I need a step motor and controller compatible with LabView Can you recommend any

[chapbs]

I need a step motor compatible with LabView and I thought i would check with you before i moved forward in my experiment

[Nate.H]

Dear chapbs,

As a first step, I would look at the NI Stepper Motion System Selection Guide. To be of further help I need some more specific information about your experiment. What are you trying to accomplish? How are you going to be using the stepper motor?

Best Regards,

~NH

[chapbs]

Hi my stepper motor is going to be turning a table that will be no more than 5 lbs.  The motor needs to turn in quarter cirlce steps so just four steps.  The labview will be taking voltage readings from an accelerometer which will trigger each turn.  So we need a stepper drive, controller and motor that will be able to perform this function.  The stepper drive should be able to plug into a 120 V wall plug.  I dont know how power is going to go to the motor possible just a variable voltage source that we have.  The one we currently have is 30 V max. 

Let me know if you have any suggestions

Thank you

Bryan Chapman

[Nate.H]

Dear chapbs,

I've attached a sample cart below to show you the components for a possible setup of your system. Keep in mind that whatever stepper drive you purchased would power your motor. If you go ahead with the purchase of a controller & drive, I would highly recommend contacting NI to insure that you purchased the correct accessory components and cables to connect & power the components. I hope the  sample cart is helpful. I created it  by browsing ni.com, adding items to my cart, and then saving the cart to an excel file. Please post back if you have additional questions.

Best Regards,

~NH

[Brian_Beal]

You need to first properly size the stepper motor based on torque, speed,  and inertia requirements.  Are you wanting to drive a rotary table directly from a stepper motor?  You will more than likely need some kind of gearbox.

I would recommend the Applied Motion StAC6-S if you want to just plug things in and not do much wiring.  You will have to be comfortable with sending ASCII commands over the serial port to control it with Labview, though.

[chapbs]

Are these prices typical of National Instrument Motor assemblies because if they are there is no way we can afford to buy this equipment.  It is a school project and there just isnt the funds to buy this stuff.  Do we really need this stuff or will LabView work with any drive or controller.

Sorry

Bryan Chapman

[chapbs]

Well if there is no other options than National Instruments parts I am part of NASA's Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program a team from University of New Mexico and was wondering if National Instruments would be willing to donate the needed equipment. 

Bryan

[Jochen]

If you need something very cheap and simple, just go to your electronics shop and buy a cheap stepper and a simple stepper controller that connects to the serial port of your PC. Then use LabVIEW to program the serial port.
This is not a very powerful or industrial solution, but it works for a number of applications well enough.

On the other hand you could also contact your local NI branch and talk to someone from the academic team. There is a chance that they will be able to help you with a donation.

Best regards,

Jochen Klier
National Instruments