Why Stepper Motors Lose Steps

What is the cause? How to assure the motor functions?

The use of stepper motors is an advantageous choice as long as the motors do not lose any steps during the operation over a long period - ideally without any homing device or transducer.

Stepper motors operate open loop and the moment a stepping motor does not operate correctly in a specific situation the most frequent conclusion is that the motor is faulty. Reasons could be that it is too small, the load too high, etc.

The motor selection is of course important - however it is not the only cause of step losses.