A stepper motor is a brushless DC electric motor that it’s full rotation is divided into small

angles called step angles. The shaft of stepper motor rotates in steps when the power is
applied in a sequence. Motor’s position can be controlled without any feedback mechanism.
Stepper motors are used where we need precise positioning of a shaft or any other moving
parts. Stepper motors consist of magnets, coils and a shaft for the rotational movement.
Stepper motors convert digital signal to a mechanical movement. The sequence of the signal
depends on the direction of the movement. The speed of the shaft is directly related to the
applied frequency. Also, the length of the rotation is directly related to the number of pulses
applied. Stepper motors are available for different step angles from low angle to high.
According to the design, stepper motors can be divided into three types namely,
1. Variable reluctance stepper motor
2. Permanent magnet stepper motor
3. Hybrid stepper motor
Variable reluctance stepper motor is the simplest design among three types of the stepper
motors. This consist of a soft multi toothed iron rotor and wounded stator. When the
windings are energized with DC power, stator poles will be magnetized. Therefore, the rotor
tooth will be attracted to the energized pole. Likewise energizing in a sequence will make the
rotor to rotate in a desired direction. VR stepper motor is expensive as Hybrid motors due to
its manufacturing process. And the only stepper motor that doesn’t have the detent torque.
Also, VR steppers are noisy. So, Its not suitable for the applications for which noise is
concerned. Step angles of the VR stepper motor are small. A lead screw is mostly mounted
on the shaft for the linear stepping motion. And the temperature rise in the motor is high. VR
stepper motors run in full step mode only. So, VR stepper motor is often used for small type
of positioning applications. For example, arm operation of robotic hands, Feeding some
components in regular interval, Camera film role rotators, Rotation of CCTV cameras and so
on.
In permanent magnet stepper motor their mounted a permanent magnet in the rotor.
Permanent magnet stepper motor doesn’t have rotor teethes. And it has designed to be
magnetized at a right angle to the axis. The stator usually has two windings. Rotor is
magnetized with alternating north and south poles situated in a straight line parallel to the
rotor shaft. These magnetized rotor poles will give the high magnetic flux intensity and due
that the permanent magnet stepper motor will provide higher torque characteristics than VR
motors. But that limited speeds. PM steppers are low cost and typically having step angle of
3.6°. PM stepper motors doesn’t have any noise issues. PM steppers will dissipate low heat.
These motors could be operated in full step, half step or micro step modes for higher
resolutions. So, permanent magnet stepper motors are suitable for low to moderate torque at
low speed applications. Often used in printers. Permanent magnet stepper motor offers many
features compared to VR stepper motors,
• Low acceleration (deceleration) due to higher inertia.
• Maximum step pulse rate is 300 pulses/sec compared to 1200 pulses/sec in VR
stepper motors
• Has large step sizes compared to VR.
 • Generates high torque/ampere of stator current than VR stepper motors.
Hybrid stepper motors are the combination of PM stepper motor and VR stepper motor. It has
the feature of low step angle and high nominal torque. The rotor of a hybrid motor is multi
toothed. Rotation of the hybrid stepper motor is generated in the similar way of permanent
magnet stepper motor. Hybrid is more expensive than other two types because of its
performance and its manufacturing process. The step angle of a hybrid stepper motor is
smaller than the other two types of motors. Also, it doesn’t show up any noises. As like
permanent magnets, it works on full, half and micro steppings. And it dissipates low
temperature rise. So, this can be used for precise movement applications. For example,
Conveyor belt movements, toy cars and etc.
As the manufacturing and the precise increases cost also increases. In that case Hybrid
stepper motor costs higher than the rest two. Step angle of the permanent magnet stepper
motor is higher than rest of two. Permanent magnet and hybrid stepper motor has the detent
torque. The speed and acceleration of permanent magnet stepper motor is comparatively
lower than other two types. VR stepper motor has a drawback of noise. So, it cannot be used
where the silence operation is required. VR stepper motor doesn’t have micro step operation.
So, it cannot be used for more precise movements. PM and hybrid stepper motors are the
most widely used stepper motors in industry.
References
https://www.elprocus.com/stepper-motor-types-advantages-applications/
http://www.robotiksistem.com/stepper_motor_types_properties.html
https://www.omega.com/prodinfo/stepper_motors.html