Page 1 of 3

stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:23 am
by mechneering
I'm having trouble figuring out why my stepper motors on my V2 Rostock are running really hot. I know its not normal, because I have a V1 Rostock and the motors on it run considerably cooler. The extruder motor is getting hot enough that its actually softening the pla filament as it passes over the drive gear into the bowden tube. This has caused several clogs and lots of frustration. The firmware is the latest version that came pre-installed on the V2. Could this be an issue with the current settings for the motors? If anyone has any ideas or experienced similar problems, I would love to find a solution. my V1 prints almost around the clock without issue, but this new V2 is proving less reliable because of the excess heat.

All the steppers are equally hot while running. too hot to touch for very long without getting burned.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:30 am
by guanu
check the sticker on the motors, if they are not wantai, but the label says Kysan do this.... load up your firmware, go to line 701 of configuration.h

change:

#define MOTOR_CURRENT {175,175,175,200,0} // Values 0-255 (RAMBO 135 = ~0.75A, 185 = ~1A)

to:

#define MOTOR_CURRENT {155,155,155,165,0} // Values 0-255 (RAMBO 135 = ~0.75A, 185 = ~1A KYSAN MOTOR CURRENT SETTINGS )

and your problem should go away... you will have more torque and lower temps!

no need to change anything else, your eeprom will hold all your calibration


Guanu

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:46 am
by mechneering
Thanks Mr. Guanu!

my motors are indeed the Kysan type. I will change the firmware and give it a try. Thanks for the quick reply, you guys are awesome!

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 12:58 pm
by teoman
My extruder is also fairly hot. I have not had a problem with it but I will check aswell.

This could be included in the manual.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:10 pm
by critical_limit
guanu wrote:
to:

#define MOTOR_CURRENT {155,155,155,165,0} // Values 0-255 (RAMBO 135 = ~0.75A, 185 = ~1A KYSAN MOTOR CURRENT SETTINGS )

and your problem should go away... you will have more torque and lower temps!

Hi Guanu,

more torque with lower amps??
Can you explain?

Thanx
Dirk

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:14 pm
by teoman
Over heating increases the resistance, hence the ability to draw amps??

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:40 pm
by geneb
AFAIK, the increased temperature weakens the magnetic field.

g.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 2:13 pm
by DavidF
interesting, my settings are 195 across the board. I have the wantai steppers.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 4:06 pm
by Jimustanguitar
mechneering wrote:my motors are indeed the Kysan type.
What are the numbers on the Kysan motors? I've got some that were sourced from Ultimachine and I want to check if they're the same.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 4:24 pm
by guanu
Jimustanguitar wrote:What are the numbers on the Kysan motors? I've got some that were sourced from Ultimachine and I want to check if they're the same.
if they are from ultimachine they are the same that we have

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:49 am
by teoman
I got a broken abs filament today. Not sure if it is heat related.

But my motor is hot. Very uncomfortable to hold more than 5 seconds.


Anyone actively cooling them?

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 1:23 pm
by Polygonhell
They run hot, you really need to measure how hot with a thermometer of some sort, 50C is fine 80C isn't.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 8:31 pm
by Eric
As a general rule, too hot to hold onto (above 130-140F/55-60C for most people) is a fair measure of when you need to be concerned enough to check the specs and measure the temperature properly. Most motors are still fine at 80C too, although there's no reason to run them that hot in this application.

The spec sheet for the box of steppers I happen to have next to me are rated for an 80 C temperature rise above ambient. That's 100 C plus.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 3:17 pm
by teoman
They do not seem to be mega hot at the moment. But it will be a problem once I put the printer in a cupboard.

Anyone have some stls for fan holders?

Also is a fan the way to go? Especially in a box or would the want peltiers?

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 4:16 pm
by teoman
On another note. If fans are installed on each motor, would vibrations start to become an issue?

I.e. should I buy silent and expensive fans or are cheapo ones ok too?

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 4:38 pm
by nitewatchman
There is plethra of Fan Shrouds for NEMA 17 motors on Thingiverse. I was looking at the shrouds that clip over the motor body and push air through from the side. These are also designed for a variety of fan sizes. I like this style since the cooling air is directed at the laminations where the heat is generated rather than the end bell.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:343026" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I decided to fan cool the base with two 80mm fans and it seems to keep the stepper pretty cool also.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:33 pm
by teoman
Thank you for the info. I had found another design but yours seems to be better.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:50 pm
by jesse
geneb wrote:AFAIK, the increased temperature weakens the magnetic field.

g.
I believe that's true. MRI machines use liquid helium cooling to generate very large magnetic fields.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 10:03 am
by muldal
I got the same problem, but i have the wantai stepper motors, any suggestions? Its getting really hot during a print!

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:13 pm
by muldal
No one who is familiar with this problem ? I'm afraid my extruder motor stops working because of the heat.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:25 pm
by DavidF
muldal wrote:No one who is familiar with this problem ? I'm afraid my extruder motor stops working because of the heat.
What are the current settings to your steppers?

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2014 10:26 am
by barbosa.rmv
Hi

I have the same problem.

Rostok Max V2 Keysan steppers

My extruder motor runs hot enough to melt the filament and until there is no traction.

I did make the changes for the MOTOR_CURRENT as recommended

Should we lower it a bit more?

Thanks

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 5:33 pm
by add1ct3dd
I sometimes get the same on long and slow prints, 165 is too much still imo.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 4:02 am
by zerakren
I am also having this issue. all steppers running hot and giving a high pitched annoying sound. the extruder is stripping my filament now as well which is really unfortunate because im trying to calibrate it so that finally use this blasted printer. Im thinking this could be the cause of my under-extruding issue.

Kysan 1124090 7951 steppers
printing octave red abs @ 215c

I have not changed the config.h file just yet. did anyone have any luck with this?
Having so many issues with this printer. It was a much larger project than I expected.

Re: stepper motors are super hot!

Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 9:01 am
by RocketMagnet
215 sounds very low to me.. this will essentially be putting more backpressure on the motor causing it to do more work.. and get hotter.
Considering your chewing up your filament in the feeder... does seem to confirm this to me...

I don't think any ABS I've got I run at <225 DegC - normally 228 - 233.

Lots of stuff on setting current power for the steppers- here's one I know about..
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... san#p60744" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you have Kysans the default power will be too high so you really should change them IMO as they will run hotter than they can..