Downloads
This page lists files available for download. In each case, we suggest that you should right-click on the link, and then select the "Save As" option which then appears (assuming that you are using Microsoft Explorer to browse our site). Save the file to some convenient folder on your machine for your use at any time.
The executable files (such as the "SetUpStepperBoard" program) will only install under Windows 2000 and above; they are not compatible with Linux, Mac, or other operating systems.
Complete Installation Package
For this file, download the file into some convenient folder on your machine, and then double-click on the file to run it so that it can be installed.
Click here to view the installation package version history. The full set of packages were last updated on July 23, 2010.
SetUpStepperBoard.exe 40 Mb) -- Selectively installs the high-quality versions of all available documentation and sample code for all products, including the high quality versions of all of the files shown on this download page as well as the StepperBoard class libraries and USB drivers. It includes optional selection for which components are to be installed on your system. Last updated on 7/23/2010.
Always "uninstall" any prior version of our code ('UniversalStepper' or 'StepperBoard') before installing a new version! The "uninstall features" item is installed on your start menu as part of the standard install. On XP systems, this can be found under "UniversalStepper->Uninstall Features" or "StepperBoard->Uninstall Features". On all systems, it can be found in the "Add or Remove Programs" applet (also called "Programs and Features" under Vista) within the Windows Control Panel. This is the best way to avoid incorrect code being left on your system, and is a more robust method of making certain that the correct Active-X DLL is actually registered with Windows. If you have modified the sources for your own use, copy them into another directory before doing the uninstall.
SetUpStepperBoardExamples.exe (968 kb) -- Selectively install just our sample code into your "My Documents\StepperBoard" folder. This is a snapshot copy of our examples, designed for direct editing by you. No applications are installed or registered with the system -- to delete, just delete the folders. Please note that this application is installed as part of the above 'SetUpStepperBoard' application operation. Updated on 7/6/2010.
SetUpFTDIStepperBoard 2.06.00 - WHQL Certified.exe (3 Mb) -- Preinsall the WHQL Certified Stepperboard version of the FTDI USB 2.06.00 drivers to your computer. Please note that this file does install the actual USB drivers for use under Windows®. The drivers are also available in ZIP form from FTDIStepperBoard 2.06.00 WHQL Certified.zip. Updated on 4/2/2010.
SetUpSimplexCNC.exe (9 Mb) -- Install the SimplexCNC application. This application will only run in demo mode unless one of the special versions of the SD4DP or SD4D series of boards is installed. Updated on 7/6/2010.
Applications
TestSerialPorts.exe (72 Kb)-- Simple Visual Basic 6.0 application which can scan all com ports from COM1 to COM255 on your system, to detect which are real ports and which are connected to any of our stepper motor controller products. This application can also automatically adjust FTDI USB settings to better work with StepperBoard products. Last updated on 7/6/2010.
SimpleSerial.exe (72 kb) -- Simple Visual Basic 6.0 application which acts as a simplified terminal. This may be used (instead of HyperTerminal) to "talk" to any of our boards. Last updated on 7/6/2010.
Please note that sources to both of the above application are installed in the
'My Documents'->StepperBoard->StepperBoardStatic'
directory as part of installation from our 'SetUpStepperBoardExamples' application, above.
SetUpFirmwareUpdate.exe (400 kb) -- Install 'FirmwareUpdate' application and all related firmwares to support user-mode firmware updates for StepperBoard products that support the capability. Currently, this only supports the BS1010 and BC2D20 series. Last updated on 7/23/2010.
Documentation files, in Adobe format
Click here if you need to download the current version Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe's site.
Click here if you prefer to use Foxit Reader as is available from the Foxit Software site.
AppNotePNC001-ParallaxQuickStart.pdf (1.9 Mb) -- Application note summarizing use of Parallax Basic Stamp with our products. Last updated on 3/21/2007.
BC2DNCStepper.pdf (1.1 Mb) -- Manual for the BC2D15 dual-axis current regulating stepper motor controller using the BC2D15NCStepper firmware. Last updated on 10/31/2008.
BC2DPotRouter.pdf (1.2 Mb) -- Manual for the BC2D15 dual-axis current regulating stepper motor controller using the BC2D15PotRouter firmware. Last updated on 10/31/2008.
BC2DPotStepper.pdf (1.2 Mb) -- Manual for the BC2D15 dual-axis current regulating stepper motor controller using the BC2D15PotStepper firmware. Last updated on 10/31/2008.
