Did you ever wonder whether stepper motors got better over the past few decades? I have quite a few steppers that came from ewaste and wondered whether there was any hidden performance penalty to using them in DIY CNC or 3D printer projects compared to modern NEMA17s that were meant for that kind of application. In this video we're finding that out! Well, at least sort of... I planned to test microstepping and holding torque, as well as build a test apparatus to run dynamic torque measurements in order to create real torque curves of RPM vs. N•m, but even just the microstepping ended up being such a rabbit hole I never got around to anything else, haha.
So yeah, we'll have to leave it as a "to be continued" for the time being ;D
I don't know when I'll get around to the sequel, though, as this type of content requires significantly more resources than most episodes of a build series, given how much research and off-camera work is involved when I don't know a thing about the topic I'm covering.
The link to my GitHub repo with all the test results:
https://github.com/ChronicMechatronic/Stepper-motor-benchmarking
Funnily enough, even though this video is now the new record holder for the longest runtime on my channel, there were still a few things I decided to skip mentioning about the test apparatus because they seemed of minor importance — had I covered those too, I think it might've surpassed an hour!
While I didn't do enough testing to explicitly recommend any specific model of stepper motor, if you wanted to get some cheapy Chinese ones and have me get a little affiliate commission, here are some relevant AliExpress links:
5pcs USONGSHINE 17HS4401S: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_opUV7sh
This is the EU shipped version — it's better to buy larger quantities if you can, because the unit price goes down (only relevant if you manage to actually find use for them all, that is...). As always, I recommend having a look around for better deals and definitely ordering during a sale when it's a couple cents cheaper. As long as you don't have a certain infamous browser extension installed and click my link before placing any order, my account should get credited with the referral regardless of what item you chose.
That said, here also some A4988 drivers, which I guess are fine for small projects, just not the big motors: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_omqoQDP
And some TMC 2209 I recently bought: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_olfA0Cd
I haven't tested them yet to see whether they actually reach the claimed 2A phase current, but seeing as 3D printers all have them nowadays, I suspect they do. Again, probably worth it to get a pack of five if you can; I only got two individual ones because I don't need that many, seeing as they're soldered onto most 3D printer controllers these days.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support this channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=81848920
Now on Bluesky: @chronicmechatronic.bsky.social
Join my ̶d̶e̶a̶d̶ subreddit r/chronicmechatronic ! Why? No idea.
My ̶a̶b̶a̶n̶d̶o̶n̶e̶d̶ Shutterstock: https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Floraf
Or download free stock photos from my ̶a̶b̶a̶n̶d̶o̶n̶e̶d̶ profiles on Unsplash:
https://unsplash.com/@floraf
https://unsplash.com/@clicabout
ɴᴏᴛᴇ:
there are only so many sites I have the energy to
actively maintain, and aside from YouTube, that's
mostly Patreon and Bluesky at the moment
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MGS Alert sound from: https://www.soundboard.com/sb/sound/915273
Snow VFX by: https://vfx.productioncrate.com/
Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com
Additional graphics from: https://www.cleanpng.com/
The little cartoon baby at the beginning of the video was AI-generated