I’m trying to create a jig for repeatable work but facing a challenge where the machine is not consistently returning to the same spot. With the matching powered on, I can push with very little pressure on one side near the stepper motor, and it’ll move ~5 mm. Same push on the other side, and it stays where it’s at.
The belt tension on both sides is about the same.
I can also spin the motor shaft with two fingers while it has power. i.e., not much effort.
Should a stepper motor have play like I’m describing while powered on?
No, the motor should be locked in place when power is on.
Your best bet is to contact support, there’s a few things it could be. First thing to check is the wiring, especially all the connectors. Look for loos wires, signs of corrosion, pins not seated properly, or any signs of over-heating.
Good reminders. The cables have been checked, and I swapped the cables for two of the motors to rule out it’s a bad cable. Regardless of which cable provides power, the motor moves. I’ll open a request with support.
I would add one thing. Check your stepper motor pulley. Put a mark across the pulley through the stepper motor shaft. Then move the the motor as above and see if the mark stays aligned. A loose setscrew can cause your issue. The stepper motor pulley set screws are very small and some replace them with 3MM x 10MM long cap screws to give them more ability to torque them and not strip out the tiny little set screws. I could be wrong on the 3MM but that is what mine are so you can extract one and take it to the store. The 10MM length should work but make sure it does not hit something else.