BC2D20PotRouter.pdf (1.3 Mb) -- Manual for the BC2D20 dual-axis current regulating stepper motor controller using the BC2D20PotRouter firmware. Last updated on 7/23/2010.
BC4D15NCRouter.pdf (1.3 Mb) -- Manual for the BC4D15 and BC4E15 four-axis current regulating stepper motor controller using the BC4D15NCRouter/BC4E15NCRouter firmwares. Last updated on 7/6/2009.
BC4D15PotRouter.pdf (1.4 Mb) -- Manual for the BC4D15 and BC4E15 four-axis current regulating stepper motor controller using the BC4D15PotRouter and BC4E15PotRouter firmwares. Last updated on 7/6/2009.
BC4E15PNCRouter.pdf (1.3 Mb) -- Manual for the BC4E15 four-axis current regulating stepper motor controller using the BC4E15PNCRouter firmware. Last updated on7/6/2009.
FirstUse.pdf (2.4 Mb) -- Manual which should be read first by all users of our products. This includes general techniques for testing any of our boards, and also provides hints on how to get the products running using Parallax Inc. Basic Stamps. Last modified on 7/6/2009.
FTDI-FT232BM-Windows_Driver_Installation_Guide.pdf (2.5 Mb) -- Complete windows driver installation guide from FTDI (http://www.ftdichip.com) describing the installation of the drivers for their FT232BM chip. This describes the installation of the drivers for our USBToTTL board. Last copied from FTDI's documentation libary on 12/29/2004. Please also see our manual, USBToTTLSerial.pdf. This manual describes the details specific to configuring the drivers when used with our USBToTTL board.
GenStepperRelays.pdf (249 kb) -- Preliminary Manual which documents a technique that allows control of up to 2 relays at the same time as operating one stepper motor, when using the GenStepper firmware. Last modified on 8/9/2003. Note that use of the RelayStepper firmware is strongly preferred!
HalfPowerNotes.pdf (834 kb) -- Manual which should be read first by expert users of our products who need to make use of the 1/2 power mode available in the GenStepper and NCStepper firmwares. This includes general techniques for testing any of our boards, and also provides hints on how to get the products running using Parallax Inc. Basic Stamps. Last modified on 9/8/2005. This manual is not needed by those using the UCC30xx series of controllers.
NCStepper.pdf (723 Mb) -- General manual for the NCStepper firmware, all compatible boards (use the matching UniversalStepper manual for hardware information). Last updated 10/31/2008.
NCStepper4D.pdf (1.1 Mb) -- General manual for the NCStepper4D firmware for use with the SS4D series of boards. Last updated 8/28/2008.
PotStepper.pdf (977 kb) -- General manual for the PotStepper firmware, all compatible boards (use the matching UniversalStepper manual for hardware information). Last updated 10/31/2008.
PotStepper4D.pdf (1.1 Mb) -- General manual for the PotStepper4D firmware and the SS4D series of driver boards. Last updated 10/31/2008.
RelayStepper.pdf (754 kb) -- General manual for the RelayStepper firmware, all compatible boards (use the matching UniversalStepper manual for hardware and stepper motor information). Last updated 10/31/2008.
RS232ToTTL.pdf (155 kb) -- Complete manual for the RS232ToTTL serial converter board. Last updated 6/8/2007.
RS422ToTTL.pdf (178 kb) -- Complete manual for the RS422ToTTL serial converter board. Last updated 6/8/2007.
SD4DFifoNCStepper.pdf (952 kb) -- Full manual for the SD4DFifoNCStepper firmware as installed on the SD4DP 4 motor step-and-direction controller. Last updated 1/10/2010.
SD4DFifoStepper.pdf (817 kb) -- Full manual for the SD4DFifoStepper firmware as installed on the SD4DP 4 motor step-and-direction controller. Last updated 10/31/2008.
SD4DNCRouter.pdf (1.0 Mb) -- Full manual for the SD4DNCRouter firmware as installed on the SD4D 4 motor step-and-direction controller. Last updated 1/10/2010.
SD4DPotRouter.pdf (950 kb) -- Full manual for the SD4DPotRouter firmware as installed on the SD4D 4 motor step-and-direction controller. Last updated 5/29/2009.
SD4DGenIO.pdf (829 kb) -- Full manual for the SD4DGenIO firmware as installed on the SD4D series of 4 motor step-and-direction controllers. Last updated 6/5/2009.
