stepper motor control using PCI -6014

[chaitanya_k]

hellow,

                 I want to interface the stepper motor to the computer using labveiw 7.1,presently i am using PCI -6014 DAQ card for my other applications .can use the same card with the DIO for this stepper motor application.my stepper motor is with a specifications of 12V and 3.5A.can i do that .will there be any driver circuitary needed for this applicaiton.if any stepper which we can connect directly to the card ,with simple driver circuitary suggest me that motor,so that i will buy that motor.

[ryanm]

A typical motion system consists of a motion control card, drive, and motor.  For stepper motors, the motion controller usually outputs either step/direction or CW/CCW signals a drive.  Based on these signals, the drive outputs the correct amount of current to the motor and the motor moves to the specified location.

Due to the amount of current the motor requires, you will need a drive. With a drive, you will now be able to control the motor based on step/direction or CW/CCW signals.  These signals are basically pulses which tell the drive how far and which way to spin the motor.  Theoretically, you could create these signals with a PCI-6014, but this is not recommended.  The DIO on the 6014 is software timed, which makes it slow and nondeterministic.  In addition, keeping track of the quadrature encoder position can be very difficult.  A much better solution is the PCI-733x or PCI-734x motion controller cards. These cards are designed for motion control which helps keep everything easy for you.  In addition the two major pitfalls of using a PCI-6014 for motion control are not an issue with the PCI-733x and PCI-734x.  All the motor feedback is all handled by the motor controller and everything is very deterministic, which gives great performance from your stepper motor.

Regards,

Ryan M.

Applications Engineer

National Instruments