uStepper S-Lite solves a very simple problem which many makers come across, the ability to easily control a stepper motor. Up until now the solution for a stepper motor controller was to use an Arduino with messy wiring to an external driver, this is where uStepper comes in and offers much much more.

 

uStepper S-Lite is an ultra compact stepper motor controller board, it is Arduino compatible with a built in stepper driver. The uStepper S-Lite can be mounted directly on to the back of a NEMA17 stepper motor or NEMA23 (With some additional hardware). In addition to this it also has a 12bit rotary encoder, this allows absolute position tracking of the motor shaft making missed stepped detection possible. The uStepper also has a built in temperature sensor next to the stepper driver, allowing for continuous temperature monitoring. The uStepper S-Lite is an ideal stepper motor controller to solve all your stepper motor needs.

 

To simplify stepper motor control even further an Arduino library is available for uStepper which provides functions for all the main features.

ROTARY ENCODER

A neodymium magnet attached to the back of the motor shaft, with a magnetic encoder chip, allow for north/south pole tracking of the magnet. With this information, the angle of the stepper motor shaft can be determined. The encoder has a 12bit resolution, so the shaft position can be tracked in steps of 1/4096, this corresponds to a resolution of 0.088 degrees. Because the magnet and encoder chips are fixed, the measured shaft angle will not be reset during power cycles. This enables the uStepper controller to have the ability to perform closed loop regulation of the stepper motor position with a sample frequency as high as 6.6kHz.

Many applications use RC Servos for their actuators, uStepper with it’s rotary encoder can replace RC Servos with no mechanical wear that can effect the measured position.

PERIPHERALS

The uStepper S-Lite has a huge amount of I/O pins available, this allows it to be expanded in so many ways! SPI, UART and I2C interfaces are all available, with the I2C already having the required pull-up resistors.

 

15 I/O pins are available for expansions, 2 can be used for external interrupts, and 7 can generate PWM Signals. In addition 6 analog pins are available, allowing the processing of external analogue signals using the ADC feature of the microcontroller.

STEPPER DRIVER CHIP

The uStepper S-Lite uses a TMC2208 Driver. This isn’t the most powerful chip in the world, however it provides superb noiseless and smoother operation. The TMC2208 has a massive 1/256 microstepping with interpolation. This will significantly reduce any resonance generated by the stepper motors and insure the smoothest possible operation.

FEATURES

• Compact design, NEMA17 and NEMA23 Mountable.
• Arduino compatible, programmable using an Arduino IDE.
• USB Interface.
• Voltage supply 6.5-12V
• Integrated TMC2208 stepper driver.
• Stepper driver temperature monitoring.
• 12bit magnetic rotary encoder.

HARDWARE SPECIFICATION

• Microcontroller: ATmega328P (16 MHz clock speed)
• Input voltage: 6.5-12V
• I/O: 5V
• Digital I/O pins: 15 (7 of which provide PWM capability)
• Analog I/O pins: 6
• Up to 2A stepper drive current, potentiometer adjustable.
• Up to 256 x Microstepping (Interpolated)
• 12-bit rotary encoder resolution

WHAT IS INCLUDED

• uStepper S-Lite Controller Board
• NEMA17 Mounting Hardware
• Neodymium Magnet with bracket
• (Optional) NEMA23 Stepper Mounting Bracket

uStepper has two input power connectors options, either a mounted DC Jack, or mounted Screw Terminal.

Stepper Motors can be bought here: Stepper Motors