What do you think?
I swear there was a big reason I went with parallel in the beginning of all this but now I can’t find anything saying series is bad. Dammit I know what I will be doing tomorrow…how to test it and get actual numbers is the hard part.
Seems to me that series would be where we want to run these…
For longevity and accuracy. Lemme know, I’m about to put mine together, just waiting on some more petg which should be in today to finish the last couple parts.
The only thing I can think of is that you won’t be following the instructable exactly since the motors face opposite directions and one needs to be reversed. Otherwise it should work just fine. Parallel still seems easier to me.
This is exactly true.
Series connection requires higher voltage and lower current as compared with parallel. Since current is a problem for the driver, but voltage is not, the series connection is usually preferrable.
For example, one small (400 oz-in) stepper I have here is rated 3 amps @ 4.24 volts series, and 6 amps @ 2.12 volts parallel. 3-amp drivers are a lot cheaper than 6-amp drivers.
A series connection provides a high inductance and therefore greater torque at low speeds. A parallel connection will lower the inductance which results in increased torque at faster speeds.
extract from elewhere on the web…
this is right for standard 3d printer like prussa i3 with 2 motors for the Z axe.
So in several places it says series is better at slow speeds, this http://rigidtalk.com/wiki/index.php?title=Z-Axis_Stepper_Motor_-_Series_Connected_Splitter_Board, is the only one that seems to have a graph. The graph is in half steps though, not sure how it would convert. I am still not sure. It is very hard to test the strength of the steppers in practical use. WE can go as low as 8th stepping if it really helps.
I can test this today if anyone has a legit way to quantify the changes in power? Maybe a force gauge and move the axis at set speeds and see what it takes to stall them while in motion and keep an eye on driver and stepper temps at the same time?
At the same time, I have never had a stepper power issue. My only problems have always been rigidity related. Maybe I will stick with the rigidity stuff and hope someone that understands electronics at this level weigh in on this. I am all for improving the machine with easy stuff like this but I think I should spend my time on rigidity first.
At the same time, I have never had a stepper power issue. My only problems have always been rigidity related. Maybe I will stick with the rigidity stuff and hope someone that understands electronics at this level weigh in on this. I am all for improving the machine with easy stuff like this but I think I should spend my time on rigidity first.