Comment on Why do we still use stepper motors?
Eranziel@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Cost is the short version, yes.
I don’t know what kind of servos everyone here is talking about that are less precise than open loop steppers. Low quality hobbyist stuff, I guess? Proper servo motors & drives are the standard for good reason for robotics, industrial CNC machines, and pretty much everything else that needs powerful motors with high precision. Much higher power density, higher RPM (good for increasing torque with a gearbox), equivalent or better precision, plus closed loop control is a huge capability and safety gain.
That said, good, industrial quality servo motors are 1) expensive and 2) aren’t made in small enough sizes to be comparable to the steppers on most 3D printers. Even the smallest industrial servo + drive I’ve seen is about 5x as big as the steppers on a personal 3D printer and costs $800ish. Obviously, both are deal breakers for a personal 3D printer.
3D printers are a fairly ideal application for steppers. The moving parts are small and light, meaning you both don’t need a large motor and the danger of slippage is lower. Plus, steppers are cheap.