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Design and modeling of a hybrid stepper motor

Conference Paper · January 2017

DOI: 10.1109/ATEE.2017.7905081

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 THE 10th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ADVANCED TOPICS IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
March 23-25, 2017
Bucharest, Romania

Design and Modeling of a Hybrid Stepper Motor

Ioana Ionică1,2, Mircea Modreanu1, Alexandru Morega2, Member IEEE, Cristian Boboc1
1
Icpe, MESSICO Department
2
University Politehnica of Bucharest, Faculty of Electrical Engineering
ioana.messico@icpe.ro, mircea.messico@icpe.ro, alexandru.morega@upb.ro, cristianboboc.messico@icpe.ro

Abstract- This paper presents three-dimensional numerical of the change in the discrete distribution of magnetic field.
modeling results for a hybrid stepper motor obtained using the 2) The motor has full torque when the rotor is stalled (with
finite element method, in the design stage. The design of the
hybrid stepper motor for achieving a specific performance the windings energized).
requires adequate geometrical sizing. The study provides for 3) Excellent response to starting/ stopping/reversing).
optimal economic and technical solutions obtained through 4) Precise positioning and repeatability of movement
successive improvements made in the design phase, obtained because quality SMs provide 3 – 5% accuracy per step
through numerical modeling, and concurring to the (≤ 4 arcmin), and this error is noncumulative from one step to
requirements of the product specification.
the next. The accuracy of the SM is mainly a function of the
Keywords: hybrid stepper motor, mathematical modeling, mechanical precision the homogeneity of the magnetic
numerical simulation, finite element method. circuit. Step Position Error (SPE) is either the maximum
positive or negative position error caused when the motor
I. INTRODUCTION
rotates by one step from the previous holding position [6].
Stepper motors were first used in servomechanisms in the 5) The ability to be accurately controlled in an open-loop
early 1930's [1]. Nowadays, the demand towards motion system. Open-loop control means that no feedback
control application increased and stepper motors (SM) play information about position is needed. This type of control
key role in a wide range of applications demanding for eliminates the need for expensive sensing and feedback
accuracy and repeatability. devices such as optical encoders. The position is known just
SMs are increasingly used as digital actuators because they by keeping track of the input pulses.
do not require digital‒to‒analog (D/A) conversion. For There are three SM types, based on the type of
instance, SM is utilized as actuator in a spacecraft construction:
instrumentation system [2], or to control drum actuators for 1) Variable-reluctance (VR).
the SNAP-8 program [3]. Consistently, theoretical and This type of SM consists of a soft iron multi-toothed rotor
experimental work was devoted to study and compare the and a wound stator. In a VR-SM, the rotor turns to a specific
SMs with conventional closed-loop positioning systems [4], angle that minimizes the reluctance between opposite
and deploy the SMs to a variety of applications. windings in the stator [7].
A SM is basically an electromechanical device, which The primary advantage of VR-SMs is their excellent
converts electrical pulses into discrete mechanical movements angular resolution. The primary disadvantage is the low
[5]. Its shaft rotates with discrete steps when electric torque [7].
command pulses are applied in a proper sequence. The rotor 2) Permanent-magnet (PM).
motion is related to the applied pulses. The sequence of the The PM-SM is a low cost and low-resolution motor [5]. It is
applied pulses is directly related to the direction of the shaft an incremental device driven with discrete commands. It
rotation. The rotational speed of the shaft is directly related to responds to these commands by rotating an output shaft in
the outlining frequency of the input pulses, and the rotation equal angular steps, one step for each input command [8].
angle is related to the number of pulses [5]. The detent torque The PM-SMs have PMs added to the motor structure instead
(the torque with the windings not energized) is another of teeth. The rotor is magnetized with alternating north and
important parameter in the applications where the SM is used. south poles aligned along a straight line parallel to the rotor
Furthermore, position holding must occur without energy shaft. These magnetized rotor poles provide for increased
consumption. Therefore, this paper is focused on models and magnetic flux density hence the PM-SM exhibits improved
numerical modeling for the calculation of this parameter. torque characteristics when compared with the VR-SM [5].
The SM has certain advantages, of which we count [5, 6]: 3) Hybrid (H).
1) The angle of rotation of the shaft is proportional to the The H-SM is designed to provide for better efficiency by
input pulse. Motor phases are powered, successively, with combining the best features available on both PM-SM and
step-type voltage. The SM converts these pulses into steps, VR-SM. With the advantage of excellent performances
which are discrete, precisely defined angular displacements. regarding the step resolution, torque and speed, the price is
The transition from one position to another, which is the “step accordingly sizable.
angle” of the motor (i.e., 1°), is performed directly, as the result The rotor is multi-toothed, and it contains an axially
magnetized concentric magnet around its shaft. The teeth on calculation, which makes the object of this study.
the rotor provide for an even better path, which guides the
magnetic flux to preferred locations in the airgap. This further
increases the detent and holding torque characteristics of the 1
motor when compared with both the VR and PM types [9].
2
These type of motors (hybrid) are axially magnetized.
II. THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL
3
In this paper we are concerned with the introduction of
higher accuracy numerical modeling in the design phase of
H-SM, such that all parts of the motor are adequately sized
and the right materials are selected for the H-SM volume to
be optimal [10-12].
The quasi-steady magnetic field in the H-SM (without
electric currents in the rotor) is described by the following
particular forms of Maxwell equations [10,13]
magnetic circuit law
Fig. 1. The hybrid stepper. Dimensions are in millimeters.
∇×H = 0, (1)
The stator is made of lamination stack of FeSi, and has 8
magnetic flux law poles with 10 teeth each (Fig. 2).
∇⋅ B = 0 , (2)
constitutive law
B = μ 0 (H + M t (H ))+ B r , (3)

