What Are the Different Types of Electric Motors?

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An Electric Motor is an appliance which converts the electrical energy into mechanical energy. With the advent of household appliances made of Electric Motors, our everyday life has become easy.  Electric Motors function on the electro-magnetic field. The rotating element of an Electric Motor is termed as rotor and the fixed part is called as the stator. When electricity passes through the stator, a torque is generated which rotates the rotor. There are wide array of Electric Motors commercially available round the world. These Electric Motors are manufactured in different sizes to fit into multiple requirements. Fans, computers, disk drives, DVD player, or elevators, everything runs on Electric Motors. Technically, an Electric Motor is classified as  AC motor, DC motor,and Universal motor.An alternating current (AC) motor runs on AC current. AC Electric Motors are available in two varieties: single phase and three phase. A DC Motor is further classified into brush , brushless, and stepper motors. Horsepower is the unit for measuring Electric Motors. Domestic Electric Motors comes in 1/2 or 1/4 horsepower. Electric Motors used in factories range in thousands of horsepower.

What is the history behind Electric Motors?

In 1821, British scientist Michael Faraday discovered the torque generated by the magnetic field. He experiemented on the fact that as current passed through a wire, it starts rotating around the permanent magnet . In 1832, William Sturgeon made the first DC Electric Motor. However, none of the Electric Motor became successful due to its high price. In 1873, the first commercial Electric Motor was invented by Zenobe Gramme.

What is DC Brush Motor?

 A DC Brush Motor is the simplest  Electric Motor. There is an electric coil in its core enveloped by permanent magnets. When electricity flows through it, a strong magnetic field is generated around the armature ( connected with the electric coil). 

The left side of the armature is forced towards the left magnet and eventually attracted toward the right magnet. This torque causes the armature to rotate. When the armature reaches a horizontal position, the commutator alters the flow of current in the electric coil. Thus the magnetic field gets reversed. Then the rotation process repeats.

Advantages of DC Brush Motor:

• A DC Brush Motor has a low  manufacturing cost.
• A DC Brush Motor is highly reliable .
• Motor speed can be easily controlled in a DC Brush Motor.

Disadvantages of DC Brush Motor:

• The longevity of the brushes are very less. They tends to wear off easily
• There is every possibility of electrical noise and sparking. 
• The speed of the DC Brush Motor is limited due to the presence of an electromagnet in the motor’s center. 
• DC Brush Motor takes time to cool off. 

What is DC Brushless Motor?

DC Brushless Motor is commercially known as electronically commutated motor. It has permanent magnets on the rotor. The electromagnet is placed in the stator. When electricity flows through the electromagnets, the shaft keep rotating.

Advantages of DC Brushless Motor:

• DC Brushless Motor cools off easily. 
• DC Brushless Motor can be precisely controlled due to the presence of many electromagnets on the stator. 
• There is no possibility of electrical noise and sparking.
• There are no brushes to wear off.

Disadvantages of DC Brushless Motor:

• Brushless DC motor is very expensive due to its greater efficiency and longevity.

What is  DC Steeper Motor?

Steeper Motor is a type of brushless motor used in automated systems. The rotation of the motor is controlled by a computerized control system. This category of motor are specifically used in robots where every movement (step) is feed as a program.

Advantages of  DC Steeper Motor :

• There are no brushes to wear off. Steeper Motor has a long operating life. 
• Steeper Motor can be easily integrated into any complex system
• Steeper Motor’s speed and load is easily controlled by digital signals. It reduces the possibility of any error.

Disadvantages of  DC Steeper Motor :

• Steeper Motor is affected by resonances.
• It  requires program for microstepping to function smoothly.
• Steeper Motor gets heated up easily during high performance phases. Besides, it  is very noisy when functioning at high speeds.

What is Universal  Motor?

Universal Motor can be operated on both AC or DC current. Commercially this category of motor is known as series-wound motors. It is mostly used in household appliances such as food grinders, vacuum cleaners, food processors, blenders etc.

Advantages of Universal Motor:

• Universal Motor comes in very compact design.
• Universal Motor has a high starting torque.

Disadvantages of Universal Motor:

• Universal Motor has a very high maintenance cost.
• The commutator of  Universal Motor has very short life.

What is Single-phase AC Motor?

Single-phase AC Motor runs on a single phase power supply. Single phase motor is typically useful for home purposes.

Advantages of Single-phase AC Motor:

• Single-phase AC Motor is highly reliable,  and requires low maintenance.
• It is available in different mounting styles such as vertical, c-face, foot mount and large flange.
• Components of Single-phase AC Motor can be easily replaced

Disadvantages of Single-phase AC Motor:

• Single phase AC motor does not start on itself. It requires a manual trick  to generate a second phase necessary for the initial  torque.

What is Three-phase AC Motor?

A Three-phase AC Motor runs on a three phase power supply. Three phase motor is used for  industrial purposes.

Advantages of  Three-phase AC Motor:

• Three-phase AC Motor  can work on both single and three phase power supply.
•  It requires low maintenance. 
• It has a very high speed necessary for industrial purposes.

Disadvantages of Three-phase AC Motor:

• Three phase power is not commonly available round the world.
•  The speed  control is truly a  challenge.

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