ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the most used and useful circuit elements for stepper motor driving and control. On the Web and in the literature, there are many circuits that both control and drive stepper motors. Typically the translator/drivers are not programmable devices; they either originated at a time when microcontrollers were rare and expensive or were intended for circuits that do not require programmable logic. The abundance of programmable ICs and their low prices make it difficult to justify a stepper motor circuit of any complexity that does not include a microcontroller or microprocessor. Controlling a stepper motor directly with a PIC microcontroller, or using a PIC to send commands to a dedicated motor controller IC, are quite popular and common techniques. The 16F84 has been deprecated by Microchip, it is, by far, the most popular PIC used as a stepper motor controller.
