You'll need this to make the Stepper Motor work. This incredible piece of electronics translates a pulse into a high powered complex coil firing combination. this particular driver allows a 3.0 amp draw from the motor and accepts 24 to 40 volts. - Datasheet
This 4.2 amp stepping motor driver provides control and power to stepper motors. Stepper motors will not function without these drivers. We also have 6 amp drivers and 2.5 amp drivers which we manufacture here at BuildYourCNC.
The driver has terminals for the digital operation side and the motor output side to provide power and function to the motor. The first two terminals on the motor output side provide power from a power source such as a power supply.
The range of voltage you can apply to these terminals is 18-50 volts. The A+, A-, B+, B- are connected to the motor coils. Generally, the stepper motor has two coils and A+ and A- will be on one coil, with B+ and B- on the other coil.
On the other bank of terminals you will find ENA-, ENA+, DIR-, DIR+, PUL-, PUL+. The rest terminals are the enable terminals. We usually don’t use these but they are available. DIR+ and DIR- are the direction terminals and PUL+ and PUL- are the pulse terminals.
The DIR+ and DIR- will receive either a high or low digital level voltage to control the direction that the motor will spin. The PUL+ and PUL- will receive a pulse train to spin the motor in that direction. For every pulse these receive, the motor will turn one step.
Between the two banks of terminals are the dipswitches. There are 8 switches and they correspond to the table found on the top of the driver. There are three settings for step and three settings for current.
The step settings set how many times the motor will step for each full step. If you set it for 1/1/1 which would be Up/Up/Up that would be the setting for full step. If the stepper motor has 200 steps per revolution, it would achieve a full revolution at 200 pulses received at this terminal.
If you set at 0/1/1 it will be a ½ step which means you will be sending 400 pulses to the terminal to achieve a full revolution.
Steps go from half to 1/125th. At 1/125th you would have to send 25,000 pulses to the terminals to achieve a full rotation.
The next table relating to the switches M1, M2, and M3 correspond to the amount of current that the driver will allow, drawn to the motor. The current range is between .9 to 3 amps. Dipswitch M4 is for half or full current during idle. If your stepper motor is getting hot while not in use, set this M$ witch to half current to reduce this heat.