The new TMC2209 is another controller designed and manufactured in Germany by the company Trinamic.

This new stepper motor controller is a further step forward in improving the motion of our 3D printers, enhancing in many ways the features of the popular TMC2208 and TMC2130 controllers.

The TMC2130 incorporated StallGuard technology, which is used to detect alterations in the motor current and use this measurement to detect the end of an axis' stroke and produce 3D printers without limit switches, such as our 3DSteel. They also have StealthChop technology, which greatly reduces printer noise. The only problem is that both technologies could not be used at the same time, but with the TMC2209 they can.

The heat generation is considerable with these controllers, so larger heatsinks are used than for example with the DRV8825 and A4988. 

The TMC2208 are more efficient in this sense, generate less heat and can be used with higher intensities, also have a silent mode but do not have StallGuard, so can not be used to replace the limit switches. TMC2209 are even more efficient and heat less than TMC2208 (and TMC2130), allowing higher current intensities and better thermal performance.

Their main characteristics are*: 

  • It has a UART connection
  • Motor voltage: 5.5.-28V
  • Logic voltage: 3.3-5V
  • RSense: 0.11 Ohm
  • stealthChop2 - For silent operation 
  • spreadCycle - Highest Strength Mode
  • coolStep - Controls the current to decrease the heating of motors and controllers
  • stallGuard4 - detects engine load, used for sensorless homing
    *may change slightly depending on the assembler, consult the documentation of the model or contact us for any questions. 

In the following table we can see a comparison with the previous models, it is necessary to emphasize how the RDSon value has descended with each generation of controllers, improving the performance:


The RDSon value of 0.2 is a very important advance in a controller in this price range. It is 60% lower than the popular 2130, which means less heat, longer life, and greater range of use, and can increase current to higher values without compromising heat generation.

This heat that is not generated, also translates into an even quieter and more efficient movement.

Compatibility with boards: When using the UART connection they are compatible with the boards prepared for such connection, for example boards prepared for the TMC2208 in UART mode or with other boards using an external wiring. Each board includes documentation about it. This type of connection is becoming the new standard for 3D printer controllers, virtually all boards developed from 2019 onwards are UART compatible.

Marlin compatibility:

Marlin 2.0 already includes support for TMC2209, make sure you are using the latest version and have the TMCStepper library from teemuatlut updated: https://github.com/teemuatlut/TMCStepper

If you use VSCode, the necessary libraries will be automatically installed.