I've been running a small CNC for a while now and though I've had skipped steps, they've never been the cause of a failure. When they've failed, it's been because:
- I stalled the spindle and I'm trying to plow the no-longer-rotating endmill straight through my stock (and if steps weren't skipped, the tool would break)
- I forgot to turn on the spindle and I'm trying to plow the endmill straight through my stock (and if steps weren't skipped, the tool would break)
- I've somehow forced the machine to try to push through its limits and crashed an axis into the chassis (and if steps weren't skipped, the machine would be seriously damaged)
Basically, the only time the steppers have failed is when not doing so would lead to much greater damage, so I'd go so far as to say that skipping steps are a feature, not a bug.
If your steppers are failing in the middle of a job where nothing has gone wrong, either your steppers or your drivers are messed up but it's not because steppers are inherently bad.
I'd recommend servos for applications that are demanding on torque, power, speed and/or accuracy. I wouldn't recommend them for your first DIY machine because of the additional risk, expense and complexity they add.
I've been running a small CNC for a while now and though I've had skipped steps, they've never been the cause of a failure. When they've failed, it's been because:
- I stalled the spindle and I'm trying to plow the no-longer-rotating endmill straight through my stock (and if steps weren't skipped, the tool would break)
- I forgot to turn on the spindle and I'm trying to plow the endmill straight through my stock (and if steps weren't skipped, the tool would break)
- I've somehow forced the machine to try to push through its limits and crashed an axis into the chassis (and if steps weren't skipped, the machine would be seriously damaged)
Basically, the only time the steppers have failed is when not doing so would lead to much greater damage, so I'd go so far as to say that skipping steps are a feature, not a bug.
If your steppers are failing in the middle of a job where nothing has gone wrong, either your steppers or your drivers are messed up but it's not because steppers are inherently bad.
I'd recommend servos for applications that are demanding on torque, power, speed and/or accuracy. I wouldn't recommend them for your first DIY machine because of the additional risk, expense and complexity they add.