We've all experimented with small "hobby motors", or free-spinning DC motors. Have you ever tried to position something accurately with one? It can be pretty difficult. Even if you get the timing just right for starting and stopping the motor, the armature does not stop immediately. DC motors have a very gradual acceleration and deceleration curves; stabilization is slow. Adding gearing to the motor will help to reduce this problem, but overshoot is still present and will throw off the anticipated stop position. The only way to effectively use a DC motor for precise positioning is to use a servo. Servos usually implement a small DC motor, a feedback mechanism (usually a potentiometer with attached to the shaft by gearing or other means), and a control circuit which compares the position of the motor with the desired position, and moves the motor accordingly. This can get fairly complex and expensive for most hobby applications.

Stepper motors, however, behave differently than standard DC motors. First of all, they cannot run freely by themselves. Stepper motors do as their name suggests -- they "step" a little bit at a time.Stepper motors also differ from DC motors in their torque-speed relationship. DC motors generally are not very good at producing high torque at low speeds, without the aid of a gearing mechanism. Stepper motors, on the other hand, work in the opposite manner. They produce the highest torque at lowspeeds. Stepper motors also have another characteristic, holding torque, which is not present in DC motors. Holding torque allows a stepper motor to hold its position firmly when not turning. This can be useful for applications where the motor may be starting and stopping, while the force acting against the motor remains present. This eliminates the need for a mechanical brake mechanism. Steppers don't simply respond to a clock signal, they have several windings which need to be energized in the correct sequence before the motor's shaft will rotate. Reversing the order of the sequence will cause the motor to rotate the other way. If the control signals are not sent in the correct order, the motor will not turn properly. It may simply buzz and not move, or it may actually turn, but in a rough or jerky manner. A circuit which is responsible for converting step and direction signals into winding energization patterns is called a translator. Most stepper motor control systems include adriver in addition to the translator, to handle the current drawn by the motor's windings.