DC Motor Drives Specifications

Help with DC Motor Drives specifications:

Drive Type Category of motor or system driven or controlled.

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	DC Brushed Motor		Rotary brushed motors commutate via physical contacts, often spring-loaded graphite brushes biased against the commutation bar.
	DC Brushless Motor		Brushless motors commutate electronically with no physical brush contact. One common technique for positional feedback to control commutation is the use of Hall effect sensors to detect rotor position. Commutation options include trapezoidal and sinusoidal drive signals to the motor.
	DC Servomotor		DC servomotors can be of brush or brushless design, and are used for position control and other industrial automation applications. If brushless, the commutation of the three phases will typically be either trapezoidal or sinusoidal; the term "DC Brushless" often connotes trapezoidal commutation of a brushless motor with Hall Effect sensor feedback for commutation control.
	Linear Motor		Linear motors generate force only in the direction of travel. The motor technology resembles rotary motor technologies simply oriented in a linear fashion. Linear motors are capable of extremely high speeds, quick acceleration, and accurate positioning. Linear motor technologies include moving coil, moving magnet, AC switched reluctance design, AC synchronous design, AC induction or traction design, linear stepping design, DC brushed design, and DC brushless design.
	Voice Coil Motor		A voice coil motor consists of a magnetic coil placed in a magnetic field.  When current is applied to the coil, electromagnetic flux is generated that causes the coil to move.  So named due to its resemblance to audio speaker operation.
	Other		Other unlisted, specialized or proprietary style of motor or axis drive.
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	Integral Motion Controller?		Integrated unit with both motion control and motor drive or amplifier functions on board.
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	Number of Axes / Motors		Number of axes or independent motors that the device can drive or control. Follower or dependent axes are often listed as "half" axes.
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	Resolution (if Applicable)		Number of binary digits (bits) the device used to characterize an analog signal.
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	Application Categories		The categories below are additional descriptions of drive types.  Many drives and controllers can be categorized as one or more of these; this set of categories is based directly on supplier terminology, and multiple descriptions are possible.
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	Battery Controlled		Battery controlled drives are designed to operate on battery power and may have additional design considerations to extend battery life or in general make more efficient use of the available power.
	Variable Speed Drive		Variable speed drives monitor and control industrial motor applications where speed control and adjustment is required.
	Multi-axis Controller		Motion controllers that control and/or monitor multiple independent axes of motion, typically one motor per axis.
	Motor Speed Controller		Control units for motor speed, braking, and often torque control.  Speed controllers are often application-specific for uses such as conveyor or web control, electric vehicle control, etc.
	Robotic Motion Controller		Robotic controllers use digital motion control hardware and software for the coordinated multi-axis control of industrial robots and robotic systems
	Servo Amplifier		Servo amplifiers are electronic modules that convert low level analog command signals to high power voltages and currents to operate a servomotor.
	Regenerative Drive		Regenerative drives support motor braking and take the power generated by the braking action and send it back to the power source, such as the AC line or a battery.
	SCR Drive		DC motor drive that uses SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifiers) circuits for rectification of the AC input to produce the DC drive current.
	PWM Drive		DC motor drive using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to regulate the DC voltage level output to the motor.
	DSP-based		Digital signal processors (DSP) are special microprocessors used where real-time manipulation of large amounts of digital data is required in order to improve or modify it. They are used for fast and high resolution motion control, and special programming equipment is used to program the DSP chip.
	Microcontroller Based		Microcontrollers are complete computer systems on a chip, typically combining an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), memory, timer/counters, serial port, input/output ports (I/O) and a clock oscillator. Microcontrollers require programming from external devices.
	Other		Other unlisted, specialized, or proprietary motion control or motor drive technology.
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Electrical Ratings

