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General Mach Discussion / Re: Noobish Question On Motors & Drivers
« on: April 29, 2008, 03:48:16 PM »
Hey - no problem. If I had a quid for everyone that thinks steppers lose the occasional step here and there I'd be a rich man. The question to ask is why would they do that? Maybe they loose concentration and forget what they're doing or something
Seriously though - I'm not dissing servos - far from it. For a start I don't know an awful lot about them - but I do know steppers, and I know there's lots of cr*p talked about them. Steppers generally don't live up to expectations because they're either not sized or driven properly or both. As a rule of thumb (FWIW) I use this: if the application demands more power than you can get from a (properly driven and properly sized) stepper then use a servo. But first - know the power you're going to need. So far I've never had the need for a servo.
Cheers
Ian
Seriously though - I'm not dissing servos - far from it. For a start I don't know an awful lot about them - but I do know steppers, and I know there's lots of cr*p talked about them. Steppers generally don't live up to expectations because they're either not sized or driven properly or both. As a rule of thumb (FWIW) I use this: if the application demands more power than you can get from a (properly driven and properly sized) stepper then use a servo. But first - know the power you're going to need. So far I've never had the need for a servo.
Cheers
Ian