SparkFun Forums

[thaswell]

I am interested in learning more about the Arduino and what model would be best to use for controlling stepper motors. I have a limited knowledge of them and have experience with programing and operating a CNC router. I have access to a quantity of small (think printer & disk drive) motors. My goal is to learn to wire and run these motors.
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

TH

[leon_heller]

The model doesn't matter. You need appropriate drivers and software for the motors you are using, of course.

[esklar81]

thaswell,

Unless you have painfully small stepper motors and don't care about electrical noise, you probably want to put some driver hardware between the Arduino and the stepper motors.

As you've described yourself as a "new user", I suggest you start with a packaged stepper motor driver, such as this.

As for what model of Arduino, that depends on how much I/O you need, how much space you have, and what your preference is in operating voltage. The first two are up to you. As for the last, I point out that the EasyDriver requires 5 V control signals, so getting a 5 V Arduino would save you the nuisance of level conversion.

If this is to be your first Arduino, I suggest you consider one of the starter kits that SparkFun offers. The kit contains an Arduino Uno, assorted I/O devices, miscellaneous components, and a breadboard. If nothing else, that'll give you some means of human input to play with the stepper.

For choosing a bare Arduino board, I suggest you look at SparkFun's buying guide.

Have Fun,
Eric