[solved]fire induced stepper motor strike help

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
I fried the board on my ender 3 pro (3D printer) during a DIY print volume increase.

One of the stepper drivers decided it was too cold for comfort and heated the stepper driver to well above what the board can handle with fire as a result.

It was in a controlled environment so nothing bad happened otherwise.

Anyway I ordered a new V2.4.7 board (the original was the older V2.4.2) and hooked up only 1 stepper motor, the LCD display and the main power.

When trying to move a stepper motor using the LCD interface (prepare->move axis-> move X -> 0.1mm
Nothing happens. I tried the original cable I tried a longer cable. It is not doing anything anymore ;(

It's like the stepper motors have gone on strike


I measured the voltage on the board to the stepper driver and it is set correctly so I am not sure if there are any other steps to be taken before the board starts driving the stepper again.

Does anyone have a suggestion on what to try next in order to find out where the problem lies?
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,070
To help we need a datasheet on the controller and stepper motor, and perhaps some photos of how you connected it.

There is just no enough information to start solving the problem without just happening to know what those symptoms mean in that case.
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
I can make any shot for one if need be. Please ask for more specific details if that will help to pinpoint the issue at hand

hahahha Yes I know it looks like a mess because it is. However my brain is a little different.
it's what we call an organized mess in the industry.
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,070
I can make any shot for one if need be. Please ask for more specific details if that will help to pinpoint the issue at hand

hahahha Yes I know it looks like a mess because it is. However my brain is a little different.
it's what we call an organized mess in the industry.
Did you try a different motor to make sure that one you chose isn’t dead?
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
9,070
;) of course. I mean I am a newb but not that noob. Please keep the suggestions coming ;)
I would have asked that of nearly anyone who didn’t mention it. In any case, while your “organized mess” may work for you it makes it very hard for other people to help. Normally I would track down the manual and hopefully a schematic for the board and try to work out what might be the problem but today is a busy day.

I would suggest two things.

First, find a way to confirm the stepper(s) work. You can use a stepper motor tester, or an Arduino, or even just apply some pulses to the motor‘s windings manually to see if they move.

Second, I would measure all the voltages that should be expected. The power to the board, the power out of the interface that is supposed to run the driver board. The power out of the driver board, etc. If something stops having the expected power, that part is the problem.

I will be back around more in a couple of days, maybe I can help more than. Good luck.
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
Thank you all for your efforts. max respected.

It turns out that the steppers work just fine but it is their torque that is simply not able to handle the large forces involed with a size like this. That also explains why I fried the original board in the first place.

I am now looking into the more serious motors. NEMA 23 and upwards
 

Thread Starter

quitenoob

Joined Mar 27, 2022
262
NEMA is a frame mounting size standard for the motor.
It is not a rated indication of torque.
although correct, it is safe to say that any NEMA 23 has a higher torque than my current NEMA 17. In general terms larger is better as far as I understood it.

However, If you have suggestions on NEMA 17 motors that greatly improve on the 0.4nm torque my current printer brings then by all means please tell me.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
Agreed, but for example I have used Oriental motors that are all the same NEMA size, but go from 25 oz-in to 118 oz-in.
So NEMA to me is meaningless in terms of Torque.
 
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