Noisy Stepper Motor

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fine-tune
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Noisy Stepper Motor

Post by fine-tune »

I purchased a common stepper motor for a project (35BYJ46). A person with normal hearing
could not tell you if the motor was on or off.

After several weeks of quiet operation it got noisy. As it completes a cycle, it makes a one or
or two second noise. It sounds something like a peanut shell being crushed.

I've quieted other small motors with grease. Using a Dremel tool you carefully grind the tabs
holding the motor case together. I packed 35BYJ46 with waterproof grease and reassembled
the case with dabs of cyanoacrylate adhesive.

The stepper motor ran completely quiet for several days. Unfortunately, the peanut shell crushing
sound returned.

Stepper motor 35BYJ46 is manufactured by numerous companies. Is there a brand or manufacturer
that makes top quality steppers? Maybe I can buy one that will stay quiet.
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35BYJ46.jpg
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Janitor Tzap
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Re: Noisy Stepper Motor

Post by Janitor Tzap »

Here's is an article on how Stepper Motors work and some causes that can make them noisy: https://insights.globalspec.com/article ... on-control


Signed: Janitor Tzap
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haklesup
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Re: Noisy Stepper Motor

Post by haklesup »

Does the output shaft move smoothly. In my experience, this noise has been gear teeth breaking off a drive gear. eventually the shaft may lock up. It could be a quality issue or maybe you are asking it to provide too much torque and have forced it into mechanical failure. Its not clear from the image if it has a gearbox or if it is direct drive.

Here is a datasheet via digikey, Note the torque and speed variation ratio suggesting it does have a gear box.
https://download.mikroe.com/documents/d ... asheet.pdf

If you replace it, I'm sure you can tear this one down and find out for sure.
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Lenp
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Re: Noisy Stepper Motor

Post by Lenp »

I have used several similar steppers from Amazon with no failures, so maybe it's a dealer's choice!
I would scope the windings to be sure the driver isn't getting buggy signals, since it seems to only do it at shutdown.....?
Maybe try a different driver, like the ‎A4988, which is quite a bargain, just to determine what's happening.
Len

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a big pile of junk.” (T. Edison)
"I must be on the way to success since I already have the junk". (Me)
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