Stepper motor recommendations

Hey Engineers,

I am also trying my hand at a 3d printer project with an arduino kit, but I have NO idea what kind of stepper motors I should be using. I see there are a couple of threads about it but you don't mention the actual ones you are using. Care to share what works?  Thanks!

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  • Most of the printer designs I have seen use a use a gear driving a belt.

  • I can advice. Do you know your torque and speed requirements. Also I need to know are you going to drive directly or using some gear between you 3D Printer axis and stepper motor.

  • I was reading over some sections in the reprap wiki, and i remembered that i didn't mention the common NEMA 17 types. From the wiki:

    there are usually two types of NEMA 17 motors :

    • high voltage stepper motors, that work usually on 12 to 14V, the working current is usually below 1A. These don't work well with microstepping chopper drivers and are not recommended.
    • low voltage stepper motors, that work usually on 2 to 4V, the rated current is usually over 1A.
  • The de-facto standard is a NEMA-17 bipolar stepper motor similar to http://www.amazon.com/Bipolar-Stepper-Motors-RepRap-Printer/dp/B00C...

    There are many manufacturers of these, so both quality and asthetics can vary. The motors I use are from Minebea Motor Manufacturing Corp. These are two-phase hybrid stepper motor (Low Noise, Low Vibration) and their parameters are: step-angle: 1.8°, Length: 42, 0.38nm, 1.0-1.4A

    At the end of the day, though, all that really matters is the spec sheet. As long as you have a stepper driver that can provide appropriate amperage to your motors and they can operate on 12v, you should be all set. You are going to be calibrating the hell out of everything anyway, so dont fret too much.

    Depending on which arduino kit you have, take a look at the RepRap wiki page for it. I have a sanguino, and the page provides recommended sellers for kits and parts: http://reprap.org/wiki/Sanguinololu

    Welcome to ELFS, and may god have mercy on your soul for the plastic-extruding adventure you are embarking on.

    P.S. As totally random and unstructured as they are, you might also want to check the RepRap forums - those guys are grizzled 3D print veterans, and I am sure they will have some great reccomendations. http://forums.reprap.org/

    P.P.S. I notice that you are in Waltham, if you ever get stuck down the line look up the "Artisan's Asylum" in Somerville. They have a number of 3d printers and print expert members, as well as just about every sort of engineer you might like to find.

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