Applied Motion Products, Inc. now sells an expanded line of STR Stepper Drives with the release of new drives for use in AC powered applications. STR stepper drives are designed for smooth motion and high torque over a wide speed range, bringing high performance motion control to basic step and direction applications. Two new AC powered STRAC drives expand the offering to cover larger motors and applications where maximum power is required.

Operating on AC supply voltages of 90 to 240 AC, these new STRAC drives can be wired directly to 120 or 220 VAC line voltages, eliminating the need for a DC power supply. AC line voltages are internally converted by the drives to high DC bus voltages that enable larger step motors to be driven with maximum power. These drives are designed for demanding applications where high torque and high speed are necessary.

The STRAC2 provides up to 2.2 A per phase while the STRAC8 provides up to 8.0 A/phase. All STR drives are great for OEM applications needing basic step and direction control of a 2-phase step motor. STR drives feature advanced microstepping performance and sophisticated current control with anti-resonance. Anti-resonance electronically damps motor and system resonances, which improves smoothness of motion and torque over a wide speed range.

“Step and direction drives make up more than 80% of the stepper drive market because customers want drives that are easy to configure and that can be commanded via simple, digital control interfaces. The addition of the cost effective, AC powered STRAC drives to the already strong STR offering means a more complete series of step and direction drives for the majority of users,” said Dennis Joyce of Applied Motion Products.

Every STR step motor drive operates in step and direction or pulse/pulse control mode. Selecting between these two modes is done by moving a jumper located under the cover of the drive. Each STR drive can microstep up to 20,000 steps/rev with a 1.8° step motor (1/100 step) and can even microstep the step motor when the command pulses are low resolution. This feature is called Microstep Emulation. All drive setup is done via dip or rotary switches on the side of the drive, including motor selection, running current, idle current, and step resolution.

Because of the high internal bus voltage of STRAC drives, step motors capable of withstanding high voltage should be used. Applied Motion Products offers a full complement of NEMA 23 and 34 frame step motors optimized for use with these new AC powered drives. Like the STRAC drives, many of these motors are UL recognized, CE certified, and RoHS compliant. To review, the feature of the stepper drives include:

• Advanced functions for step and direction applications
• Support for both step and direction and pulse/pulse control
• Supply voltages from 90 to 240 volts AC
• Up to 2.2 A/phase (STRAC2) or 8.0 A/phase (STRAC8) output current, peak of sine
• Easy setup via dip switches and rotary switches … no software required
• Air cooled enclosures — so no fans or moving parts
• UL Recognized, CE certified, and RoHS compliant

For more information, visit Applied Motion Products’ deep link to the STR product page.