where B [T] is the magnetic flux density, H [A/m] the magnetic

field strength, Mt(H) [A/m] the temporary magnetization, Br [T]
the remanent magnetic flux density (the magnets), and μ0 [H/m]
magnetic permeability of the free space.
As a consequence of (1), H = − gradVm , where Vm [A] is
the magnetic scalar potential. The mathematical model for the
magnetostatic problem is then
μ 0 ΔVm + μ 0 ∇ ⋅ M t (H ) = ∇ ⋅ Br , H = − gradVm . (4)

Magnetic insulation boundary condition (Vm = 0) closes the

Fig. 2. The stator. Dimensions are in millimeters.
model.
The mathematical model (1)-(4) was solved numerically, The rotor has one magnet between two semi-armatures,
using the finite element method (FEM) technique, as with longitudinal magnetization (Fig. 3 ‒ Oz direction).
implemented by [10].
III. NUMERICAL MODELING OF A HYBRID STEPPER MOTOR
Several particular constructive elements, mainly the airgap
thickness and the magnetic materials, have a substantial effect
on the H-SM design [14]. The parameters that influence the
design are the stator outer diameter (Dext = 86 mm without
case), inner diameter and its stack length; the rotor outer and
inner diameters; the PMs outer and inner diameters, and the
stator and rotor tooth / slot aspect ratio (i.e., the number of
teeth on the rotor and the stator [14].
Notably, the H-SM rotor PMs are axially magnetized and the
stator is radially and axially magnetized.
Simpler, bi-dimensional models produced results far from
reality therefore we used three-dimensional models (Fig. 1) that Fig. 3. The rotor. Dimensions are in millimeters.
account for the stator stack (1), two rotor semi-armatures (2), and
The rotor has three parts, two semi-armatures with 90 teeth
one magnet (3) (Fig. 1). The windings do not appear in the
each made of soft iron (Fig. 4) and a PM. The two semi-
model because they are not energized for the detent torque
armatures of the rotor have an offset of 2 degrees. This
version of the rotor semi-armature has a bridge of 0.75 mm
above the magnet (Fig. 4).

Fig. 6. Magnetic flux density. Values are in tesla.

