Improving the print quality of a budget 3D FDM printer by replacing the factory-installed stepper motor drivers

This paper describes optimizing the performance of a low-cost FDM 3D printer by replacing the factory driver circuits for the printer's stepper motors with ones that allow finer microstepping operation. It also describes the software tuning process of the 3D printer's Marlin firmware after the driver circuits have been changed using the Pronterface software program. Results confirming the improved 3D printer performance and print quality are shown after 3D printing the same test part with the same slicer program settings before and after the driver circuitry replacement.