[POLOLU PINS]: Difference between SLEEP and ENABLE

Hi,

I am developing now a device which use pololu for driving a NEMA 17. The movement is equal to axis Z Prusa movement. As Arduino RAMPS, I want to control 3 parameters of the driver: STEP, DIR AND ON/OFF. I have read a lot about pololu (and stepstick), but it is not clear for me, what is the best option to control the status (ON/OFF) of Pololu, if to use SLEEP pin or ENABLE pin - really I have not found the difference between them. In my first prototype, I have used SLEEP, and then I have realized that Arduino and RAMPS use ENABLE.

What is the difference between ENABLE and SLEEP? What is the best option?

Thank you very much,
Antonio

The difference, as I see it, is the state in which the pin enables your Pololu. Choose the pin that is more convenient for you to drive. Both pins will disable the output FETs.

Thank you very much jkoljo.

then the next question is, what is the difference between SLEEP state and ENABLE state and how can I evaluate which is better for my device performance?

To control the chip, you can either:
- Tie enable pin to vcc, and pull sleep down to disable chip when you want
- Leave sleep alone, pull enable up to activate, and leave it alone to disable chip when you want

The main difference between SLEEP and ENABLE is that SLEEP disables the entire chip meaning the motors will return to a full step position when powered on again. ENABLE only disables the motors, but leaves all the other logic unaffected. Source: [staceyw1.wordpress.com]