Testing Stepper Speed

Hi,

Second question for the day:

Arduino Micro > A4988 Driver (VMOT powered by 12V DC, 3A external power supply) > 10v, 0.5A Bipolar.

Is there something like a digital display that I can put along this path that can show me the motor’s RPM, steps per minute or something that assures me the resulting of all the control and driving is driving the motor at the desired speed?

Thanks.

Farzad

A stepping motor can stall or skip steps, and this is very difficult to detect by electronics. However, a shaft encoder can be used to verify proper motor operation. Shaft encoders can be used as input to the same microprocessor or computer driving the motor, and the result output to any sort of display.

So you are saying that the controller can be used to get that result. What display do you suggest and what is a normal connection to an Arduino Micro?

Thanks.

You need a “shaft encoder”. Introductory material for Arduino here: playground.arduino.cc/Main/RotaryEncoders

Okay, thanks.