SD4DPGenIO.pdf (829 kb) -- Full manual for the SD4DPGenIO firmware as installed on the SD4DP 4 motor step-and-direction controller. Last updated 5/14/2007.
SerRoute.pdf (933 kb) -- General manual for the SerRoute firmware, all compatible boards (use the matching UniversalStepper manual for hardware information). Last updated 6/5/2009.
SimplexCNC.pdf (1.5 Mb) -- Documentation for the SimplexCNC appliction. Last updated 5/10/2009.
StepperBoardClass.pdf (1.7 Mb) -- Documentation for the StepperBoard class library. Last updated 5/20/2010.
UCDualStepper30xx.pdf (1.3 Mb) -- Manual for the UCC30xx series of products with the UCDualStepper firmware installed. Last updated 6/21/2009.
UCNCStepper30xx.pdf (1.3 Mb) -- Manual for the UCC30xx series of products with the UCNCStepper firmware installed. Last updated 6/21/2009.
UCPNCStepper30xx.pdf (1.3 Mb) -- Manual for the UCC30xx series of products with the UCPNCStepper firmware installed. Last updated 10/31/2008.
UCPotStepper30xx.pdf (1.4 Mb) -- General manual for the UCPotStepper30xx firmware, as installed on the UCC30xx series of boards. Last updated 6/21/2009.
UniversalStepper.pdf (1.0 Mb) -- Manual for the SimStep, BiStepA04 and BiStepA05 products. Last updated 10/31/2008.
UniversalStepperBiStepA06.pdf (920kb) -- Manual for the BiStepA06 product. Last updated 10/31/2008.
UniversalStepperBS0610G.pdf (1.1 Mb) -- Manual for the BiStepA06 and BS0710 products. Last updated 12/5/2009.
UniversalStepperBS1010.pdf (1.1 Mb) -- Manual for the BS1010 series of products. Last updated 7/23/2010.
UniversalStepper2.pdf (1.1 Mb) -- Manual for the BiStep2A product. Last updated 10/31/2008.
UniversalStepperSS0705.pdf (1.1 Mb) -- Manual for the SS0705 product. Last updated 10/31/2008.
UniversalStepperSS0805.pdf (1.0 Mb) -- Manual for the SS0805 and SS0905 products. Last updated 10/31/2008.
USBToTTLSerial.pdf (292kb) -- Manual for the USBToTTL product. Last updated 6/21/2009.
ZeroYMotor.txt (8kb) -- This is a sample VBS script, which uses our BiStepComCtl class to locate the "zero" position of a Y motor.
Firmware Updates
BS1010 Firmware releases
dsPicGenStepper version 5.07 -- Corrects issue on saving potentiometer settings to EEProm.
dsPicGenStepper version 5.05 -- REQUIRED UPDATE: Supersedes all prior dsPicGenStepper versions! Corrects possible race condition which could cause incorrect operation if a new 'G' or 'S' command is processed before completion of a prior movement.
Also, adds 'Adjust Target' mode to 'G' and 'S', that allows motion to continue on new 'G' or 'S' if issued while prior command is under way. Extends the 'Step And Direction' mode of operation to also support 'Step And Seek', which allows the controller to manage the trapezoidal rate profile while accepting step and direction input pulses. Released on 5/11/2010.
dsPicGenStepper version 5.04 -- REQUIRED UPDATE: Supersedes all prior dsPicGenStepper versions! Adds workaround for silicon issue with the MicroChip microprocessor. The chip could incorrectly detect that the oscillator was not running, and force a random reboot with a proprietary section of flash being rewritten. Theoretically, depending on when this happened, the chip could become unresponsive, thus preventing the board from operating (which would require a return of the board to the factory for reprogramming). Released on 4/21/2010.
dsPicGenStepper version 5.03 -- Adds support for bootloader-based erase of user flash memory (internal improvement; existing 5.02 customers do not need this update)
dsPicGenStepper version 5.02 -- First official release, supports firmware lockouts for special orders.
dsPicGenStepper version 5.01 -- Beta update, adds saving of TTL output levels as part of 'e' command. Created 12/1/2009.
dsPicGenStepper version 5.00 -- Initial Beta public release. Created 11/9/2009.
BC2D20 Firmware releases
BC2D20PotRouter version 5.07 -- Corrects issue on saving potentiometer settings to EEProm.
BC2D20PotRouter version 5.06 -- Adds support of RDY line control during step-and-seek operations. Created 6/8/2010.
BC2D20PotRouter version 5.05 -- Initial public release. Created 5/18/2010.