An Industrial Motor and Its Basic Types - Advantages and Disadvantages of Each

An industrial motor is important in the proper functioning of machines employed in varied industries. The choice is practically dependent upon the decision of the end user but also needs some proper scrutiny of the different types of motors. Industrial motors have varied designs crucial to the particular engineering practice where they are sought after. Therefore, one should be able to distinguish one type of motor from the other.

The basic types of industrial motors include AC, DC, brushless DC, servo, gearless and linear motors. To reiterate, the reason why one should know the distinct trait of one industrial motor type is because of the fact that there are those that are apparently more suitable in a particular application than that of the other. Here are essential facts to take note of about each motor type.

AC and DC motors

AC motors are perhaps the simplest of all types of industrial motors. They are favored for the simplicity of their designs, reliability of their operating capacities, their low financial investments and a variety of mounting styles. Since they are available in a wide array of environmental enclosures, it is also easy to find replacements of the parts of AC motors. Some drawbacks on these products include the expense for speed controls and its inability to function at lower-paced speeds.

DC motors on the other hand, was the earliest types of industrial motor designs. At present, a lot of people favor these motor systems mainly because of its speed varieties that serve various torque applications. It has uncomplicated designs matched by easy to control torque and speed. When compared to AC motors though, DC motors are more expensive and larger. It requires higher maintenance and cannot be controlled in lowest speeds.

Gear motors and stepper motors

Gear motors are said to be more general than AC and DC motors. In fact, the last two types are found under the broader category. It also has other types and sizes such as single or multiphase, servo or induction and synchronous. When one considers such types of industrial motors, he must look into the speed of the shaft as well as the continuity of the torque, current and output power.

A stepper motor on the other hand is one type of industrial motor that makes use of a magnetic field for rotor movement. It functions with different stepping techniques such as full, half or fractional steps. Voltage is important in changing the polarity of poles applied to its rotor.