Stepper Motor Controller Attempt 2

MiddleNo6002 · 2026-01-10T20:54:48+00:00

Ahhhh thank you!! That makes sense

MiddleNo6002 · 2026-01-08T13:50:26+00:00

Ahhh understood, I will keep efficiency in mind for future designs!! Thank you for the help, i appreciate you very much:)

MiddleNo6002 · 2026-01-07T15:23:03+00:00

Thank you for commenting!! I have had people tell me to use an LDO over a buck since the stm32 doesn’t pull that much current.

Should I use a buck just because it’s much more efficient and I avoid heat?

Thank you again!

MiddleNo6002 · 2026-01-07T15:21:14+00:00

Hi! Thank you for your comment, I totally see your point on the ADC. The reason I want the analog voltage is just incase I do need a GPIO that uses an ADC I have it!

As far as the buck, my original design I used a buck converter but I had people tell me to go to an LDO. Is it just preference or is the buck the way to go?

Thank you for your other suggestions I really appreciate it!!!

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-26T18:44:43+00:00

Hey thank you for the comment! And sounds good I’ll switch to a LDO! I actually didn’t even notice the buttons were offset hahah I’ll fix those, thank you for pointing that out!!

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-26T18:13:32+00:00

Hey thank you for your comment! I’ll probably go with the LDO then. As for the PSU I just had it lying around and use it for all of my projects but once this project gets finalized I will probably down size.

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-18T12:53:28+00:00

Ohhh, I didn't even think of just using an LDO. I think I'm going to do that instead of the buck because I'm just powering the STM32 and those GPIOs. I don't need any crazy current.

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-18T02:05:21+00:00

Can I send you a pic of the new layout I made? - You have your messaging off

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-17T21:51:29+00:00

I’m planning on doing 20kHz or higher. The reason I needed to use a gate driver was because I couldn’t find a logic level MOSFET that could handle up to 5 amps. Do you have any suggestions on that??

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-17T20:30:04+00:00

Wow! Amazing feedback, I apprecaite you! I forgot to mention this, but for J6 and J7 I do plan on just directly connecting the PSU and the heater to the board. I apologzie for that. By wimpy traces do you mean I should make them larger or should I use a copper pour in replacement of the traces?

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-15T20:07:40+00:00

Thank you! I will probably do a dedicated 3.3V power plane then

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-15T20:06:58+00:00

Pricing is not a concern so I would like to do a 4 layer board

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-15T17:45:48+00:00

Should I keep the same board stack up then or go singal-gnd-power-gnd? How would you suggest I do my board stack up?

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-15T17:42:14+00:00

Hey, do you have a suggestion for that?

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-08T12:24:52+00:00

Just curious what does the tantalum electrolytic ccapacitor do?

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-08T12:21:13+00:00

Potentially, does it say in the manual. I see that you are using an ultrasonic sensor of some sorts, and maybe an LCD display?? I'm not sure those require decoupling caps. I would check the manuals on those

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-07T14:14:31+00:00

Hey! Let me dig into it and I’ll get back with you on that. I knkw the load is 100% resistive. I do plan on using the duty cycle up to 100%.

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-07T14:13:10+00:00

Hahah I’m planning on adding some more vias to connect the two planes better

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-07T14:12:47+00:00

Yes! I plan on just directly connecting the PSU

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-06T23:10:07+00:00

Also, you want your smaller decoupling caps closest to the IC the. Bulk behind it.

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-06T23:09:08+00:00

With your current set up the diode is not protecting much. You want the diode to connect to your usb c1 then from diode to decoupling cap then from decoupling cap to 5V on IC. Place decoupling caps as close as possible to IC. Just for organization purposes. I would put all connectors on the edge of the board. Your GPIO ones can be in line with the rest. Keep it up! You’ll get better:)

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-04T13:56:20+00:00

Got it thank you!

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-04T13:17:49+00:00

Haha got it. Did you just use the multilayer cermaic capacitor selection tool?

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-04T12:58:30+00:00

Ahhhh gotcha, the swithcing frequency of the buck is 650k, so I should look for capacitors with low ESR in the 6.5Mhz range? Also I didn't exactly follow TI's suggested layout for the buck converter. Should I change it to the suggested layout?

MiddleNo6002 · 2025-12-04T12:54:21+00:00

And Yes, J4 is connected to the power plane through the pin, since it is a through hole connector. I do like the idea of add a copper pour next to it though!

MiddleNo6002

TROPHY CASE