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A stepper motor is an electromechanical device which converts electrical pulses into discrete mechanical movements. The shaft or spindle of a stepper motor rotates in discrete step increments when electrical command pulses are applied to it in the proper sequence. The motors rotation has several direct relationships to these applied input pulses. The sequence of the applied pulses is directly related to the direction of motor shafts rotation. The speed of the motor shafts rotation is directly related to the frequency of the input pulses and the length of rotation is directly related to the number of input pulses applied.

A stepper motor requires an electrical sequencer and it is called a stepper drive. The stepper drive is one of the key components in a stepping system. When you select a stepping drive for the special application, you can follow the following steps. Firstly, you should choose the drive type and determine the drive operating mode. Secondly, choose right supply voltage and output current according with the application and the motor. In the end, you should consider whether the acceptable control signals of the drive are right for those of your motion controller or not. Of course, the price of the chose drive should be acceptable too.

Getting all components of a system to function together like a finely tuned engine is a long and exhausting process. There are many reasons why all components will not work in harmony. This paper discusses the issue of inaccuracy in a system and indentifies the two main culprits: the steper motor and the drive.