12 or 24v?

Mostly Printed CNC - MPCNC Advice
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I know there are pros and cons to using different control boards, but I have a spare MKS Gen L here so I figured I should just go ahead and go with that.

However, I was wondering (since I already have a spare 12v / 6a power supply) if there would be a reason I really should go with 24v instead of 12 (since the MKS will work with either) if I’m never going to use it for something like fans, extruders and heat beds. Just the X, Y and Z. Bigger is usually always better, but to save a few bucks given my needs, is there any really big downside to doing this?

Thoughts?

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I run it at 24v because I had a spare psu. You can still run hotends and stuff at 24v, just make sure you get the 24v components.

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If you are not using Heaters for extrudes or a bed then it makes no difference. None whatsoever. The stepper drivers will still control the volts and amps to be the same either way. So I would suggest sticking with the 12v so you could still easily use fans or something if you want. (My opinion)

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Not exactly. 24v better for really high feedrates. A stepper losing torque at high rpm and 24v can help to avoid losing steps.

But this may be handy for 3d printer or high power co2 laser. For milling such feedrates not actual do 12v is ok even for serial connected steppers.

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Thanks for all the replies, guys. I currently use the MKS GEN L with an ENDER 3 at 24volts so I know all about running the board as a 3D printing solution at that kind of power.

If I had a spare 24v source, I’d probably use that, but just wanted to make sure that there wasn’t something I was totally overlooking running with the 12v 6a source I already have that’s not being used. I’ve also got an Anet A8 (think I’m going to convert it to a EMT8 now that I see how handy EMT tubing is), so I have no plans on hooking thing like heat sources to the MPCNC.

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Guffy. You are probably correct. I am making a few assumptions about the stepper drivers.

I think of volts and amps like water and water pressure. Volts is similar to water pressure(psi) and amps is like the size of the pipe or hose the water flows through. So if you used water to spin a motor the water pressure would determine the speed it can spin while the power or strength would be determined by the size of the pipe that controls the volume of water that flows. In that case volts would indeed help a motor to spin faster but the current is what will give the motor its power or strength to hold position.

The reason I said it makes no difference is because I thought the stepper drivers use the firmware to regulate the volts and amps the steppers get. So changing the PSU wouldnt make a difference as long as the minimum power requirements are met. Again I am making assumptions so I could be wrong. I fully believe Guffy knows more about it than I do.

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At high rpm and low voltage of psu driver just can’t achieve required current due to high inductive resistance

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