STEPPER MOTOR OR SERVO MOTOR?

Optimal Motion Control for your 3D Printer, what is best for you?

Introduction

Motion System is integral in the FDM 3D printer as a whole. From the mini but mighty Monoprice’s MP Mini Delta with 360 * 440 * 480 mm footprint to the Titan of 3D print, Tractus 3D’s T-3500 with 1350 * 1350 * 3550 mm gargantuan size, both uses a similar motion system, stepper motor.

Stepper motor dominates the industry for many years, but the status quo may be shaken by the arrival of servo motor, the counterpart of the stepper motor. What is a servo motor? Why is the utilization in 3d printer rising in recent years? Are there any edges hold by both contenders? Come, let us dive further into it.

What is Servo Motor?

Servo motor is a closed-loop motion control system that utilizes the current to create a magnetic field distribution on the rotor, this in turn develops torque and creates rotation.

This closed-loop uses encoder or resolver to detect the exact position of the rotor, making it a precise system.

**Mechaduino – Open Source, Close Loop (I know it’s kinda convoluted, bear with me mate) industrial servo motor for 3d printer** (source)

Servo or Stepper?

Stepper (left) vs Servo (right) motor (source)

Servo motor is the main issue here. These are the pros and cons of Servo as compared to the stepper motor

Pros

works in high velocity, sometimes reaching the thousands of RPM (700 mm / s printing speed is easily achievable with servo motor),
it is efficient in regard to electricity consumption
it doesn’t produce much noise
and last but not least, the actuator in the servo makes an error because of the belt slipping a thing of the past, because it can correct the position of the extrusion system in real-time.

Cons

It is more pricey as compared to the stepper motor, a NEMA 17 stepper motor, used regularly in desktop 3d printer is tagged at Rp 140.000 – Rp 250.000, while a good servo motor may be tagged at Rp 350.000 up to Rp 1.000.000. Keep in mind that a single 3d printer uses 3 – 4 of them.
To utilize the main advantage of servo motor over stepper motor, the right extrusion system and controller is needed. This will blow your spending up the roof. Some people use Duet 2 Wifi as controller and E3D Hemera as the extrusion system. Total amount Rp 4.600.000 – Rp 5.000.000

Conclusion

If you are a hobbyist who aims at the best performance 3d printer, go use servo motor, it will bring you immense satisfaction. The performance of a 3d printer with servo motor is in the back of the post, enjoy.

If you don’t have a lot of money to do experiments, stick to the stepper motor, it is enough for now.

That’s all from Tridiku, follow us on Instagram if you want to get the latest news about 3d printing world. hope this can brighten your day. Stay safe, cheerio!

Source

MirageC’s Youtube Video – “Printing at 800 mm/s on a FDM CoreXY – Can the HevORT do it?” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibsBiALMMSE

GalcoTV’s Youtube Video – “Servo vs Stepper Motors – A Galco TV Tech Tip” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arDY9wXzCr4

Patrick Christopher Panggabean

Patrick is passionate about business and people. He usually falls asleep at night watching economy documentary and engineering videos. Currently he is the CMO of Tridiku 3D Print Technology, a company experienced in Small – Mid class 3D Printing. You can contact him and talk about business (or anything actually, he’s kinda lonely) by sending a direct message to his instagram account (@patrick.cp).