Finding the Best NEMA17 Stepper Motor: LDO Motors, STEPPERONLINE and more tested with a dynamometer

NEMA17 motors are ubiquitous, and sometimes they even look identical. How do we know which motors will perform the best, and is there even a best motor for every application?

In this video, we test five NEMA17 stepper motors with a dynamometer and examine their speed-torque curves to find which motor performs the best.

Components used (affiliate links):

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:32 Specifications
02:56 What is Torque
04:21 Dynamometer
05:54 Data Processing
06:57 Results
10:41 TMC2209 at 24V
10:58 TB6600
12:42 24V, Finally
13:45 One Last Thing
14:53 Preliminary Conclusions
17:24 More to Come

[willemstigter]

Those flat spots at the beginning of the torque-speed curves are due to the current limit on the drivers.
The torque is proportional to the current.
Once the motor speeds up there is less time to build up current before switching direction of current flow which is why the current drops at higher speeds as well as torque.
This is why higher voltage systems are beneficial because they can build up the same amount of current in less time.
This allows for a longer flat spot in the torque-speed curves

[VezD]

Awesome dyno tester man!!! I love it. To really see the super power shining, give them 48v and 2.4amp+ 😊. Instant sub for me!!

[jaro]

Great video and dyno.
The TMC2209 can blow up because you have no bulk capacitance on your test board. You could also add a 24V TVS in parallel as a safety mechanism.

As other commenter mentioned, adding inductance to the spec table would give us a hint as to the high speed performance.
LDO-42STH48-2504AC = 1.5mH
LDO-42STH48-2804AC = 0.6mH
Stepperonline = 2.4mH
usongshine = 3.2mH
jk42hs48-1684-08af = 2.8mH

Its a trade off, so if you want speed you just choose a low inductance model. Doesn't need to be some fancy 3d printer brand. That and always use 24V or even 48V if possible.

[MrFoxconnChannel]

Nice video and results! Your TMC2209 drivers probably died because you weren’t using a capacitor between your 12V input line and ground before your driver. I used a 220uF capacitor without I single driver dying since.

[Garage]

Wow! Very in depth testing. Thank you for your service to the community. Look forward to more motor testing and would love to see some fan testing as well!

[pomonabill]

The dyno you built is fantastic! What a great idea!

[AnnaVannieuwenhuyse]

Fascinating results, thanks!
Your testing setup and machine is fantastic.

[TurboSunShine]

Excellent work! Thanks for sharing! :)

[peterxyz]

First time on this chan. This is a SERIOUS chan with the testing! I love it!

[GreySectoid]

Dude thank you for this comparison, what a gold mine with all these charts and test!

[vinnycordeiro]

Great video! I'd just warn you, when using TMC5160 drivers in the future, to not use them above 24 V if using it in the stepstick form factor. The design pioneered by Watterott and copied by other manufacturers have a design flaw that makes them burn randomly, as many Voron owners that run their stepper motors at 48 V have discovered. Some manufacturers, like Bigtreetech and Mellow, have designed a stand alone board using this driver that correct these flaws, but they need to be connected to 3d printer boards using adapter cables.

Also, I'd like to suggest including the OMC 17HS19-2504S-H stepper motor in the test, they are also rated at 2.5 A and are said to be similar or slightly better than the LDO Speedy Power ones. The only drawback is that this motor is only available in the version with wires coming out directly from its body, instead of having a connector as all the other motors tested.

[cerberes]

Great analysis! Subscribed for more driver tests.

[snagle]

Fantastic video editing and data presentation! Nice work, and thank you!

[Shoikan]

Oooh... I know you will get lots of requests to add motors or models, or tests, but I like to think I have a decent reason to ask for another motor to be tested in a similar fashion: the Moons motor that comes in (for example) the Formbot kits, and is available on the Biqu site. That is also a pretty popular and common motor 'in the field' and I would love to know how it stacks up in actual 'accurate tests' against the LDO motors. I've got both on printers, but those are quite different in setup so I find it hard to compare the two. And I wonder if I should swap out the Moons for the LDOs, or vice versa (or simply stick with what I have since they are roughly comparable...).

[SpringHaIo]

Great results! I'd love to see some "bottom of the barrel generic" motors tested, like the ones you get in GRBL combo kits, just to see how much performance you can get by investing in higher quality motors.

[willalexander]

Awesome work. Appreciate your efforts to investigate and show the true torque capabilities across all he speed range

[danmartinrc]

Great job and very interesting results! I was surprised to see how much of a difference thr stepper controllers made.

[ZedBuildsStuff]

I had bought the super power motors for a cnc router. They were absolutely awful for that application. I swapped them with the motors in my 3d printer, and now the printer is faster and the cnc works. I think they went with a heavier guage motor wire with fewer windings in the super powers. This also lowers the inductance, so you get faster current changes. By putting them in the cnc, I was effectively trying to tow a fifth wheel with a corvette.

[dromCZ]

Nice tests! You can try DM556, DM542 branded and unbranded drivers for comparison. And higher voltages too 36V and 48V. May be you can try higher Amps then specified by manufacturers and measure the temperatures, i regulary use steppers on higher amperage without problems.

[carlettoburacco]

Good test. You will not be disappointed with the 5160.
I used 2208 (Creative board), 2130 and 5160 (BTT OCTOPUS) on an Ender 5 PRO and a 5 PLUS modified with linear rail and with StepperOnline like the ones in your test.
I have not measured the torque but the reliable maximum speed results are visible: if 2208 are 100%, 2130 are 150% (bit of whine at low speed) and 5160 are 170%.
Now with all 5160 the loudest things are the PSU and cooling fans.