Holding Brakes for Nema 42 Step Motors

Applied Motion Products is pleased to announce the release of holding brakes for select step motors in the nema 42 stepper motors for sale frame size. These step motors provide additional functionality for applications which require holding torque to be maintained when power is removed from the motor. Holding brakes offered by motion are spring-set type brakes that must be powered by 24 volts dc to release the brake mechanism. This is commonly referred to as “power off” and is the preferred style for motion control applications. Controlling the brake is handled by a discrete output on the stepper drive or another controller like a plc or motion controller. Many motion drives offer outputs specifically designed to control the holding brake, such that the brake will be automatically engaged whenever the motor is unpowered (and automatically disengaged when the motor is powered or moving). 

This initial offering of holding brakes for step motors is available as an option on the following most popular nema 42 frame step motors. A common application for holding stepping motor brake is one in which a belt drive linear actuator is mounted vertically. When power is removed from the motor the belt and load can drop, potentially causing harm to the machine and/or human operators. Holding brakes can help to alleviate this unsafe condition by automatically holding the motor and load in position even when all power has been removed from the motor. Additionally, a large majority of our drives have dedicated brake outputs that can be wired to a relay to control operation of the brake. Thinking about the mechanicals of this a little more, I've been considering servos and steppers. I don't need speed or precision, really.  But I do need to be able to move in either direction, which I now understand to be complicated with servos. 

Main Features:

• Part Number MPC042-24-CRI
• Operating Voltage: 24VDC
• Static Torque: .8Nm (7.00 In Lbs)
• Current Consuption: 0.27 A
• Moment of Inertia: 27.7 g.cm²
• Shaft input 8mm standard & ¼" (6.35mm) with optional adapter

This is an important feature so that the motor does not interfere with the proper operation of the spring applied brake causing premature brake failure or damage to the motor. Perfect for holding applications, these friction brakes can handle high torque with a compact size. The low voltage design will operate on applications susceptible to weak battery, brown out or long wiring runs. When the electric power is applied, the armature is pulled by the electromagnetic force in the magnet body assembly, which overcomes the spring action. This allows the friction disc to rotate freely. When electrical power is interrupted, the electromagnetic force is removed and the pressure spring mechanically forces the armature plate to clamp the friction disc between itself and the pressure plate. This develops torque to hold the load.

What should know about before buying geared stepper motor

Geared stepper motors are perfect solutions for low speed and high torque positioning applications. Oyostepper provides nema size stepper motors that are paired with planetary gearbox and spur gearbox. Our design incorporates a square bodied motor and around shape planetary stepper motor gearbox into a compact and cost-effective package. Our geared stepper motors are offered in six nema frame sizes (from nema 8 to nema 42) and each size geared stepper motor for sale has an integrated stepper motor gearbox with a wide range of gear ratios (from 1:3.7 to 1:369) so as to deliver any desired torque and speed combinations for your applications. The dual shaft version is available for you to install the brake, shaft coupler or an encoder where you need to keep track of the shaft position. 8-lead motor is aslo available upon request for all possible wiring configurations: bipolar, unipolar, series, or parallel. 

The geared motor is more effective in reducing the positioning time for a smaller positioning angle and a larger inertial load. For higher speed and better speed control capability, please check out our brushless gear motors. And the nema 8 geared stepper motor is our best selling geared stepper motor. The 36mm diameter planetary stepper motor gearbox has gear ratio from 1:3.7 to 1:369. The gearbox output torque is up to 429 oz-in (3 Nm). A feature of Nippon Pulse’s popular and reliable stepper motors, which we have been manufacturing since 1960, is the ability to add reduction gearheads.  These gearheads have a wide range of ratios, from 1/400 to 6/25. The geared motor tends to achieve shorter positioning time in a wider range of positioning angles with a larger inertial load.

In all, there are over 20 different gear ratios to choose from, depending on the motor size. Industries also using Nippon Pulse geared motors include gaming, medical, office automation, and metrology.  Geared options are available on any of our standard rotary stepper motors, which range in size from 20mm to 55mm. The role of a gearhead is closely related to motor development. Originally, when the AC motor was a simple rotating device, the gearhead was mainly used to change the motor speed and as a torque amplifier. With the introduction of motors incorporating speed control functions, the primary role of the gearhead was to amplify torque.

The geared motor reduces positioning time for the following reasons

● Inertial load to the motor shaft can be reduced through the use of gears, thereby ensuring quick acceleration and deceleration starting. 

● Another advantage of the geared motor is its ability to maintain a consistent positioning time regardless of changes in inertial load. The graphs below show changes in the shortest positioning time of the standard type motor and geared motor when each motor is subjected to variations in inertial load. 

While the shortest positioning time of the standard type motor changes significantly with the increase in inertial load, that of the geared motor shows little change. In other words, the geared motor is capable of driving a larger inertial load within the most consistent, shortest positioning time.

Don’t You Know the Stepper Motor Brake?

Applied Motion Products is pleased to announce the release of holding brakes for select step motors in the NEMA 23 frame size. These step motors provide additional functionality for applications which require holding torque to be maintained when power is removed from the motor. Holding brakes offered by Applied Motion are spring-set type brakes that must be powered by 24 volts DC to release the brake mechanism. This is commonly referred to as “power off” and is the preferred style for motion control applications. Controlling the brake is handled by a discrete output on the stepper drive or another controller like a PLC or motion controller. 

