Bipolar stepper motors in parallel

Hey

I'm working on a DIY laser cutter, and previously I've tried running the stepper motors in parallel. I believe it didn't work so well last time, but now I'm wondering whether I wired them wrong, or if it's just not possible.

Basically I have 2 stepper motors on a belt. To get a bit more torque, I'd like to be able to run them in parallel. Would wiring them directly in parallel cause them to both spin the same direction? Or would I have to invert one?

Is there any practical issues with putting them in parallel? Like interference between the 2 sets of coils etc?

Thanks

Providing the two steppers are matched there should be no problem. It would not work if, for example, the number of steps per rev differed between the two, or they required considerably different supply voltages.

With a chopper driver (like most bipolar stepper drivers) you can get conflict between the two inductances especially because the motors are dynamic and resonant.

Try putting the two motors in SERIES, as the current in each motor is then guaranteed to be matched.

@MrRB - are you also known as Romanlini at CNCZone.com?