Why are some stepper motor drivers loud?

Why are some stepper motor drivers loud?

Stepper motors are known to generate audible noise as they operate, which is undesirable for many applications. Traditional stepper motor drivers with fixed-percentage mixed decay current chopping and low levels of microstepping greatly contribute to the noise.

How does a stepper motor produce sound?

Those sounds come mostly from the stepper motors that are used to move each of the axes. Unlike typical DC motors, stepper motors are designed to rotate in steps of just a couple degrees. When they need to rotate further than that the speed of the steps increases and ends up producing a pitch.

What causes a stepper motor to chatter?

The principal source of these resonances is that the stator flux moves in a discontinuous way when you use a non-microstepping stepper motor driver — forty-five or ninety degrees at a time — causing a pulsing energy flow to the rotor, and these pulsations excite the resonance.

How can I make my motor quieter?

Capacitors are usually the most effective way to suppress motor noise, and as such we recommend you always solder at least one capacitor across your motor terminals. Typically you will want to use anywhere from one to three 0.1 µF ceramic capacitors, soldered as close to the motor casing as possible.

What is a silent stepper driver?

Ensuring noiseless operation with StealthChop2, the chip enables smooth and silent stepper motors with for everyday use. At the same time, the sophisticated chopper increases efficiency and motor torque compared with normal choppers.

Why is TMC2208 silent?

Why use only two TMC2208? The most noise comes from the Y-axis and the X-axis. Because the Z-axis rarely moves when printing you do not hear much noise. The TMC2208 can deliver less power than the standard A4988 driver.

What criteria are necessary when choosing a stepper motor?

The selection criteria of a stepper motor include resolution required, drive mechanism component, operating pattern required such as sequencing, accelerationetc. and torque required. 11. What is the formula to calculate the step angle of a stepper motor?

How do you stop a stepper motor from vibrating?

First, we will go over the most common mechanical methods to reduce vibration in stepper motors.

  1. Install a mechanical clean damper.
  2. Use a high resolution type stepper motor.
  3. Use a 5-phase stepper motor.
  4. Use geared stepper motors.
  5. Perform a thorough sizing of the motor.

Can motors be silent?

#165370. Noise is typically from the gears in the reduction. The design and more important the gear precision is what makes a quiet gear train. Therefore a very high quality gear motor will be quiet.

Why are small motors so loud?

Most small engines don’t have coolant they are air cooled and so they need a fan to pull cool air across the engine, and fans are noisy.

Is it OK to make noise on stepper motor?

Well, nuts should not be it. It should drive your stepper motor and be done with it. But what if by nature stepper motors are noise and it is just a matter of learning to live with it? Chances are you are not about to buy into such a lifestyle.

Why do stepper drivers need to be tuned to the motor?

If you manage to get a motor with less inductance, the switching frequency will increase as well. Keep in mind this is why each stepper driver system needs to be “tuned” to the motor. Not necessarily on a unit per unit basis, but definitely on a part number to part number basis.

What happens if you decrease the current on a stepper?

If you decrease too much, you may start loosing steps and this is a big NO NO when it comes to stepper driving. Since you are operating the motor in open loop, you must ensure the right amount of current is supplied at all times. You don’t know when load is to change, so you need to make sure all bases are covered.

Can a stepper motor be run in open loop?

Driving the stepper motor in open loop is the reason we have stepper motors in the first place! Decreasing current while not running, however, is pretty much the right thing to do. Again, only to some extent.