Why is the z-stepper motor always on?

Support & Troubleshooting Form 3/3+
1

I’ve used several Form 3 machines and some have a really noisy z-stepper when idle, very annoying if you have the printer in your office.

Is there any reason for keeping it on? Why not just switch it off when idle?

2

Hi @Reine,

Although the Z-stepper motor is powered, we do not normally hear any noise when it is idle. Could you please post a video here or rather open a Support Ticket for our team to take a closer look and help identify the cause of the sound?

3

Here’s a video comparing the stepper noise between two 3B+, as the phone does some noise reduction it’s not as clear as irl, but you can hear the first one is louder and have a whining sound which isn’t the fan.

4

Stepper motors are typically driven with DC voltages. When they’re not stepping, they shouldn’t make any noise at all (though they will get hot). If the motor is indeed making that noise, it suggests a problem with the power supply that feeds the DC voltage to the stepper, or that the noise is from the fan…

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5

Hey @Reine,

I agree with Randy’s assessment; if you haven’t already reached out to our Support team I would recommend doing so in order for them to help get to the bottom of the noise. Apologies for the inconvenience but they should be able to sort this out for you!

6

I just created a support case, thanks.

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7

Hey @Reine,

Happy to help; you’ll be in good hands!

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