V-Spooler Easy Motor Drive
The motor drive options for the V-Spooler that are out there are great, but for me they are a bit more than I am interested in spending. I wanted something that was lower cost, and in fact, had a few parts laying around like a creality stepper motor, cable, and 40mm fan that I had laying around.
https://youtube.com/shorts/G9EIm2ZMaKk?si=0hnGl3otPtRES-5D
Disclaimer #1: I’m not a mechanical designer, but this seems to work well so far.
I bought the following, and there are links for it from Amazon, or AliExpress, depending on how fast you want the parts and how much you want to pay.
Disclaimer #2: As mentioned, I used a Creality 42-40 Stepper Motor that I had, a cable I had, and 40mm fan I had. The links below are for reference, there are a lot of alternatives. I didn’t use/purchase anything other than the DC Stepper Motor Driver with Control Module and the 12vdc power supply (though the power supply was bought a while ago for my filament dryer)
Total from Amazon: ~$61 USD
Total from AliExpress: ~$35 USD
(and it’s likely the exact same stuff from Amazon)
DC Stepper Motor Driver with Integrated Control Module
$26 on Amazon
$17 on AliExpress
Stepper Motor Cable (cut the non-motor end connector off to wire it)
$9 on Amazon
$1.69 on AliExpress
Stepper Motor (Nema 17)
$8 on Amazon
$10 on AliExpress and includes cable.
40mm 12vdc Fan
$9 on Amazon (4 pack)
$1.37 on AliExpress
120vac to 12vdc power supply
$9 on Amazon
AliExpress
There are countless. Just be sure it’s 12vdc, 3amp, and has flying leads (red/black) to connect to the Stepper Motor Driver/Controller.
Other parts used were: M3 barrel head hex screws and heat sets. None of the screws are longer than 10mm, most were 5mm.
Pictures
- There are two versions of each piece, one with chamfers on the holes and one without.
Design & Cooling
The fan drives air upwards at an angle around the stepper motor and out through the bottom where the air passes by the electronics on its way out the back.
Wiring
12vdc power to the back of the DC Motor Controller, also connect the red/black lead from the FAN to the same screw down connector/terminal.
The connections from the DC Motor controller to the motor
The following diagram outlines the connections. Note that the cables might not perfectly line up but it’s important that A+ is to A+, etc. If you’re not sure, look it up before connecting and powering up the system.
Remixed Drive Axle & Motor Drive Gear
I printed everything but the drive axle and drive gear with PLA. That said, PLA will NOT be able to handle the torque, maybe PLA+, but I printed with PETG and it’s more than strong enough to withstand the stress/torque of the stepper motor.
Note: Depending on your printer settings, you may have to slightly increase the size of the drive axle (1%) to accommodate variances in printing. It should already have enough clearance for the drive gear to float a little in the axle, but not overmuch causing slop or wear.
If you’ve already printed and assembled the V-Spooler, you’ll need to do a little disassembly around this piece to use the new drive axle.
I used a heatset on the screw hole in the drive gear (attaches to motor shaft). You will also want to put a heatset in the end of the drive axle as described in the original V-Spooler instructions.
Drive Axle remixed from V-Spooler Remixable Parts by Fyrby Additive | Download free STL model | Printables.com
Settings on DC Motor Controller
Subdivision set to 4 or the stepper motor may vibrate and make excessive noise. This might vary depending on the stepper motor make, but this creality was clean with 4. I would expect this to be common among Nema 17 stepper motors, but I’m no expert so some experimentation might be needed if 4 doesn’t work for you.
Amp setting rotary selector, I left this at the default.
I think that is everything, any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
