Hello,
I recently came across a question that I would like to ask you for help with.
I am considering using closed loop stepper motors and drivers in my 3D printer. If I had two stepper motors for one axis, I would connect them in parallel. Is this also possible with closed loop stepper motors, since these encoders are connected?
I haven’t personally used closed loop steppers, so this might be a little hardware-dependent. I’d imagine the stepper takes 4 wires, like you’d normally use to drive current into a traditional stepper, but the motor comes with its own driver, encoder, and a separate input for power, right? If that’s the case, you should be able to parallel up the two units on the input side, no problem. If you drive 10 steps into both, both internal controllers will then make sure 10 steps of rotation happen on the output shaft.
If you’re talking about DIYing closed loop steppers and you’re also responsible for implementing the control side, no, certainly not. A driver listening to one encoder will only be able to accurately drive the stepper attached to that encoder. But it doesn’t sound to me like that’s what you mean.
It is possible to use a single driver for 2 stepper motors but you lose power (voltage or current, depending on parallel/series). Better to parallel the step/dir inputs to 2 drivers, one for each motor.
Servos or closed loop drivers can only drive one motor.
For what it’s worth, if you are using the motors to drive a gantry, you probably want to look into autosquaring. That allows you to square the gantry when ever you want. In CNC machines, it happen with homing.
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If it is micro steppers, they are controlled with current. Maybe put the windings in series so they are controlled with the same current?