FAQ

Products in general

About services and sales

Product documentation

Product demonstrations

If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact us using the inquiry form below.

Products in general

In addition to the rated voltage drive, other voltage drives are described in the torque characteristic diagram sections. Why?

The rated voltage (current) drive shows the characteristics that can be continuously operated. However, but the motor can also be used in overdrive if it is in intermittent operation.
Therefore, the characteristics by a voltage (current) nearly doubled are described as a reference.

Can I drive your stepping motors only with your drivers and controllers or can I drive them with any drivers (any drive IC for unipolar or bipolar) and a PC?

You can drive them with any controllers and drivers as long as the electrical specifications match. However, the motor characteristics and specifications we show are specified in combination with our drivers. Please contact us if you are concerned.

Is there a motor that can be used in a vacuum environment?

No, vacuum environment is not supported, basically.
In addition to the difficulties in heat dissipation in vacuum environment, there is a problem with outgassing. Therefore, mostly, special attentions are required from the parts and materials for the motor.

Is it possible to manufacture a motor whose coil drive part is exposed to the open air and the rotating part is in a closed container(CAN)?

We have experience in manufacturing so-called canned motors. We can provide you a separate quotation if you can inform us of development period, budget, etc.

Can you sell us just one motor?

Yes, we would be pleased to help you.

Please note that the unit price will vary greatly between 1 and 10 pieces.

Can you explain the relationship between unifilar/bifilar and unipolar/bipolar?

Unifilar/Bifilar are coil winding methods.
Bipolar/Unipolar are drive circuit types.

Bipolar specification motors have unifier windings and unipolar specification motors have bifilar windings.

In NPM, we call motor specifications by the drive circuit type, not by the winding method.

Excitation is ON while a motor stops, and the motor itself heats up very much. Is there any problem in the use or is it necessary to turn OFF the excitation while a motor stops?

Heat generation itself is not a problem as long as you drive it within the rated conditions.
In the case of constant current drive, heat generation can be reduced by using the auto current-down function.

If you turn OFF the excitation while stopping, miss-stepping may occur when you turned ON again. Confirm that there is no positional error or other problem.

Are PF series and PFCL series motors driven by constant voltage or constant current?

We can provide you the optimal coil specifications for both constant voltage and constant current drives. Please contact us for more details.

For constant voltage drive, we select a resistance value corresponding to the voltage.
For constant current drive, the coil specification with low resistance value is suitable .
Please feel free to contact us for any questions.

Is there a stepping motor compatible with automobiles (in-vehicle)?

Although there are no in-vehicle motors in the PF series, they have been adopted in similar environments.
It depends on conditions such as temperature range, acceleration (vibration), etc. Please contact us for details.

I'm designing the concept of a device, but I'm not sure which motor to choose. Can you assist us?

We would be happy to. Motor selection begins with selection of motor types (DC, AC, brushless, stepping, servo, etc.), and there are a wide variety of elements such as sizes, electric properties, and the like. Please feel free to consult us, including whether a stepping motor is the most suitable application.

Do you have motors that can be used with a non-ignition explosion-proof structure?

Stepping motors do not have electrical contacts in their construction, but they are not clear explosion-proof products.

What is the accuracy of claw-pole type PM motors when driving in micro-steps?

Due to the structure of the PM motors, it is difficult to achieve the angular accuracy according to the number of micro-step divisions. It is recommended to use up to half-step driving.
(This does not apply to the case where micro-step driving is selected to reduce vibration, noise, and the like.)

How a motor would operate if driving at a pulse rate not shown in the torque characteristic and thrust characteristic charts (such as at 100 pps or lower)?

In principle, a motor can operate from 0 pps. However, the motor may not rotate normally or vibration may be large due to a disturbance (resonance) phenomenon in that pulse rate. So, the motor characteristics are not shown in the area.

Can we use PF series stepping motors in medical devices? Can you supply the motors for a long period of time (e.g., for 7 years)?

When using the motors in medical devices, ensure high reliability and safety such as redundant design.
Some motors have been used in medical equipment. Contact us for more information.

