By some estimates, half of the motion systems requiring less than 1 kilowatt of power can be equally served by either step motors or servomotors. In applications with stable loads and speeds under 1,000 rpm, engineers can save the cost of feedback devices by choosing steppers over servos.
There are three main types of step motor: permanent magnet, variable reluctance and hybrid. For industrial motion control applications, hybrid steppers are used more often than the other two.