Data Sheet

The operating voltage range of a Tic is the range of voltages from which it can be powered. The

operating voltages of the different Tic controllers are shown in the table below. The Tic requires a DC

power supply.

The continuous current per phase of a Tic is the maximum amount of current that the Tic can

continuously provide to each phase of the stepper motor. The continuous current per phase of the

different Tic controllers are shown in the table below.

Tic T825 Tic T834

Operating voltage range: 8.5 V to 45 V 2.5 V to 10.8 V

Continuous current per phase: 1.5 A 1.5 A

The rated current of a stepper motor is the maximum amount of current that the stepper motor was

designed to have flowing through each phase, and this is typically the current required to achieve the

stepper motor’s published performance specifications.

The rated voltage of a stepper motor is how much voltage needs to be applied to a coil of

the stepper motor to get the rated current to flow through it. Ohm’s law [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Ohm%27s_law] provides the simple relationship between the rated voltage and the rated current: the

rated voltage is equal to the rated current multiplied by the coil resistance.

These are the main constraints you should keep in mind when selecting your power supply, Tic

controller, and stepper motor:

1. The voltage of your power supply should be greater than or equal to the rated voltage of your

stepper motor. Otherwise, the motor will not receive its full rated current and you will not get

the full performance that the motor is capable of. It is OK for the power supply voltage to

be higher than the rated voltage of the motor because the Tic has active current limiting. (It

rapidly switches the power to the motor on and off while measuring the current to make sure

it does not go too high.)

2. A higher power supply voltage is usually desirable since it allows higher speed and torque.

However, if the power supply voltage is extremely high compared to the stepper motor’s rated

voltage and you want to use microstepping, you might experience skipped steps.

3. The voltage of your power supply should be within the operating voltage range of the Tic.

Otherwise, the Tic could malfunction or (in the case of high voltages) be damaged.

4. The continuous current per phase of the Tic should be greater than or equal to the rated

current of the stepper motor. Otherwise, the Tic will not be able to deliver the full rated

current to the motor and you will not get the full performance that your motor is capable of.

(However, if you are using USB, serial, or I²C to control the Tic, you might be able to get

better performance out of the Tic by dynamically increasing the current limit above the Tic’s

4. Setting up the controller Page 20 of 150