stepper motor help

[Momentz]

HI
I didnt know where to put this question,
i have a big roller laminator that i would like to attach a motor to, i was looking at the nema 34 & 42 motors, is it possible to run them without a controller board? just be able to plug it into the wall socket somehow and have a switch for forward/stop/reverse? or perhaps be able to put a variable speed dial on it to speed it up and down? has anyone made something similar or can point me to a website, thanks for your help in advance
Thanks
Chris

[Jawno]

Nobody seems to have chimed in on this so let me see if I can answer your question. I am a bit of a newbie myself so don't take this as gospel but I believe I'm right. The short answer is no this won't work. Stepper motors require some sort of controller to operate. What I would suggest is that you find a winch motor and adapt it. I don't know if they have Harbor Freight in Australia but they have a deal right now four 44 bucks here in US for an electric trolley. It comes with a gear drive 1/2 horsepower motor that just plugs into the wall and has a push button rocker switch for turning forward or backward. something like this could probably be adapted fairly easily.
Good luck and hope this helps.