The MD3 is a stepper motor driver with an integrated motion controller that is capable of driving size 14 to 42 stepper motors from 2 to 256 microsteps per step. Peak motor currents are selectable from 0.5 to 7.0 Amps per phase for the H-option version. The L-option provides selectable current from 0.05 to 1.8 Amps per phase. The MD3 is powered by a single supply voltage from 9 to 50 VDC.
In addition to digital inputs, the MD3 can be configured and controlled using the open MODBUS RTU protocol over an RS485 bus. US Digital's free software program can be used to configure and control the drive using a graphical user interface. The register interface is published so that user can write their own control software for the MD3. Multiple MD3 units can be connected to the same RS485 bus since each unit can be assigned a unique device address. The MD3 has built-in thermal shutdown to protect the drive from overheating and is firmware updatable by the end user.
The MD3 has isolated step/direction or go-stop/direction digital inputs. In addition, the integrated motion controller allows Profile and Jog moves with user-specified acceleration, speed and number of steps. The drive also supports a switch or incremental encoder index home cycle with pre- and post- home offset movement options. The Home cycle can run automatically on startup after a programmable delay or on command. All motion commands can be started using the isolated digital input lines in addition to MODBUS commands.
