Help me find a Tormach stepper for cheaper

[Dan Dubeau]

The X axis stepper on my Tormach went bad recently*. New one from Tormach is $329us +shipping. Used one on ebay is about $350 cdn shipped. My google fu isn't turning up any lower cost replacements out of aliexpress or elsewhere. Does anyone have a source where I might find one for a bit cheaper? Maybe I'm just not looking for the right thing, or in the right places? Maybe a cheaper substitute replacement just does not exist? Are these a Tormach special? or are they common, and I just don't know how/where to look.

Tormach part# 32001
3 wire (3phase?)
Nema 34
770 oz.in
8.5a 1.6mH

Are all I can find for specs. Pics from ebay ad, but same as my motor.





Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

* Old motor started to really stutter badly one day out of the blue. It would make the sounds like it was moving, but not move the table. I dissasembled to check the drive coupler, and it "was" good, but the mounting box was full of corrosion from coolant intrusion. Table moved freely by hand as it should. I cleaned it all out, bench tested the motor and it seemed to work great, no stutter. I reassembled everything, and had it working, moving the table back and forth, so I figured maybe just the coupler got loose somehow, and I didn't notice it spinning the first time. I tried to snug it up a bit more and it snapped......argh. On top of that, I tried to fix the electrical conduit into the back of the stepper (previous owner cobble...), and it shorted out the motor.....argh.....

Left it for a few days, but found time for it today. I machined a new coupler, and swapped a few things (drives, input) to make sure it was the motor and not the drive. Not sure why it randomly worked again, but i'm pretty sure it was temporary anyway, even before I shorted it out by screwing the conduit fitting in too far. Now I know why the previous owner had it loose.......

https://i.imgur.com/oE6e3NW.mp4

Edit: I should add, that even after I shorted it out, once I removed the conduit fitting, it did start working again. It only started stuttering bad again AFTER I made a new coupler and reassembled everything today....

 

[Stuart Samuel]

Argh.

No suggestions, just sympathy.

 

[DavidR8]

Maybe give Automation Direct a call.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

Argh.

No suggestions, just sympathy.

Thanks.

Maybe give Automation Direct a call.

Thanks, I'll check them out.