TMC2209 and Nema14 tuning / noisy and vibrating

dc42

@pxp11 what VIN voltage are you using? I'm guessing you are using 24V; but if you are only using 12V then that might explain the vibration at higher speeds, because those motors have quite high inductance and 12V may not be sufficient to overcome the back emf.

PXP11

@dc42 That's correct I'm using 24V, Fluke says so too. And all the other steppers are whisper quiet.
I don't know if I would just be better off buying new Nema14s but then there's no guarantee that this would solve anything. BCN3D got it working so this has to be one or more of the parameters I was too afraid to change up until now. I just don't really know what the different parameters (except D and V, H is irrelevant for TMC2209 anyway) actually do and what value to set it back to if it gets worse. And I don't want to burn the coils crispy. There is also not a lot of literature and guides for non electrical engineers around which could help me as a novice.

droftarts

@pxp11 I'm going to have a look at this issue and try and suggest some settings for you to test.

I think this is somewhat related to the issue of VFAs (Vertical Fine Artefacts) seen in other printers equipped with TMC2209 stepper drivers. It seems VFAs (and, by extension motor vibration) may be caused by the default TMC2209 settings, possibly coupled with motors that are either relatively poorly designed/constructed or have a mid-band resonance that is right on the frequency you want to print at.

This thread https://forum.duet3d.com/topic/29885/fight-vfa has some information about tuning Klipper to eliminate VFAs, and may help with your situation. I'd guess that if you printed, you would see VFAs. I will look at the various stepper driver settings, and convert them into RRF settings.

Let me look into it, and I'll get back to you.

Ian

PXP11

@droftarts Thank you very much. I just finished the XYU offset calibration and will start shortly with some normal test prints. I'll post my results.

PXP11

@droftarts
So I did some test prints and there were VFAs but not as bad as I would have excepted, considering the sometimes absolutely frightening resonance while the X or U axis were moving. It was actually hard to take a picture of them because they were barely noticeable. I don't have any input shaping configured yet. And some slicer settings will definitely be addressed.

I also played around with the StealthChop settings that were suggested in the TMC2209 paper. However I could't notice any impact .So I blindly tested different values for the hysteresis settings, as well as blank and off times. Good news, the motors are still alive. Bad news, I couldn't make out a difference. I got them back to the settings I started off with.

I ordered some new Nema14s. Will be interesting to see if that makes a difference and if it was a hardware problem all along.

Lem

@pxp11
I had exacly the same issue on my previous printer when pulse duration for motor was too short. It was on different firmware and controller, but maybe the reason is the same...
I can't find way to set it directly, but I think that M569 with B parameter can help.

PXP11

@lem
I have tried playing around with the blank time (M569 B) and the off time (M569 F). Between these two and the minimum step puls width (M569 T a:b for TMC2209) I suspect the solution for my problem. However playing around with the T parameter is not easy because it needs to match with the other parameter combination or the control will not accept the change (bad timing error). The only way to analyse all those changes correctly would be to have a readout on a oscilloscope. But I don't have one and wouldn't be able to interpret the results anyway.
I will have at least some clarity on my theory once the new motors arrive and they behave differently or the same.

nie-ls

I am fighting the same problem: TMC2209 with Nema17, CoreXY printer. At certain speeds (~40mm/s) and its multiples I get strong vibration of the motors. Cleaning up the wiring, tuning the stepper drivers, adding damping motor mounts did not help.

@PXP11
Did exchanging the motors improve anything or have you figured out something else to fix the problem?

PXP11

@nie-ls
Yes swapping out the motors did actually help. Totally forgot to close this thread...
Now they are whisper quiet in stealthChop mode as they should be. Searching a problem with the most obvious solution is time not well spent. In your case I would suggest swapping out the motors too. I don't know what was wrong with mine, but I could instantly feel the difference between old and new when turning the drive shaft by hand. No resistance or indexation. Due to the fact that even damper mounts can't help in your case, I would clearly point the finger at your NEMA 17s. If you have an other NEMA17 variant to swap out, try that. Otherwise they are not too expensive, as long as you don't use any special variety.

noobydp

@PXP11 Hey! What steppers did you end up getting?

PXP11

@noobydp
I got theses ones: aliexpress
They matched the original sigma nema 14 steppers the closest. The manufacturer stepperonline is reputable and also has its own webshop. Depending on where you life and how much time you want to wait on your steppers the webshop ist the better place to order from.