Regarding long-term supply, PM-type stepping motors are one of our main products, and we have many customers for industrial applications with long product lives. So we offer the motors with confident.
*However, we reserve the right to change the specifications or discontinue the sales due to factors such as mold life, environmental restrictions, or the like.

When using PF series motors with constant-current-drive method, how can I set the output current value? Can the value change depending on the operating torque?

The reference of current value "I" is obtained by "I=V/R" from the rated drive voltage "V" and the coil resistance "R". You can use a motor by increasing or decreasing the current with a trade-off between required torque and heat generation.

eg. : The rated drive voltage and coil resistance of PFC25-48Q1 are 4.4 V / 15 Ω . So 4.4 / 15 = 0.293 A.

Under conditions such as continuous drive or high pulse rate, set the current value so that the motor case temperature does not exceed 100 °C (or 80 °C) while considering the driving pattern and heat dissipation.

Heat generation can be reduced by using the driver's auto current-down function. You can set the current higher than the above-mentioned guideline depending on the frequency of run/stop(duty-ratio) when larger torque is required. In that case, be sure that the case temperature does not exceed 100 °C (or 80 °C).

Does a stepping motor generate higher heat than usual due to the changes in holding current depending on how the load is applied at the time of stop? I use a constant-current driver.

The current does not change depending on the load at the time of stop. If a motor generates higher heat than usual, the auto-current-down setting value or the drive-current setting value on the driver side may be higher than usual.

I want to know the optimal combination of a motor and a driver.

We can provide "motor, driver, and controller applicable products list" separately. Please contact the NPM sales representvie or request through website.

I want to know the information about discontinued products.

We can provide the discontinued products info separately. Please contact the NPM sales representitive or request through website.

Please provide us the compatible or replacement products information.

After checking the product that you currently use, please contact the NPM sales representative or visit NPM website.

I want to fix a broken product.

Some products can be repaired and some cannot depending on the type or condition of the product. Please contact the sales representative or visit NPM website for more information, including the same or the alternative product.

Can I use NPM drivers to run motors made by other manufacturers?

For 2-phase or 5-phase motors, our drivers are compatible and run them. For details, please refer to the motor driver products page. If you have any questions, please contact the NPM sales representative or visit NPM website.

Please provide us the record of mass production and use of your products.

Please contact the NPM sales representative or visit NPM website for the individual product.

The motor used in my old equatorial telescope was broken.

We can provide "information for those who are thinking of replacing the stepping motor used in an old equatorial telescope" separately. Please contact the NPM sales representvie or request through website.

About services and sales

What is the lead-time of NPM products.

The lead-times varies depending on the product. Please contact the NPM sales representative or request through website.

I want to know the price of a product. Do you have the price list?

The prices varies depending on the specification. Please contact the NPM sales representative or request through website.

What is the minimum lot to purchase? Can you sell just one piece?

The minimum lot varies depending on the specification. Please contact the NPM sales representative or request through website.

Can individuals purchase your products?

Yes, we would be pleased to help you.

I want to know how to pay.

For the first time, we usually request the cash-on-delivery payment.
From the second time on, please talk to the NPM sales representative

I would like to know the purchase route for your products.

We do not have specific distributors. Basically, we sell directly.
For purchasing, please contact the NPM sales representative or request through website.

I want a sample product.

The sample may be changed by the specification you need. Please contact the NPM sales representative or request through website.

Product documentation

I want a product catalog.

You can download the latest general product catalog in PDF from the download page of NPM website.
If you perfer a booklet, Please contact the NPM sales representative or request through website.

I would like the specifications or user's manuals for NPM products.

You can download them from the download page in NPM website.

I want CAD data.

You can download it from the download page in NPM website.
External site, PARTcommunity, is used.

I would like manuals and specifications for products that have been discontinued from production.

We can provide "information on discontinued products" separately. Please contact the NPM sales representvie or request through website.

Product demonstrations

Can you instruct us while we are watching the actual machine?

Yes, we can.
Please contact the NPM sales representative or visit NPM website.