Variations and Alternatives Stepper Motor for 3D Printer

Sometimes, the standard choices don’t fit your needs. That’s why people have come up with alternative systems to your standard NEMA 17 motors, which we’ve compiled a brief list here:

Geared Stepper motor: Usually consisting of modified NEMA 17s, these motors are characterized by the use of a gearbox to either increase speed or torque. An increased torque will reduce the speed, and vice-versa. Good for a variety of uses.

Brushless Motors with Encoders: A relatively new style of CNC movement, a setup with brushless DC motors is much faster (and sometimes even stronger) than typical steppers, but also more expensive and difficult to set up.

Servo Motors: While (usually) not as precise as a stepper motor, and lacking the ability to rotate continuously, stepper motors are useful for small actuating parts, such as couplers or mechanisms within a filament switching system.