Speed control of stepper motors for use in laboratory animal devices

Abstract: Stepper motors are the most commonly used motors for all devices that require precise displacement or movement. Among these devices, motorized wheels and treadmills are designed for small laboratory animals and their speed requires adjustment in revolution per minute (RPM) mode. In this study, an Arduino code is introduced to control a stepper motor speed in RPM mode. This software has the ability to set the speed of the motor between 1 and 30 RPM. Additionally, an Android application has been developed for controlling the rotational time of stepper motors. In current study, all codes and Arduino-based circuits were evaluated using a homemade motorized wheel for rat and mice.

Keywords: stepper motor, Arduino, A4988 driver, Speed control.