New to all this, attempting to build a 3d printer from scratch. I understand the 2A current limit, but can someone explain what voltage motors I should be sourcing to use with the Smoothieboard? Any pointers towards UK suppliers also appreciated.
Regards,
Elliott.
Hi !
Stepper motor voltages are not what you think, and are not something you should be worrying about.
The only important information is the current rating. That needs to be between 0 and 2Amperes.
For the voltages, the different values will just mean differences in speed/torque, but doesn't change if Smoothie can run them or not.
The voltage rating of your steppers also has no useful relation to the voltage of your power supply ( which can be 12 to 24v for a Smoothieboard ).
Cheers.
Thanks Arthur, your clear reply was appreciated, I shall go ahead and order my smoothieboard and stepper motors now! I suspect I will be needing some more of your help as my build gets underway!
Regards,
Elliott.
Elliot, a good place for steppers is omc-stepperonline.com
They are in China, but are a reputable source and have a good range of steppers at great prices. I have bought steppers for 3 CNC machines and countless 3D printers and never had an issue.
For 3D printers, this is my recommendation (stupid FKN wikidot won't allow posting of links… ): omc-stepperonline dot com/3d-printer-nema-17-stepper-motor-2a-45ncm64ozin-17hs162004s-p-16 dot html
2A is the motor current limit based on temperature rise of the motor. The voltage specified for the motor is the DC voltage that produces that current. In general, you want low voltage motors because that means winding resistance and inductance are also low. Stepper motors are commonly run at 10X their rated voltage. The controller is smart enough to limit average current to the 2A or whatever you tell it the current limit should be by altering the duty cycle of the drive voltage pulses. Steppers are run at the higher voltage than rated because it makes the motor perform better. See the geckodrive.com site app notes for a lot of good educational info on steppers.
