Empowering Proper Selection of Motor Technology

While there is no shortage of available electric motor technologies, an initial narrowing of the field for electronics industry applications will often direct atention to several types: permanent magnet (PM) brush-commutated DC servo motors, brushless DC servo motors, and hybrid stepper motors.Insights into how each type generally compares with the others can help lighten the evaluation burden and ultimately contribute to proper selection for an application. As is true with any theoretical exercise comparing and contrasting competing technologies, generic information should always be taken with a grain of salt. Generalizations about motor characteristics may be typical, useful, and preliminarily necessary, but should never be considered absolute. There will always be exceptions and lines may blur, especially since motor solutions often can be recommended and engineered to overcome apparent "deficiencies" perceived in a particular technology. Nevertheless, as practical starting points in matching motor to application needs, basic selection factors abound to help guide whether a motor type can measure up.