Tips on Wiring a step motor to a driver

There are 2 configurations. I only explain the bipolar more in-depth currently but will add unipolar also some day. Bipolar configuration is more popular anyway these days.

Connecting 4 or 6 lead stepper motor in a bipolar configuration
The 4-wire stepper motor is easiest and most popular configuration these days. You only have to find out which leads form a pair. Easiest is to use multimeter and measure resistance between wires that are coming from the stepper motor. 4-wire motor is easiest. If there is no reading it’s not connected. If you get reading- it’s a pair. You can even do it without multimeter by just turning motor while touching wires. Whichever combination makes motor harder to move- is a pair.

In a 6-wire motor, you have to find outer leads and skip the center common leads. Center leads will be exactly 1/2 of the resistance than the outer leads. Just start testing lead pairs and find out which leads make up pairs with most resistance.

These 2 pairs can now be connected to the drive. Usually, these pairs are called A and B. In my example they are wired to a bipolar A3967 drive where there is clear marking which leads go to where. Sometimes connectors on the drive are marked as A1, A2 and B1, B2. Sometimes they are marked A-, A+ and B-, B+. It doesn’t matter which way you connect wires within one pair. It only changes the rotation of the motor.

Connecting 5 lead or 6 lead stepper motor in a unipolar configuration
A 5-wire stepper motor can only be wired as unipolar.  6-wire motor can be used both. To use 6 wire stepper motor in a unipolar configuration you only need to connect center taps together. And that connected center taps will be the fifth wire and you can use it as 5-wire stepper.

Unipolar stepper motor wiring to the drive is a bit harder. You have to find out the correct order for wires. Otherwise motor will only step forward and backward. Go look this video on youtube which is very easy to follow and explains greatly the process of finding correct order.