Fig. 4. The rotor semiarmature. Dimensions are in millimeters.
The maximum value, 1.71 T, was found in the stator teeth.
The following materials are used: iron-silicon lamination
(Fig. 5 ‒ FeSi) for the stator, magnetic iron (Fig. 5 – Iron 416)
for the rotor, and Samarium ‒ Cobalt PM. Usually, the rotor
shaft holds one or more pairs of stacked laminations provided
with teeth on its outer surface. A PM, placed between each
laminated stack pair, produces successive north / south poles,
oriented along the motor shaft axis [15]. A block of magnetic
iron was the option because the rotor operates at frequencies
(10 ‒ 20 Hz). The variant of calculation is in accordance with
the overall dimensions of the motor specification.

Fig. 7. Detail of magnetic flux density. Values are in tesla.

Fig. 8 presents an overview of magnetic flux density in a

transversal section in the motor (on z) and longitudinal (on x).

Fig. 5. The B-H characteristics for Iron 416.

A. The Detent (Residual) Torque

For the computation of the detent torque the winding is not
powered thus magnets are the only magnetic field source. The
FEM mesh quality is of a particular concern in the numerical
simulations of the H-SM because it influences the
convergence and the numerical accuracy of the solution [16].
This is a difficult problem due to airgap thickness, here
0.1 mm, compared to the stator outer diameter, here 86 mm.
The mesh must be adapted to match the required resolution in
different motor areas in order to obtain conclusive results.
Fig. 6 presents the magnetic flux density (at z = 6.3 mm,
where z = 12.6 mm for the entire motor), with a maximum Fig. 8. Overview of magnetic flux density. Values are in tesla.
value of 1.71 T.
 IV. CONCLUSIONS
Although the realistic numerical analysis of H-SMs can be
realized only using three-dimensional models, the internal
sources do not record such studies. Therefore, this paper is
concerned with introducing numerical modeling in the design
phase of a hybrid stepper motor (H-SM).
Several factors, such as airgap thickness and materials,
influence strongly the H-SM design outcome. Because the
H-SM rotor PMs are magnetized longitudinally and the stator
is magnetized radially and longitudinally, the bi-dimensional
modeling is unacceptable as their results are far from reality.
The detent torque is computed when the winding is not
supplied and the PMs are the only magnetic field source.
The magnetic flux density reaches the maximum value of
1.71 T (in the stator teeth). Since H-SM has a large number of
Fig. 9. Field lines for magnetic flux density. Values are in tesla. teeth on both the stator and rotor, and a very small airgap, the
magnetic saturation in the teeth becomes severe when the flux
density in the airgap increases.
The calculated detent torque has a maximum of 70 mNm.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors 1, 2, and 4 acknowledge the financial
supported granted by ESA Programme/Project: Electric
Motor Spin Into Space ‒ (EMSIS), under the Romanian
Industry Incentive Scheme AO/1-7557/. Part of the numerical
simulations were conducted in the Laboratory for
Multiphysics Modelling at UPB.
REFERENCES
[1] Proctor, John: Stepping Motors Move In. Product Eng., vol. 34, Feb. 4,
Fig. 10. The magnetic flux density. Values are in tesla. 1963, pp. 74-78.
[2] J Nicklas, J. C.: Analysis, Design and Testing of a Position Servo
Utilizing a Stepper Motor. Tech. Rep. 32-206, Jet Propulsion Lab.,
B. The Torque‒Angle Diagram California Inst. Tech., Jan. 25, 1962.
Fig. 11 presents the detent torque characteristic. The detent [3] Giles, S.; and Marcus, A. A.: SNAP-8-Control-Drum Actuators. Rep.
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[5] http://web.ulbsibiu.ro/laurean.bogdan
[6] https://www.circuitspecialists.com/stepper-motor.
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[9] http://www.nmbtc.com/hybrid-step-motors/
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[15] http://machinedesign.com/archive/dynamics-hybrid-stepper-motors.
Fig. 11. Torque-angle diagram. Quasi-steady working conditions. [16] Holzbecher and H. Si, "Accuracy tests for COMSOL - and Delaunay
meshes," in COMSOL Conference, Hannover, 2008.

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