Z stepper hotter than the others
I noticed that during printing (say after 30 minutes from start, did not check sooner yet) the Z-axis stepper is quite hot to the touch (I can still keep my hand on it but it is not very nice). I checked others and X-axis is only warm, extruder stepper a bit warmer, with Y-axis seeming almost as hot as the Z one, but harder to check during print and being near the hotbed I am not as surprised with that.
But the Z-axis one surprises me quite a bit so I wanted to check with others.
It works quite a lot, moving slightly all the time during print (probably the X axis is not entirely parallel with the bed).
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
Stepper motors usually get hot when they hold their position for a long time, so it makes sense that your Z motor gets warmer than the X one which moves a lot more. Don't worry about it unless you can smell it burning in your room.
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
@matteo-cristini
Ah, so I had it reversed and thought that more movement equals more heat 😀
Makes sense, thank you!
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
Well, my Z motor is continuously moving, but still gets quite hot. I think steppers use similar power whether they are moving or not.
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
@bobcousins
They're supposed to get hot regardless of whether they're moving or not, but when stationary the motor driver provides full current to keep the position, so they get hotter faster. At least this is what happens in most stepper motor/driver combo.
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
So the drivers provide less current during motion, and risk losing steps? Surely you need more power when moving to overcome stiction etc... that doesn't make sense...
The difference is minimal anyway, steppers use about the same power whether moving or not.
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
@bobcousins
That's what I remember studying, maybe I'm wrong. I'll go check my textbooks again
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
Ok so here's where I think I wasn't clear and caused the misunderstanding: the driver provides full current both when the motor is moving and when it is idle; if the motor sits in a fixed position for a long enough time (idle, or like in the case of the Z motor, for most of the layer height) it will heat up more. It should work something like this. Please tell me if I'm wrong again so I can revise a little more! Motors are something I studied a while ago so I might not remember everything properly 🙂
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
Well, if the supplient current is the same, the power has to go somewhere, and instead of movement (acceleration) it turns into more heat.
The z-axis stepper is powered all the time and does very small movements (because of uneven bed) only, where the x-axis one does move significantly more.
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
I don't understand motors per se, but my theories are:
- The Z axis si moving the crew, while X, and Y are moving belts. Maybe thet needs different force/power?
- Z keeps doing very slight motions (+- 5 degs) constantly, even when printing on the same level. Because the auto mesh bed leveling.
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
Is your z axis extreme hanging? While I'm on y 0 my z axis is pretty good in position at 0.
IfiI go on y 180 my z axis is about 1 mm in the air without movin this axis. So I have to align my z axis. While compensating this the z motor needs really much moving and gets hot.
RE: Z stepper hotter than the others
Well, if the supplient current is the same, the power has to go somewhere, and instead of movement (acceleration) it turns into more heat.
The z-axis stepper is powered all the time and does very small movements (because of uneven bed) only, where the x-axis one does move significantly more.
Yes! This is what I meant, too bad I kinda suck at explaining 😓