Many stepper motor online drives offer outputs specifically designed to control the holding brake, such that the brake will be automatically engaged whenever the motor is unpowered (and automatically disengaged when the motor is powered or moving) A common application for holding brakes is one in which a belt drive linear actuator is mounted vertically. When power is removed from the motor the belt and load can drop, potentially causing harm to the machine and/or human operators. Holding brakes can help to alleviate this unsafe condition by automatically holding the motor and load in position even when all power has been removed from the motor.

Additionally, a large majority of our drives have dedicated brake outputs that can be wired to a relay to control operation of the brake. We even offer a delay time to either engage or disengage the brake. This is an important feature so that the motor does not interfere with the proper operation of the spring applied brake causing premature brake failure or damage to the motor. The brake output control function is simply found in the ST Configurator™ software in the I/O Configuration window. This stepping motor brake new 1.8° and 0.9° PKP Series 2-phase stepper motors are available with built-in power-off activated preassembled electromagnetic brakes. 

When power is accidentally cut off due to unexpected events, such as a blackout, the electromagnetic brake holds the load in position to prevent it from moving. When the motor is at standstill, it can be held by the electromagnetic brake. The brake can also be used to suppress the heat generated from the motor by switching off the motor current and using the brake as the holding function. The new PKP Series stepper motors are available in both bipolar and unipolar configurations and in the following frame sizes: 35 mm (1.38 in.), 42 mm (1.65 in.) and 56.4 mm (2.22 in.). PKP26 models (56.5 mm/2.22 in. frame size) come with an 8 mm shaft.

Industrial Applications of NEMA 42 Stepper Motor

NEMA 42 stepper motor is the largest stepper motor of the stepper motor family. This is known to be the finest type of stepper motor. It has the unique features of both, permanent and variable reluctance motor. It is an electronically driven motor, and it is used in the robotics industry and many other industries. The stepper motor is mainly used in the applications where precise and efficient motion control is required whether the motion is linear or rotational. In case of rotational motion, when it receives digital pulses in an accurate sequence it allows the shaft of the stepper motor to rotate in discrete step increments.

Robotics Industry:

NEMA 42 stepper motor is widely used in the field of robotics as it provides high torque and has the quality to work for precise control. Nowadays as the world is getting dependable on the technology robotics industry has got a great chance to grow. The growing field of robotics is partially dependable of NEMA 42 stepper motor for their growth, as it is the best electrical motor to be used for the robotics applications.



CNC Industries:

CNC (Computer Numeric Control) industries are those who manufactures CNC equipment like CNC routers, CNC milling machine, and various other CNC products. These equipment are computer controlled devices that are used for cutting applications. These applications also require precise control and hence NEMA 42 Stepper motor is highly preferred electrical motors for CNC applications.

3-D Printing or Rapid Prototyping Industries:

3-D printers requires precise control and accuracy for their operation and hence these type of printers use NEMA 42 Stepper motors. These motor provide a high level of precision because of the direct relationship between the rotation angle and the input pulse. They can be paused, and the direction of rotation can be reversed with a great precision, making the NEMA 42 Stepper motor an excellent component to be used for rapid prototyping applications.

What is Torque for a Stepper Motor?

Tips on how to choosing the proper stepper motor

Choosing an appropriate stepper motor for your CNC project is important. If you buy stepper motor that is too small, you may experience very slow maximum speeds and torques, and even missed pulses. On the other hand, if you choose a motor which is too big, it may require a powerful and expensive power supply and driver.

Torque rating

T=Fr

Where:

T is torque

F is force (usually measured in oz.)

r is radius (usually measured in inches)

All stepper motors have a torque rating, and this should be the first rating you look at. This is also known as holding torque. If the motor is powered on but not rotating, the holding torque is the amount of torque necessary to turn the shaft against the motor’s will. Stepper motors also have a maximum current rating, meaning that the holding torque number is usually given assuming the maximum rated current is flowing into the motor.

Visualizing how much torque you need
Torque is a difficult measurement to estimate. Imagine you have a stepper motor shaft, and a one inch stick is attached to the center of the shaft pointing outwards. Now imagine that the motor is bolted onto a table, and you can put your finger on the table to stop the motor, since your finger comes between the one inch stick and table. A 16 oz. in. stepper motor would apply a force of one pound on your finger, since 16 oz equal one pound and the radius is one inch.

Maximum current rating
Stepper motors also have a maximum current rating you should absolutely pay attention to before buying. This rating means that if you apply more than the maximum amount of current to the motor for a long period of time, you risk damaging the motor. Yes, you can run motors below the maximum rated current, but if you do, you’ll basically be leaving performance on the table since you won’t be using your motor to its maximum potential. So if you have a 2 amp stepper motor driver, you shouldn’t pick a stepper motor that has a maximum rated current of 4 amps. That would just be a waste of money.

Degree rating
You will also want to pay close attention to degree rating. For most stepper motors, a rating of 1.8 degrees is given, meaning that for every full step, there is a 1.8 degree difference. This means that if you half step the motor, it will take 400 pulses to rotate the motor shaft exactly once. Beware that cheaper and smaller stepper motors have far fewer steps. Again, a 1.8 degree rating is very common.

NEMA specification
Stepper motors usually specify a NEMA number. This rating doesn’t necessarily indicate the strength of the motor, but rather, the general size and shape of a motor. For example, stepper motors usually have four holes at the front of the motor for mounting purposes. Each NEMA number has different characteristics that dictate dimensions of the motor such as these mounting holes. There are some things that NEMA does not indicate, such as the length of the motor. So you could have two NEMA 23 motors, but one of them might be .5 inches long while the other could be 3 inches long. Of course, the 3 inch long motor would be vastly heavier and more powerful.