NEMA 17 power supply recommendation for 2D CNC hot wire cutter

TECHNICAL SUPPORT Sensors & Modules
1

Customer:

I’m building a 2D CNC hot wire cutter using 2x NEMA 17 stepper motors on X-Y axes. I have an Arduino Uno Rev3 and a CNC shield with 4x A4988 drivers (12-36V range). The load on the motors is minimal since the hot wire melts through the material easily. What power supply voltage should I use - 12V, 24V, or something else?

Original message (Croatian)

Molim kratku pomoć, naručio bih kod vas 2x NEMA 17 stepper motora a potrebno mi je napajanje za navedene motore.

-Radim 2d cnc hot wire cutter (2x motora, x-y os)

-Arduino uno rev3

-CNC shield sa 4x A4988 drivera (12-36V raspon) (2x drivera ostaju višak za neke druge projekte)

Nema17 mora gurati x-y os koja ide na ležajevima po aluminijskim profilima, a opterećenja pri radu gotovo da i nema jer vrela žica doslovno topi stiropor kao kroz maslac. Molim preporuku 12v ili 24v ili možda nešto treće… Hvala unaprijed

Originally submitted via email support on 8 January 2024. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.

2

Soldered Support:

NEMA 17 motors have a rated voltage of 12V. You should use a 12V power supply with sufficient current capacity. The NEMA 17 current specification is 350mA per motor, but startup current can be higher. For minimal load conditions like yours, a power supply rated for at least 2A would be suitable for the motors. If you plan to power additional components from the same supply (Arduino, additional motors), choose a power supply with higher current capacity.

Original message (Croatian)

NEMA17 motori imaju radni napon 12V. Prema tome trebate uzeti napajanje od 12V koje ima dovoljnu struju za pokretanje svega navedenoga. Struja NEMA17 motora prema specifikaciji je 350mA, ali pri pokretanju ta struja može biti i veća te treba uzeti veće napajanje. Ako nema velikog opterećenja na motoru napajanje od minimalno 2A bi bilo dobro za motore. Ako planirate napajati još nešto s istog napajanja (Arduino, dodatni motor) onda je bolje uzeti napajanje s većom strujom.