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I have this closed loop stepper motor and driver bundle:

https://www.omc-stepperonline.com/closed-loop-stepper-kit/ye-series-1-axis-closed-loop-stepper-cnc-kit-2-0-nm-283-28oz-in-nema-23-motor-and-driver.html

Driver Data sheet (Not very descriptive):

https://www.omc-stepperonline.com/download/Y-serie-closed-loop-driver.pdf

Q1: The driver has an option of "point mode" vs "track mode", what do these mean? The datasheet doesn't mention these anywhere.

Q2: Also, for bonus points, which one is better?

Q3: For extra bonus points, is step/direction mode or CW/CCW mode better in general?

I'd be very grateful for any help.

Edit: I failed to find anything online explaining this. My initial guess was that "point mode" corrected missing steps at the end of the commanded movement and "track mode" corrected missing steps throughout the movement.

Edit 2: From testing the device it and listening to the noise it makes when moving I've found that I think it meets my guess, 'track mode' produces intermittent louder steps throughout the commanded move which I assume is it trying to correct the steps as they happen. 'Point mode' moves quietly to the destination and then has some louder steps at the end of the commanded move which I assume is it compensating for lost steps. I will post this and other info as an answer below.

Edit 3: Cropped driver picture

Cropped driver picture

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I failed to find anything online explaining this. My initial guess was that "point mode" corrected missing steps at the end of the commanded movement and "track mode" corrected missing steps throughout the movement. \$\endgroup\$
    – MrYorkiebar
    Nov 13, 2020 at 23:26
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    \$\begingroup\$ How are you going to give bonus points? Why are you commenting on your own question? Put the info inside it instead using the edit link. \$\endgroup\$
    – Transistor
    Nov 13, 2020 at 23:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ They're brownie points, to be redeemed in your next life. \$\endgroup\$
    – MrYorkiebar
    Nov 13, 2020 at 23:29
  • \$\begingroup\$ I can't find any reference to "point" or "track" in either of the linked documents. \$\endgroup\$
    – Transistor
    Nov 13, 2020 at 23:30
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    \$\begingroup\$ @MrYorkiebar: you've buried some relevant information in the comments. I suggest you add it into the question so it's all in one place. A cropped photo of the case information would help too. I couldn't find an answer to the question. \$\endgroup\$
    – Transistor
    Nov 13, 2020 at 23:54

2 Answers 2

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This motor says something about a 2-channel encoder, that may be why you need for track mode.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ That's a nice motor! \$\endgroup\$
    – Weasel Squeezer
    Nov 14, 2020 at 17:58
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks, although looking back I probably should have got something cheaper. Adding an encoder on the axis of my robot arm would allow me to compensate for missed steps and backlash in the belt, among other things. Plus it would have been cheaper. \$\endgroup\$
    – MrYorkiebar
    Nov 14, 2020 at 18:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ How quickly we realize how much better it would be if we didn't use coat hangers as welding rods. \$\endgroup\$
    – Weasel Squeezer
    Nov 14, 2020 at 23:08
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From testing this closed loop stepper motor and driver I found this:

Q1: What do these mean?

Listening to the noise it makes when moving I've found that I think it meets my initial guess, 'track mode' produces intermittent louder steps throughout the commanded move which I assume is it trying to correct the steps as they happen. 'Point mode' moves quietly to the destination and then has some louder steps at the end of the commanded move which I assume is it compensating for lost steps at the end rather than throughout. Both modes are definitely closed loop as they have a springy effect when forced out of position.

Q2: Which one is better?

It depends on the application. For an application where getting to the correct destination is all that matters then point mode is better. If the movement path needs to be accurate then use track mode. The reason not to use track mode is the increase/irregularity in noise, the motor will make frequent loud corrective steps throughout the move whereas the point mode makes a small amount of loud steps at the end of a commanded move which is predictable and less noticeable. Also if the stepper motors are coupled (moving the same axis synchronously then point mode appears to be better. From testing the track mode with 1/8 micro stepping, I found that one motor that was making corrective steps in the middle of a move caused the other motor miss a step. This issue compounded throughout the move causing lots of noise. Increasing the step size might fix this.

Q3: Is step/direction mode or CW/CCW mode better in general?

I couldn't find an answer for this in general. It seems that your application will probably dictate which is used. When using the accelStepper library for arduino (my application) it only seems to support drivers using step/direction input therefore CW/CCW mode is not an option. Other controllers may be better suited to CW/CCW mode. The current draw of the control pins would be very slightly different. I'd guess that CW/CWW will only send a pulse when a step is needed regardless of direction whereas step/direction might have the direction pin drawing a small current constantly when one of the directions is selected, I'm not sure about this though.

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