How many steps per revolution do NEMA 8 motors have?

NEMA 8 motors are small stepper motors commonly used in instruments, valves, and other lightweight applications. An important characteristic of these motors is their step resolution, or the number of discrete steps per revolution of rotation of the motor shaft. This determines the accuracy of motor positioning. In this paper, we will examine the typical steps per revolution capability of NEMA 8 stepper motors.

Factors affecting the number of steps per revolution of a stepper motor

Stepper motors rotate in discrete increments, or steps, rather than continuously as in conventional motors. The number of steps per revolution depends on the motor's design structure, such as the number of motor poles, the number of motor phases, and the drive micro-stepping capability.

Common Steps for Stepper Motors

Most 20 Series stepper motors have a basic step angle of 1.8 degrees, which corresponds to 200 steps per revolution. Therefore, in the absence of micro-stepping, a typical NEMA8 motor has 200 steps per revolution.

But with a micro-stepping driver, higher step resolution can be achieved. The driver can dynamically divide the step into smaller micro-steps. Dividing each complete step into 16 micro-steps produces 3,200 steps per revolution. The driver can provide up to 256 micro-steps per complete step, and a NEMA 8 motor can achieve 51,200 steps per revolution.

Conclusion

Typically, NEMA 8 stepper motors have more than 200 steps, but the use of micro-stepping drivers can divide them into more micro-steps.