[Don C]

I have a gerber ar400 router that I'm replacing the old controller. The motors are all 1.7v 4.7 amp 6 wire. would I be better off with full or half winding for power and speed. and if I use full winding does that mean that my amps will be half. I'm going to use 3 gecko 201 drives.

[Mariss Freimanis]

If your supply voltage is 34V or less, run the motor half-winding and set the drive to 4.7 Amps.
If your supply is between 34V and 68V, run the motor full-winding and set the drive to 2.4 Amps.

Mariss

[Don C]

Thanks
Don C

[Urgundiz]

Mariss, is this only applicable to geckos or there are some rule of thumb useful for any stepper?

[Mariss Freimanis]

The idea is the max supply voltage should be no more than 20 times the motor's rated voltage. That motor is 1.7V in half-winding and 3.4V in full-winding, which is where the 34V and 68V stuff comes from.

Motor power output increases proportionaly with supply voltage, iron losses (eddy current and hysterisis) increase with the square of the voltage. At 20 times, the motor case temperature will be near the max rated 85C. This is the ultimate limiting factor for the motor.

Mariss