Overview

The Tic family of stepper motor controllers makes it easy to add basic control of a bipolar stepper motor to a variety of projects.

We stock 9 controllers in this range:

1518-013 TIC T825 With headers soldered in

1518-034 TIC T825 Without headers soldered in

1518-035 TIC T834 With headers soldered in

1518-036 TIC T834 Without headers soldered in

1518-037 TIC T500 With headers soldered in

1518-038 TIC T500 Without headers soldered in

1518-039 TIC T249 With headers soldered in

1518-040 TIC T249 Without headers soldered in

1518-041 TIC 36v4 With headers soldered in

The Tic family of stepper motor controllers makes it easy to add basic control of a bipolar stepper motor to a variety of projects. These versatile, general-purpose modules support six different control interfaces: USB for direct connection to a computer, TTL serial and I²C for use with a microcontroller, RC hobby servo pulses for use in an RC system, analog voltages for use with a potentiometer or analog joystick, and quadrature encoder for use with a rotary encoder dial. They also offer many settings that can be configured using our free configuration utility (for Windows, Linux, and macOS). This software simplifies initial setup of the device and allows for in-system testing and monitoring of the controller via USB (a micro-B USB cable is required to connect the Tic to a computer).

The table below lists the members of the Tic family and shows the key differences among them.

	Tic T500	Tic T834	Tic T825	Tic T249	Tic 36v4
Operating voltage range:	4.5V to 35V	2.5V to 10.8V	8.5V to 45V	10V to 47V	8V to 50V
Max continuous current per phase (no additional cooling):	1.5A	1.5A	1.5A	1.8A	4A
Peak current per phase (additional cooling required):	2.5A	2A	2.5A	4.5A	6A
Microstep resolutions:	full half 1/4 1/8	full half 1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32	full half 1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32	full half 1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32	full half 1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32 1/64 1/128 1/256
Automatic decay selection:
Automatic gain control (AGC):
Driver IC:	MP6500	DRV8834	DRV8825	TB67S249FTG	Discrete MOSFETs

Features and specifications

• Open-loop speed or position control of one bipolar stepper motor
• A variety of control interfaces:
  • USB for direct connection to a computer
  • TTL serial operating at 5 V for use with a microcontroller
  • I²C for use with a microcontroller
  • RC hobby servo pulses for use in an RC system
  • Analog voltage for use with a potentiometer or analog joystick
  • Quadrature encoder input for use with a rotary encoder dial, allowing full rotation without limits (not for position feedback)
  • STEP/DIR inputs for compatibility with existing stepper motor control firmware
• Acceleration and deceleration limiting
• Maximum stepper speed: 50,000 steps per second
• Very slow speeds down to 1 step every 200 seconds (or 1 step every 1428 seconds with reduced resolution).
• Up to six different microstep resolutions:
  • The Tic T825, Tic T834, and T249 support full step, half step, 1/4 step, 1/8 step, 1/16 step, and 1/32 step
  • The Tic T500 supports full step, half step, 1/4 step, 1/8 step
• Digitally adjustable current limit
• Optional safety controls to avoid unexpectedly powering the motor
• Input calibration (learning) and adjustable scaling degree for analog and RC signals
• 5 V regulator (no external logic voltage supply needed)
• Optional limit switch inputs with homing capabilities
• Optional kill switch inputs
• STEP/DIR outputs for controlling external stepper motor drivers
• Connects to a computer through USB via a USB A to Micro-B cable (not included)
• Free configuration software available for Windows, Linux, and macOS
• Comprehensive user’s guide, see 'Downloads' tab

Details for 1518-035

The Tic T834 is based on the DRV8834 IC from Texas Instruments. It can operate from 2.5 V to 10.8 V and can deliver up to approximately 1.5 A per phase without a heat sink or forced air flow (absolute maximum is 2 A per phase).This version is sold with connectors soldered so no soldering is necessary to use it.