Q: 2A NEMA17 stepper motors controlled by High Current Adapter?

[HAMAD]

Hello Everyone. I need somebody to answer my question please.

 

I have a NEMA17 stepper motor and its  current rate is 2A. I need to control it with MyRio, where I will need an adapter. However, the "Motor Adapter for NI myRIO" is only 1.5A where my motor is 2A. So can I use "High Current Adapter for NI myRIO" instead of the motor adapter? if so, how? any other suggestions and recommendations?

 

Thanks

[JColvin]

Hi @HAMAD,

In general, you will be able to use the High Current Adapter for NI myRIO in place of the regular Motor Adapter for NI myRIO. The main difference is that the regular Motor Adapter also has a motor controller IC (Allegro A4973) that provides PWM control, thermal shutdown capability, different mode options for fast and slow decay, and other things that you might want to use while controlling a motor. The High Current Adapter does not provide any of these things aside from transient suppression diodes (also provided on the regular Motor Adapter) on OD-. 

So, yes, you could use the High Current Motor Adapter, but depending on your application you may want to provide additional circuitry to better control and protect your motor. You can likely still use the regular Motor Adapter with your 2A motor without issue (provided that the voltage provided is sufficient for your motor), though your motor will not have as much torque with the lower current rating.

Thanks,
JColvin