3. For a belt-driven printer mechanism, we will use a NEMA 17 stepper motor with a step angle of 1.8° with

full-step drive. Our initial selection is the Minebea K0538 with a 24 Volt supply and a chopper driver set to

1.2 A. An expensive DC Servomotor is used during system development to run the exact desired velocity

profile for the print head. The DC motor has a torque constant of 42 mNM/A.

a. We measure the average steady-state current of 3.0 A during the print operation. What is the

maximum safe speed for the selected stepper to be used for production? Please provide your

answer in both Steps/s and rpm.

b. The DC Servo also measures a peak acceleration current of 4 A. With the existing mechanism, the

print speed is set at 300 Steps/s at the driving motor. Can the selected stepper system be directly

commanded to start at the desired speed?