Stepper motors require many pulses per revolution; what is a practical implication?

• A. They provide continuous motion at high speed
• B. They rely on analog control
• C. They provide fine position control by discrete increments
• D. They require no controller

Answer: (C)

Stepper motors move in fixed angular increments, with each pulse advancing the rotor by a precise amount. Because there are many pulses per full turn, you can determine the shaft position very accurately simply by counting how many pulses have been sent. In practice, this gives fine position control in discrete steps rather than smooth, continuous motion. You control speed by adjusting the pulse rate, but the motion remains stepwise. This is why you can position a rotor very precisely without feedback in many open-loop systems, though you must be mindful of limitations like torque variations and the possibility of missed steps under heavy load.