When desktop 3D printers and mid-size additive manufacturing systems were used primarily for prototyping parts, the common motor that delivered motion was a stepper motor. Brushless dc electric stepper motors have been the industry standard for 3D printing motion control. These motors divide a full rotation of the motor into equal steps.
But stepper motors do not use any position feedback and have a typical acceleration of 0.25 Gs, which makes them less than optimal for most industrial applications. In the early days of the 3D printing industry, despite these drawbacks, they offered vendors key advantages: low cost, with acceleration and accuracy that was acceptable to most users. Now, however, vendors of 3D printing/additive manufacturing technology are attempting to find a place in manufacturing for their machines. And they are finding that the needs and requirements of this industry are different than those from users in the early days. Read More…
Matt Hardenbergh, Regional Motion Engineer, Yaskawa America.
Article originally published in DESIGN WORLD March 2019
