I purchased a stepper motor driver controller to test my NEMA17 motors for torque and was disappointed to see that the "self-locking" mode does not work and not holding torque when motor is stopped. Can anyone recommend a similar device that supports this capability?
The manual claims that this controller supports self-locking which is the default operation (P1-F3), so either they're lying or this device is broken.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1HNS9L2?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
In order to reduce power loss, the phase current is generally set to half or less of the rated value in LOCK mode, you can try turning off this function.
https://www.pololu.com/product/3764I've used this one recently, in fact, using the chip right now.
You need to keep the current at a certain level to keep the torque, no current, no torque to hold the motor unfortunately. I think physics has something to do with it...
These are dead simple to use, set the hold current via potentiometer, drive with a pulse, set direction with a pulse. Mode lets you select 1x or 256x steps (that is, 1 pulse is one 256th of a step).
I'm not sure the motor is broken, I just think the holding torque might be just weak.
Cheers,
Alberto
You can consider A4988 driver alternatively.