A PC Interface for a Single-Ratio Stepper Motor

TCE

The Chemical Educator

ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)

Table of Contents

Abstract Volume 3 Issue 3(1998), S1430-4171(98)03207-6

A PC Interface for a Single-Ratio Stepper Motor

Scott A. Riley and A. M. Nishimura*

Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 and Department of Chemistry, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA 93108

Published online: 1 June 1998

Abstract. A very simple stepper motor controller was designed and built for a scanning monochromator. The circuit design centers around a programmable peripheral interface chip that controls the gate of four power transistors, which in turn activate the coils on the stepper motor. Besides being very inexpensive to build, the interface shows improved performance when compared to the commercially available controller.

Key Words: Computers in Chemistry; laboratory instrumentation; instrumental analysis; physical chemistry laboratory; analytical chemistry laboratory; computer interfaces; monochromator; UV/visible spectroscopy

(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: nishimu@westmont.ed)

Article in PDF format (57 KB )

Supporting Materials:

Visual Basic source code for the stepper motor (10 KB) 10.1007/s00897980207b