RoadRunner SoftStep microstepping motor drive
The RoadRunner SoftStep R213S microstepping motor drive provides ultra-smooth, quiet stepper motor operation.
According to Tom Hart of Testra Corporation, Tempe, Ariz., the intelligent on board processor developed by Testra treats the input steps as small vector moves and smoothly chains them together with 250 or 256 micro-steps per regular motor step with controlled accelerations. Dual chopper stabilized current comparators along with auto-calibration gets rid of communication discontinuities and maintains a near perfect sine wave drive, further reducing motor noise while increasing accuracy and stability.
The drives are shipped with jumpers installed with a divisor setting of 10 to make them Gecko drive compatible, but the jumpers can be reconfigured by the user as needed. The SoftStep drive always micro-steps finely in either 250 or 256 increments per step for DS (double step) settings, 1 (full step), 2 (half step), 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256.
Measuring 2.5” x 2.5” x 0.825”, input power is 20VDC – 80VDC, current Drive is 1 to 7 amp. Other features include resistor programmable current, opto-isolated inputs, step, direction, disable input (not isolated), and step frequency to 5Mhz. Available options for OEMs include optional custom waveforms to match individual motor characteristics; CW, CCW input; user programmable waveform; step on+ or – transition; custom current reduction, 3.3V input drive and 50 Khz chop frequency.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Joyce Lansdale and Vallen. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and David Kahle, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
