stepper types any use?

[DHC Beaver]

Hi,all.I have a bunch of 4-and 6-wire stepper type motors out of printers,etc.
Can they be made to run on 3 wires,like the standard model motors?I know I can buy a brushless motor for 5 bucks,but I'm just intrigued to know whether those steppers have any practical use,or they should go in the bin.

[DKNguyen]

No because they are kind of like a brushless motor where all the windings are wired up differently. Because of this they are not compatible.

[ron_van_sommeren]

Plenty of stepper stators have been used in diy motors. But the rest of the motor may be to heavy.
Number of statorteeth must be a multiple of three, otherwise 'our' RC controllers cannot drive the motor.

Pictures of the internals?

[hayofstacks]

They can be driven using three wires for input.

Strip the ends of the wires to the motor, randomly twist two together and spin the motor. When it gets more dificult to spin, those two wires belong together. When you end up with three pairs, then it can be driven as if it was 3 wires. You should also be able to do the same, by only using three wires total, but you would only be using half the power of the motor.

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by DHC Beaver

Hi,all.I have a bunch of 4-and 6-wire stepper type motors out of printers,etc.
Can they be made to run on 3 wires,like the standard model motors?I know I can buy a brushless motor for 5 bucks,but I'm just intrigued to know whether those steppers have any practical use,or they should go in the bin.

I've run those stepper motors with drives that I made. However, they won't have anywhere near the power to weight ratio of even a cheap bottom of the line China brushless motor.

Take a look at this web site, it's got some interesting information.

www.gobrushless.com

http://www.bavaria-direct.co.za/models/motor_info.htm

I've run into one or two of those stepper motors that don't have permanent magnets in them. Really makes a difference in their usability.