I have returned the stepper driver to its original settings (I have the blue chips as per the photo and had turned it 'clockwise' (to lower the current) initially). However I have no movement (rotation) with the Y axis motor regardless of the stepper driver into which it is plugged. I therefore suspect (hope) that it is just the motor that has burned out (albeit I did not smell any strange odors at any time when it was up and running and it did not feel very hot). Any other tricks or thoughts that I might try prior to ordering another motor to verify that it is indeed just the motor? Much appreciated.
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gr5 2,295
Swapping cables is the best way to test the motor.
However stepper motors are incredibly tough and even if it was boiling water on the surface it can probably survive even that. I believe the max operating temp is either 70C or 80C. That's very very hot. I doubt yours got that hot but maybe it did.
Messing with the stepper driver current is very dangerous. The most common result by far is to destroy the stepper driver. Those stepper drivers are delicate. The steppers are not. You can google "pololu" if you want to buy more. They are not expensive. The "clockwise" versus "anticlockwise" issue: some stepper drivers are backwards from others. Did you check the photo that shows the 5 types from ultimaker? And make sure you got the correct direction?
If you turn the current up too high or too low the stepper motors don't work very well and can make strange noises. But they don't often get damaged.
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