Discrete Stepper Motor Driver: Educational Archite

Educational H-Bridge stepper driver built from discrete components to visualize stepping signals and power electronics basics.

Mahmoud Al-Bakkar

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Description
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Description

This project is a fully discrete stepper motor driver built from basic electronic components (MOSFETs, resistors, standard logic) rather than using black-box commercial ICs like A4988. The primary goal is educational: to create an open architecture that allows engineering students to visualize phase stepping sequences, probe gate signals with an oscilloscope, and physically understand H-Bridge operation and thermal dissipation under load. Currently in the perfboard prototyping phase.

Components

1 × Arduino Uno Logic controller used to generate step/dir logic signals and PWM.
4 × IRLZ44N N-Channel Power MOSFET Main switching elements for the dual H-Bridge configuration
4 × IRF9540 P-Channel Power MOSFET Discrete Semiconductors / Power Transistors and MOSFETs
8 × UF4007 Ultrafast Recovery Diode Flyback diodes for inductive load protection
8 × 10K OHM Resistor To discharge the MOSFET gate charge

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Project Logs

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Log #1: Perfboard Prototyping (V1.0) - Function Over Aesthetics
Mahmoud Al-Bakkar • 3 days ago • 0 comments

The wiring complexity is intentional and functional.

This architecture requires 10 direct control lines from the MCU to drive the individual discrete stages (including the 2N2222 pre-drivers and logic-level low-side gates).

Additionally, 3 feedback lines are routed back to the MCU's ADC to read the voltage drop across the 0.1-ohm shunt resistors, allowing for real-time current sensing and active control.