Cogging torque compensation drive for stepping motor considering energy saving

Stepping motors, together with the micros-stepping drive, are widely used in many motion control applications, given their low cost and high reliability. However, even with the use of micro-stepping drive, the rotor vibration of stepping motor is not easy to be avoided, especially due to the presence of a large cogging torque. It is also well known that the motor energy consumption with the micro-stepping drive is large, in order not to be concerned with the load torque but to control the motor current at the rated maximum value. This paper presents research on a new micro-stepping drive method for stepping motors. A new method for stepping motor controllers, which cancels out the cogging torque without using any additional electronic devices and mechanical parts and reduces the motor energy consumption, is proposed. This paper is organized as follows. First, the method using cogging torque compensation is derived. Next, computer simulation on the cogging torque of a stepping motor in the micro-stepping drive is described to verify effectiveness of our proposed method. Then, experiments for the motor drive controller conducted to evaluate the rotor vibration and energy consumption are presented. Finally, it is concluded that simulation and experimental results show that our proposed method is effective in the vibration suppression and energy saving.