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Topic starter
2020-12-30 1:32 pm
I'm totally new to steppers. I bought a NEMA 17 stepper motor (17HS8401) which says rated current is 1.7 amps. I did some checking and decided to go with a DM542 driver. Which may be overkill, not sure. Anyway here's my setup.
DM542 running on 24v 5a power supply. Set to 400 Pulses. All hooked to an UNO. I've used several sketches starting with the Dronebot sketch for simple speed/direction control. Works fine. I also tried some of the accel stepper example sketches. No problems but the motor got quite warm. Not too hot to touch but quite warm.
Is 24v too much for this motor? My power supply indicated it was drawing about 500ma. I had it running about a half hour at various speeds and directions. Is this heat normal?
GregW66
2020-12-30 2:01 pm
Hi Greg
I suspect that everything you have set up is operating properly. Stepper motors are actually rated for their current draw, not voltage, so 24v is likely just fine.
And they do tend to dissipate quite a bit of heat as well.
The DM542 allows you to select the current limit using DIP switches, which I suspect you have already done. As long as you keep it within the 1.7A maximum for the 17HS8401 you should be fine.
😎
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
Topic starter
2020-12-30 5:41 pm
Thanks for the reply and assurance. I will forge on. Next up is how to home it (covered in a video) and then to get it to go to predetermined locations for my railroad turntable.
GregW66
DroneBot Workshop reacted