USB-6501 for Open Collector Signal Generation

[sullivnc]

Hello all,

I've thoroughly read the manual for this product, and I believe it is what I am looking for, but I was just hoping to get confirmation from someone who knows a little more about it than I do.  I have a stepper motor drive that accepts control pulses.  The differential voltage between the 2 input pins must be between 2.5 and 5 V DC.  The control pulses can be RS422 or open collector type signals.  The maximum pulse frequency is 250 kHz, the length of the pulse must be greater than or equal to 2 microseconds, and the time lapse between pulses must be no greater than 40 milliseconds.  The motor needs to run continuously for an extended length of time.  Again, just looking for confirmation that this DIO can output the signal I need.  Thanks for any help.

[Buechsenschuetz · Accepted solution]

It seems to me that this modul might be suitable to be connected to your driver module. The output configuration you need is called "open drain output" in the datasheet.

It is possible to drive a stepper motor driver with a general purpose I/O module. But (in most cases) it is NOT possible to drive a stepper motor driver with a constant pulse rate. You will need a certain acceleration rate, i.e. you have to ramp the pulse frequency from zero to the desired motor speed.