# Tuning stepper motors



## david clark (May 21, 2010)

I want to know how to "tune" my stepper motors --Using Mach 3


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

There are tons of videos on YouTube, David, that can do a far better job of telling you how to do this than I could. I did it with Mach4 for our machine but that was over a year ago and I don't recall all the steps. There's a lot of info you need to know about your steppers, drivers, gearing, etc. so I would suggest starting with this search and going forward - Motor tuning with Mach3. 

David


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## BalloonEngineer (Mar 27, 2009)

“Tuning” is done when using servos, not steppers. You do have to configure your control software with information like how many steps equal an inch of travel for each axis, and and maximum speed and acceleration.


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## Kitwn (Oct 14, 2017)

David,

Whilst it's true that steppers don't need the same kind of tuning for loop gain and such to avoid oscillation, overshoots and undershoots as servos do, there is certainly the need to adjust for maximum speed and acceleration as Richard said, as well as adjusting the current limit for the required performance without overheating. The first two are set in MACH3, LinuxCNC etc. and the current is set by your stepper driver.

Some stepper drivers also include the ability to 'tune' the driver to damp out resonant effects caused by interaction with the inductance of the motor and avoid some of the mid-range drop in torque that can be a big problem with some installations. Have a look at the Gekodrives website for some useful tutorials on stepper motors and how to use them. Some of the Leadshine drivers, and others, can be connected to a PC and use software provided by them to adjust parameters of the driver to get the best performance from the installed motors.

Kit


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## david clark (May 21, 2010)

Thanks for the help. In reading my original query, I sounded rather rude - didn't mean to, guess I was frustrated when I posted it. Anyway thanks to Difalkner, Balloon Engineer and Kitwn for your advice.


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## cnc wood machine (May 17, 2018)

Direction, angle, speed, is the key to the adjustment. 1. Software delay stepping pulse 2. Software controls lifting frequency
Improve accuracy and stability


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