Hi everyone, newbie question about Z motors: what’s the best way to connect? Series, like described here: http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRapPro_Huxley_Sanguinololu_wiring#Step_4:_Clipping_wires_to_the_frame or parallel, just joining two motor’s wires together?
Can’t find a straightforward answer, and the series connection does not seem to work too well for me…
http://reprap.org/mediawiki/images/thumb/b/b1/Reprappro-huxley-z-motor-wiring.png/400px-Reprappro-huxley-z-motor-wiring.png
I’ve been running my old Prusa with them wired in parallel. Nophead often recommends wiring them in series. What exactly is not working well? Perhaps it’s a mechanical issue more than electrical.
Everything I’ve seen says parallel, which is what I’ve been using for years 
In a parallel configuration, the stalling stepper will take more of the current, so that the non stalling stepper is more likely to miss steps as well.
It depends on your motors and power supply, but if you’re running on 12V, it probably doesn’t matter much. When in series, the driver might run out available voltage, but when parallel you’ve got less current to boot with.
@Dale_Dunn here is what happens: http://youtu.be/sybMFi-JKqM
@Thomas_Sanladerer
the power supply is ATX so 12V it is. It’s set up in series at the moment…
Try low speeds and acceleration. Check for mechanical binding of the Z axis. Oil the screws and nuts. My Z axis is sensitive to all these things. Most often, another drop of oil on the screws gets it moving again.
9 times out of 10 the z axis is threaded rod, so if you’re stalling something bad is up
I connected them parallel like this: Sanguinololu - RepRap
@Igor_Larine your video looks (and sounds) like there is either a wiring error or something is seriously jammed. Can you turn the threaded rod by hand?
Ok, detached one motor - single motor sounded and worked the same, driver chip very hot to touch no matter what I set on the adjustment resistor… Switched drivers - the motor changed behavior completely! Reconnected them in parallel - both perform as they should. Conclusion - connection in series, not recommended, good for frying drivers…
Did you ever disconnect the motors or drivers while the printer was still powered up?
In the video, one coil is wired correctly and the other one is working against it switch one pair ( be sure you know which ones are paired) and it will either move correctly or the opposite direction that you want it to go, I had that problem with cheap steppers I got off eBay
@Thomas_Sanladerer
God forbid. Not knowingly, no. But - I blame the poor cabling, there could be some loss of connectivity in a wrong moment.
@Dylan_Pruitt
the stepper was a Sainsmart - dunno how much of a brand name that is but the stepper I replaced it with is identical . I did sound that way to me as well though - I have gone all over the wiring three times before crying for help, and the coils were connected correctly, for a serial connection… Well, anyway, that’s the reason I got 7 drivers for the build - knew I would burn at least one
On our printrboards- Laine said series was superior, but testing proved parallel was better. We’ve shipped thousands in parallel. They run on 2A driver chips. Good luck!
my reprap mendel z motors connected just like on you picture. seems works fine.