpyWarpy says:

Okay I see it now. What I had not seen before was the trace underneath the chip connecting pin 9 to pins 1 and 16, which are in turn connected to +5v. Thanks very much for your time and patience. I have parts ordered from Mouser for unipolar and bipolar. The TI SN754410NEE4 is cheaper than the L293D for the bipolar board, thanks for mentioning that too.
I'm having a problem with Eagle not showing the ground plane in the board layout. I'm using version 5.10.0. Any suggestions?

Mar 2, 2011. 9:46 PMSharpyWarpy says:

Never mind, I used Rat's nest to fix it.

Jan 19, 2011. 11:53 AMSharpyWarpy says:

Or how about this encoder:
http://www.wfeca.net/users/rbandmb/en11.pdf

Jan 21, 2011. 3:56 PMjhoffnun (author) says:

Both of these encoders look like they should work.

Jan 19, 2011. 11:30 AMSharpyWarpy says:

Would this encoder do?
http://www.wfeca.net/users/rbandmb/PEC11.pdf

Jan 18, 2011. 5:53 PMSharpyWarpy says:

I can't get the Eagle files to download properly.. instead of eagle files I get files with a .tmp extension that some type of archive file. The best I can tell is they are archive files of the type ACB. Can you please post them again? Thanks.

Jan 19, 2011. 9:05 AMjhoffnun (author) says:

No problem. All you have to do is rename the file extension for each downloaded file. If it is a board file, change the extension from .tmp to .brd. If it is a schematic file, change it from .tmp to .sch.

Oct 19, 2010. 11:12 PMlogabiram2028 says:

Awesome but i ve some doubts, how to give the power supply and how to connect the encoder with pin details...

Oct 16, 2010. 7:58 AMbengus says:

can i connect imput1and2 of the bipolar board in my laptop's parallel port to drive it with some cnc software as in this instructable? :
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-cutter-start-slicing-stuff-for-under-50-dol/

Jul 19, 2010. 8:52 AMTheBlackBird says:

Hy, awsome instructable. I want to biuld this for an unipolar motor but i only have an ULN2065B I.C. instead of ULN2003AN you specified. Can you please tell me if mine will work in your circuit. Thank you.

Jul 19, 2010. 5:36 PMjhoffnun (author) says:

Glad you liked it! I looked at the spec sheet for the ULN2065B, and it does not appear to be pin compatible with the ULN2003. The circuit requires 6 of the 7 available Darlington transistors in the ULN2003; the ULN2065B has only 4.

Jul 20, 2010. 1:52 AMTheBlackBird says:

Thank You, i'll find a ULN2003 then.

Jun 12, 2010. 10:18 AMReffner says:

This is great. I've got so many stepper motors lying around and never had the electronics or equipment to use them. This is Quick, easy, and very useful. Thanks!