Stepper drivers 1. - Basic information and which one to use

Autoři článku: Robert Jonathan Šimon, Martin Zeman,

If you want to know something about drivers in general, read the introduction about drivers in the main article here.

A4988

The most basic drivers from Allegro. The advantage of this driver is the price. The disadvantage of this driver is that it can only handle 1/16 microstepping and is therefore quite noisy.

DRV8825

These drivers are from TI. Compared to the A4988, they already can handle 1/32 microstepping, but they are still quite noisy. It also suffers from the so-called "Salmon skin effect". For this reason, when using on X or Y axes, TL-smoothers are recommended.

TMC2660

This driver was designed to control more powerful engines (up to 4A) and therefore has more durable components. This driver can run SpreadCycle and interpolates microstepping to 1/256, making it very quiet compared to previous drivers. It can also detect collisions (so sensorless homing is possible). It communicates with the controller via SPI (something like USB for microcontrollers) and therefore is not a direct exchange for A4988 / DRV8825. At the same time, it has a large case and therefore only appears integrated directly on the board.

TMC2130

This driver is very similar to TMC2660. It has a SpreadCycle mode, but has StealthChop. StealthChop is much quieter than SpreadCycle, but it doesn't handle such high speeds. You can connect this driver to your motherboard with SPI to automatically switch between Quieter StealthChop and more aggressive SpreadCycle based on the current printer speed. At the same time, the motor current and microstepping are no longer needed with potentiometers and jumpers, but can be set directly in the firmware. Unlike TMC2660, it only has 2A current. Also, the case itself is much smaller and therefore also exists in the version for interchangeable drivers. Unfortunately, it is still necessary to connect the SPI, either directly using cables or using jumpers (if the board supports it).

TMC2100

TMC2100 is a simplified TMC2130. Can do two modes - SpreadCycle and StealthChop. It no longer has SPI, so switching between these modes is necessary by connecting / disconnecting two pins and therefore it can no longer be changed while printing. He also doesn't know sensorless homing. Because it can't communicate over SPI, it can act as a direct replacement for A4988 / DRV8825.

TMC2208

Like previous models, it has SpreadCycle, but it also provides improved StealthChop2. At the same time, TMC2108 does not have sensorless homing. Furthermore, as TMC2130 it can switch modes, this time via UART (simpler than SPI). Also, if you connect the driver with UART, the motor current and microstepping can be set using the firmware.

Driver allows three modes. The first is a direct replacement for drivers like A4988, it will not be controlled by UART (legacy mode). The second OTP (one-time programming) mode, where we use OTP to permanently switch the driver to SpreadCycle. The last one is dynamic mode - UART control, but then it is necessary to connect this interface with microcontroller. The advantages are automatic mode switching according to speed and current setting and microcracking in firmware.

It is worth noting that when the driver uses StealthChop2, it is not suitable for extruder motor because there are rapid direction changes and if the extruder is geared, there are much higher speeds than the other axes and it can skip steps. Thus, A4988 or as a better and more expensive replacement of LV8729 is recommended.

TMC5160

Last came this driver. It can do everything that the previous drivers can do - UART, SPI, StealthChop2, SpreadCycle, OTP, collision detection and can handle up to 4A motors. Thus, it combines the best of all but at the same time it is much more expensive than past drivers.

LV8729

This driver can handle up to 1/128 microseconds, but it is more suitable for 32-bit boards where you can use its full potential. At the same time, it is much quieter than A4988 or DRV8825, even with a lower microstepping.

Price comparison of drivers

Which driver to choose?

It depends on which board you have and how much you want to spend on drivers. The best option is to put TMC5160 everywhere, but this option is very expensive. If you want sensorless homing, then TMC2130, but it is necessary to connect the SPI with the board cables, if the board does not allow via jumpers (Bigtreetech SKR 1.3, FYSETC F6 V1.3, ...), or TMC2208 via UART, which does not know sensorless homing but it has a newer StealthChop2, so it should be quieter. If your board is not ready for UART / SPI simple wiring or you do not want to do so, it is recommended for X, Y, Z TMC2208 and LV8729 extruder, or TMC2208 if it works for you.