	Maximum Output Voltage		Maximum output voltage of the device.
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	Rated Power		Power rating for the driven motor or actuator, often a nominal rating. Specified in watts or horsepower.
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	Continuous Output Current		Continuous current rating.
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	Peak Output Current		Capacity for current output for a very short period.
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	Supply Voltage (AC)		Range of AC input voltage for which the drive or controller will operate.
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	Supply Voltage (DC)		Range of DC input voltage for which the drive or controller will operate.
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	AC Input Phase
	Your choices are...
	Single Phase		The AC input is single phase. Single phase is the more commonly used AC type. Usually but not exclusively for lower voltage applications.
	Three Phase		The AC input is three phase power.  Three phase input is typically used for high voltage power supplies.
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	AC Input Frequency
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	50 Hz		Will accept 50 Hz AC input.
	60 Hz		Will accept 60 Hz AC input.
	400 Hz		Will accept 400 Hz AC input.
	Other		Other unlisted frequency.
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	Operating Temperature:		The operating temperature of the power supply.
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Configuration & Features

	Configuration
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	IC / PCB-Mounted		Integrated circuit (IC) chip, chipset, or module that mounts onto a printed circuit board (PCB).
	PC Board		Device is a printed circuit board that installs into a backplane or motherboard of an industrial or personal computer, PLC, etc.
	OEM Module		Designed for incorporation by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) into their products.
	Stand Alone		Fully packaged unit that stands alone and communicates with other devices through a standard communication protocol.
	Panel Mount		Device mounts onto a panel, wall, or chassis of a larger system; includes slot or "bay" modules.
	DIN Rail		Device is designed to mount onto a standard size DIN rail.
	Rack Mount		Mounts into a standard rack system, such as a 19" rack enclosure.
	Other		Unlisted, specialized, or proprietary mounting configuration.
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	Features
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	Soft Start		Control circuitry designed to allow the controlled motor to ramp up to full speed over time. This is often designed as a safety feature for motors moving large or fragile loads, and as a preventive measure for excessive current draw.
	Dynamic Braking		Method of motor braking in which the power supply is disconnected from the motor windings; the rotating motor then functionally become a generator whose power (heat) is dissipated through an often sizable resistor shunt across the windings.  Also referred to as "rheostatic" or shunt resistor braking.
	Injection Braking		Applicable to AC motors only. The AC power is disconnected from the windings and a DC current is "injected" into the windings, creating a magnetic field opposing the motor rotation, thereby slowing and stopping the motor.
	Regenerative Braking		Method of motor braking somewhat similar to dynamic braking, in which the motor is disconnected from the power supply, and the power generated from the rotating motor is sent back to the supply.  In some configurations, this generated power is used to recharge a battery that supplies the power to the drive.
	Brake Output		Relay or switch output designed to activate or control an external brake.
	Home / Limit Switch Input		Device has inputs for home and/or limit switches, indicating start, stop, or end-of-travel positions of the associated axes.
	Auxiliary I/O		Additional channels of input and/or output for communication with or feedback from the device.
	Alarm / Status Monitoring		Function in which one or more parameters are monitored for compliance with design operating parameters. In the case of a fault or non-compliant operation, an alarm or other signal can be generated to alert the operator or control system for appropriate action. Examples include overvoltage, overcurrent, and overspeed protection, temperature monitoring, and torque limiting interlocks.
	Self-Configuration / Auto-tuning		The unit is designed to detect operating conditions and independently adjust its settings for optimal system performance.
	Self-Diagnostics		Device can intelligently detect fault conditions or other system problems and report the specific problem to the operator or control system.
	Electric Vehicle Design		Designed primarily for control of electric motors in industrial, recreational, or other electric vehicles. Many include application-specific features such as reverse alarm output, signal for speedometers and tachometers, etc.
	Other		Other unlisted or specialized features.
	Search Logic:		All products with ANY of the selected attributes will be returned as matches. Leaving all boxes unchecked will not limit the search criteria for this question; products with all attribute options will be returned as matches.

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