So I recently bought a 1.5A Nema17 and hence I plan to adjust the TMC2208 to higher 1.2-1.3A. Previously I was working with 1A Nema17 and had driver set to 0.8-0.85A and since it was lower current I followed the below schematic with the tcm2208 mounted on a solderless breadboard.
But now since I need higher current I was planning to get a protoboard and solder female header rows to mount the driver to. Then solder jumper wires to the underside of the female header rows
-I was planning to use 3 way wago connector to connect the capacitor legs + motor power supply wires + jumper wires corresponding to drivers VMOT and power GND wires on the protoboard
-I was planning to use 2 way wago connector to connect motor coil wires to jumper wires corresponding to drivers 1A,1B,2A,2B pins
-rest of pins like MS1,MS2,Step,Dir I would just connect directly to microcontroller
I'm new to working with higher amps projects hence new to protoboards and soldering. So is this a valid option or is there any issues?
Protoboards are simple, inexpensive, and well suited for prototyping logic-level circuits. However, motors and other higher-current loads can quickly damage the board, its traces, or its connections.
A simple rule I follow: If it's logic-level circuitry, a protoboard is usually fine. If it's power circuitry, use soldered connections, WAGO connectors, or another connection method properly rated for the current.
Also, remember that the connections must be rated for the expected current, not just the wire itself.
it's because I need to increase more current to my Nema17, the new one I got is rated 1.5 amp now so I have to increase current to get best performance, trying to use it for rotary inverted pendulum
my 1A Nema17 was fine but I was using a as5600 to use position but it was delicate to mounting and give bad readings. So I ordered a higher amp one with already mounted encoder. So I was planning to feed it higher amps through protoboard
Your MTC2208 is good to 36 volts. The closer you get to 36 volts for the stepper motor, the better performance you will get.
I have a stepper motor from an industrial product rated at 4.2 volts at 2 amps. The associated power supply for the motor is 42 volts at 2 amps. It ran at near continuous operation in the machine. Your project should be doing something similar.
You may find you don’t need particularly high current from the motor. When balancing devices are properly set up and tuned they are not relying on brute force to balance, they are relying on correct timing of when to move so they don’t have to move far or very fast to stay balanced.
Change the connections if you want but I would doubt the new motor will cause current / wiring problems if the old one wasn’t.
I have quite a heavy self-balancing robot with 2x2A NEMA 17 steppers sharing 1.2A and I could reduce that further if I needed.
When the motors are continuously balancing and hardly moving they will get quite warm. You will be looking to decrease the current, not increase it, consistent with not missing steps.
For a 1.5A NEMA17 motor with a TMC2208 driver, I would recommend using a proper PCB or a suitable driver breakout board rather than a solderless breadboard.
A protoboard with soldered female headers can work, but there are some important considerations:
Current capacity: Ensure the headers, wires, connectors, and solder joints can safely handle the expected current.
Cooling: The TMC2208 can generate significant heat at higher currents. Check the module's continuous current rating and provide adequate cooling.
Power connections: Keep VMOT and GND wiring short and secure, with an appropriate capacitor close to the driver.
Motor connections: WAGO connectors may be suitable if properly rated, but avoid loose connections and never disconnect the motor while the driver is powered.
Current settings: Verify whether your driver's current setting refers to RMS or peak current. A 1.5A motor rating doesn't automatically mean the driver must be set to 1.5A.
My recommendation: Use a purpose-built driver board with adequate cooling for greater reliability.
One question: Which exact TMC2208 module are you using, and does it have a heatsink or active cooling?
But after searching online I swear it says if I don't supply motor with enough current it won't perform well. I'll try both and see what happens, my power supply is already 24 volt
You need to supply as much current as is needed to drive the torque of the load. There is nothing to say that you will need 100% of motor rated current for your particular balancer. You might only need 50% or less and while you are stuck with the motor you are not stuck with the current.
You can limit the current by turning down the pot on the TMC 2208, and you will probably want to do that anyway at some point if the motor is getting too hot, as it probably will at full current.
You can tell if you've turned it down too far because the motor will start to skip and miss steps.
Quick question, If I want to create a electrical connection between a leg of a capacitor, and 2 wires, the options are block screw terminal, wago connector, or solder the leg and 2 wire together right?
