When you need a motor for an application, you may not know if a brushless DC motor or stepper motor is best. In principle, both types are permanent-magnet synchronous motors. The difference is in their specific characteristics and mode of operation. BLDC Motors Brushless DC motors are highly reliable and efficient, and have a high power-to-volume ratio. This high-power motor can deliver large amounts of torque over a range of speeds. BLDC motors are electronically commutated constantly changing the waveforms being delivered to a wound stator. Brushless motors with an outer rotor tend to operate at lower speeds and have…
Stepper Motors & Preventing Step Losses
The biggest issue that surrounds the use of step motors and tarnishes its unlimited potential is step losses. However, such losses can be avoided and corrected. The operation of a step motor is best described as open loop. Although, the choice of the driver and motor are crucial, there are some other factors that can also result in the occurrence of step losses. Stepper Motors The selection of the stepper motor is based on a set of three rules. Firstly, the stepper motor must meet the torque/speed requirements of the application. Secondly, the safety factor of the motor concerned must…
Choosing Hazardous Duty Synchronous Motors & Stepper Motors
In the gear motor world, the two main types of motors are the AC synchronous motor and the DC stepper motor. Synchronous motors have a shaft that rotates at the same frequency as the supply current, so the supply current equals the number of AC cycles. The stepper motor is a BLDC motor whose full rotation is divided into an equal number of steps. The risk of hazards occurs when you use a constant-speed motor with a variable-frequency controller because it becomes potentially explosive. Synchronous Motor and Stepper Motor Hazards Explained The heat a synchronous or stepper motor produces when…
Sinotech’s Motor Consultancy Services for Motor Selection & Design: BLDC, Stepper, Gear Motors, DC Motors, AC Motors & More
In addition to our motor catalog, Sinotech offers motor consulting services in the areas of motor selection, design and applications to help you determine the best BLDC motor, stepper motor or synchronous motor for your operation. The consultants on our staff have hands-on experience with the manufacturing management process and machine design so you can feel confident that the custom solution you choose will provide the results that you seek. Sinotech’s Process At Sinotech, we aim to deliver the highest-quality services and products. Because we work with factories in Asia that manufacture parts such as BLDC motors, Sinotech employs bilingual…
Understanding Two-phase Stepper Motor Winding Arrangements: Biopolar and Unipolar
The stepper motor is a type of brushless DC motor. It gets its name from the number of equal steps it uses to complete a full rotation. When the motor is the right size for its application, you can command it to move and hold during one of its steps without a feedback sensor. Instead of having continuous rotation, the stepper motor uses toothed electromagnets powered by an external control circuit. Because the teeth are slightly offset, the gears rotate, or step, slightly when the electromagnets are turned off and on. With two-phase stepper motors, there are two basic winding…
