RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Stepper BBQ-Mine's well done.

Did you have it sitting idle for a while? I have noticed on my steppers that
if I am running them they stay very cool, but if I let the machine sit the
motors will heat up. Got me in the habit of turning off the power to the
controller when I wasn't actually running the machine. Also, it sounds like
your current is set to high. While the motors are rated to a temperature
that is very high, if you are running too much current you will certainly
overheat given enough time. I personally don't like the motors getting
hotter than I can hold my hand on. At the temperature I have a lot of
leeway.

Tim
[Denver, CO]

> This weekend I was using my CNC plasma gantry when all of the sudden
> the y axis quit doing what it was supposed to do.
> I have used it several times but never for more than 30 minutes at a
> time. Anyway, this time I had it on for a couple of hours and it just
> overheated the motor and I am guessing it shorted out internally. I
> measured the coil resistances and they were all messed up. And there
> was the funny smell of melted plastic (Hmm?)
> I was under the impression that steppers were pretty impervious to
> heat and overcurrent. How can I prevent this in the future?
> The motors were SLO-SYN 180 step/rev. (34's, and pretty old). The
> driver is an Anaheim unipolar with a little pot to set the current from
> about .5 to 5 amp. I guess I was running the pot about "half way up".
> Advice on setting current levels or monitoring the temp? Thermal
> shutoff?
> I don't have the cash to keep replacing motors from my Ig-no-rance.
>
> Thanks