Hybrid Stepper Motors

Mclennan's Hybrid Stepper Motor with Parallel, Series and Unipolar Wiring Options

Mclennan prides itself on its high performance Hybrid Stepper Motors, perfect for applications requiring precise movement or rotation in steps. They combine characteristics from both VR (variable reluctance) stepper motors and PM (permanent magnet) stepper motors, offering a versatile motor suitable for a range of applications. With Mclennan hybrid stepper motors, high torque can be achieved even with low speeds.

Depending on the type of application required, this range of stepper motors can achieve various speeds, torque and power outputs. This can be achieved by wiring them as either series, parallel or unipolar, offering a highly versatile and reliable stepper motor.

Features and benefits

Hybrid technology combining VR and PM motor characteristics
High torque with low speed
Suitable for a range of applications
Lightweight yet durable design
4, 6 or 8 lead configurations
Intrinsically stable when at rest

Applications

A stepper motor is a type of DC motor with a shaft that turns in precise steps by dividing full rotations via multiple coils that are organised in phases. Stepper motors are ideal for applications requiring discrete and precise torque or movement, due to their rugged and simple design, they are excellent positional devices and are intrinsically stable at rest. These motors offer a variety of driver modes including wave drive, full step, half step and micro-step and can be operated via a wide range of stepper controllers. Stepper motors are commonly used in applications such as:

• CNC machines
• Medical scanners
• Disc drives
• Printers
• Pan and Tilt camera systems
• Labelling machines

FAQs

What is the resolution of a hybrid stepper motor?

Hybrid stepper motors feature a 1.8° step angle, equivalent to 200 steps per revolution. However, this can be increased by using a gearbox or a micro-stepping drive.  

What is the difference between unipolar and bipolar?

Unipolar steppers operate with a single winding with a center tap per phase. Each section of the winding is switched on for each direction of the magnetic field. Unlike the unipolar stepper motor, the bipolar stepper motor has two leads per phase, neither of which are common. Most stepper motors in our range are 4 phase Uni-polar types which can also be connected for operation with a 2 phase Bi-polar drive. In all cases the windings are rated for Uni-polar operation. When operated as a Bi-polar motor the maximum allowable phase current will depend on the way in which the motor is connected.

What are the differences between series and parallel winding?

Motors can be wired as either series or parallel, depending on the type of application that is required. A series wired motor generally provides increased stall torque that decreases rapidly as more velocity is applied. We only recommend series if the drive current you have is not sufficient. Motors wired in parallel is the preferred method of driving a stepper motor, as they tend to maintain a constant torque at a higher velocity

The winding configuration or a stepper motor plays a vital role in providing the required operating speed, torque and power outlet.

Coils in series 

When operating a 4 phase motor with series connected coils the maximum allowable phase current must be reduced as follows:

Max allowable phase current = Uni-polar rating 1.41

Coils in parallel 

This method of connection can only be applied to motors having 8 leads.

It is particularly advantageous in providing a combination of strong mid range torque and high speed operation since the effective inductance of the parallel connected winding is unchanged.

The maximum allowable Unipolar phase current may be increased as shown below.

Maximum allowable current = 1.41 x Uni-polar rating