How to Ensure All Motors Stop Immediately When One Faults During Multi-Stepper Motor Synchronization

Utilize the drive's hardware alarm signals to directly control emergency stopping via a relay, achieving fast and safe shutdown independent of the controller.

Solution:

For example, connect the alarm output signals from two stepper drives in parallel to jointly control the coil of a single relay.

Use the output contacts of this relay to connect directly to the emergency stop input terminals of both drives.

Logic:

When any one drive detects a fault (e.g., overcurrent, overvoltage, stall) and triggers its internal alarm signal, this signal will break the circuit to the relay coil.

The relay de-energizes, causing its contact state to change, which immediately sends an emergency stop signal to both drives simultaneously.

Upon receiving the emergency stop signal, both drives will immediately execute their built-in emergency stop procedure (typically dynamic braking), forcing the motors to stop rapidly.

Note on Synchronous Control:

Most stepper drives do not inherently possess synchronization functionality. Synchronized operation must be implemented by the user from the upper-level control system.

The standard method is for the control system (e.g., PLC, motion controller) to send identical pulse and direction commands simultaneously to both drives.

A critical prerequisite: All parameter settings (such as microstepping, current) for both drives must be identical; otherwise, synchronization cannot be achieved.

Synchronization Accuracy: The final synchronization accuracy is influenced by various factors including mechanical assembly, load differences, and motor performance. Users need to test and verify this in the actual application.

Updated on: 30/10/2025