Читать книгу 3D Printing of Foods - C. Anandharamakrishnan - Страница 22

Irrespective of the type of structural configuration, the carriage arms are connected with a mechanical drive system for assisting its motion along X, Y, and Z directions. The drive systems consist of stepper motor‐operated in a pre‐defined step of pulses (Figure 1.7). This step‐up mechanism aids in the rotation of printer arms in full degrees (Horvath 2014b). In general, the step‐up motors consist of a stator and rotor. Based on the structural configuration and working principle, stepper motors are of three types: permanent magnet stepper motor, variable reluctance stepper motor, and hybrid stepper motor. Among these, hybrid steppers are the most used stepper motors for 3D printing applications as it combines the advantageous features of permanent and variable stepper motors. Other characteristics that define a stepper motor includes its dimensions and rotating power (torque). The United States National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) declares a dimensional number to stepper motors named NEMA’s number based on the length and associated torque (Derossi et al. 2019). Apart from guiding the movement of carriages, stepper motors are also used for controlling the amount of material deposited during printing.