Originally Posted by
RobH2
From what I've read, they can run pretty darn hot, as high as 200C without damaging them. That's hard to believe and I wouldn't do it for long but what if you turned them back up temporarily, say to about 40% and see if the skipping goes away? If it does, then they are just too low. If not, then you can eliminate that too.
You say that you've been turning them down as they've run too hot. At the same time, you are getting skipping. On the surface it would appear that the turning down and led to the skipping. Maybe not, but I'd try to overdrive the steppers for a little bit and see what happens. Again, I've read that it won't hurt them to overdrive them for a short time. Verify that on your own though. I don't want to hear that I made you ruin your steppers. But, I really do think you'll be ok if you don't go higher than 50% on the pots.