Does half stepping produce less torque than full stepping in a stepper motor?

Question

Would running a bipolar stepper motor at half step produce less torque but smoother movement than running it at full step?

Answer 1

Properly done (sqrt(2)/2 driven half steps), half stepping gives the same static torque as full step, and slightly higher acceleration without skipping steps, so more effective torque with varying speed. Going all the way to micro-stepping increases the acceleration slightly more. Using 0.5 driven half steps results in less torque.