TLDR:
See the attached pics of real VS counterfeit Leadshine controllers. It's rather clear that while the counterfeit Leadshine controllers work, they are missing steps.
The long version:
I have been building CNC's for the better part of 20 years. I know what I am doing with mechanical*systems and figured I would take a crack at building up my first 3D printer. So I started in on the design and building process of a 1M tall Delta style 3D printer.
Being old school, I wanted external stepper controllers. None of these cheap little plug in things that most of the 3D printer boards are using. Even worse would be built on controllers. I wanted the flexibility of being able to upgrade parts as I saw fit. So I grabbed a couple of Leadshine stepper controllers from a US based seller on eBay. In my case they were DM556s.
The rest of the build went along as expected and I finally got ready for my first print! When my 3DBenchie (classic 3D boat) was finished I had something closer to abstract art than a boat. So I started my normal debugging process.
Changing out the 3D controller board, tracking down problems in the pulse train, switching to three different 3D printer firmwares (SmoothieWare --> Marlin 2.X --> Klipper)... Even picked up some cheap TB6600 stepper controllers. When I installed the TB6600 stepper controllers, suddenly I was able to print a boat, and it came out as expected! I was dumb founded. How were some $7 controllers able to trump my $100+ controllers. Out comes the oscilloscope and I start tracking down the pulse train. Everything on the pulse train looks correct. Could me Leadshine DM556's be bad?
So I opened a ticket with Leadshine. Their tech support has been amazing through out this process. Through a few emails back and forth they determined that my DM556's were counterfeits?! I picked up new DM556's from an official Leadshine supplier and dropped them into my 3D printer. Perfect print!
This saga has taken me over 100 hours of printing to find the root cause. I now am the proud owner of 48 3DBenchies. The genuine DM556's are whisper quite, regardless of micro stepping level, and perform wonderfully. The TB6600's worked, for their part, but the torque was rather lacking and they make the motors whistle/sing VERY loudly. I am still shocked at how well/quite the genuine DM556's perform. I think they even outperform the TMC5160's.
May this be a cautionary tail for anyone who picks up Leadshine stepper controllers from an unknown vendor. Shell out the extra money and by them through an authorized dealer. Learn from my fail.
Attachment 428732
Attachment 428734