DCMotors DesignGuide
DCMotors DesignGuide
DCMotors DesignGuide
ON DC MOTORS
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DC MOTORS DESIGN GUIDE
In this Design Guide, the editors of Design World detail the most
common dc motor types as well common ways to quantify their
output during the design-engineering process. ▼
DANIELLE COLLINS
Senior editor
TABLE OF CONTENTS
▼
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construction
and operation
L
et’s begin our overview of dc motors with a primer on brush parallel so the field current is proportional to the load on the motor.
dc motors. These motors are a mature technology that’s been
around for more than a century. So with brushless motors and The armature and field coils in series-wound motor connect in series
an ever-increasing array of controls for all motor types, why do so current passes only through the field coils.
engineers still use brush motors? After all, it’s common knowledge that
brush motors exhibit wear at their brush-and-commutator interface. The The armature and field coils in compound-wound motors include
truth is that brush dc motors output high peak torques and can run off both series and shunt windings.
simple speed controllers to move myriad applications. They often cost
No matter the setup, brush dc motors have commutators and brush
less than other options, especially in large volumes. Plus they can have
contacts to pass current to the rotating rotor’s copper-wire windings.
a linear torque-speed relationship, which makes controls easier.
Designers can control speed by changing rotor voltage (and current
According to the most common industry naming conventions of with it) or by changing the magnetic flux between rotor and stator
today, there are three dc motor subtypes here — dc brush motors, through adjustments of the field-winding current. Brush orientation
dc permanent-magnet (PM) motors, and dc universal motors. As we’ll to the rotor’s commutator bar segments mechanically controls the
see, there are some caveats and sub-classifications. Many larger dc phase commutation.
motors still employ brushes and wound fields … though PM motors
In fact, the way dc brush motors let designers control field and rotor
dominate fractional and integral-horsepower applications below 18
windings means they’re suitable for applications that need simple
hp, and PM motors are increasingly common for myriad designs.
and cost-effective torque and speed control.
Some engineers call dc brush motors wound-field motors, because
That said, increased functionality from electronics for PM motors
it’s a wound and lacquered coil of copper wire that makes the
means that this advantage in less pronounced than it once was.
electromagnetic field. Some engineers also argue that all dc motors
What’s worse, current on both rotor and stator generate heat that
are brush dc motors, and that the term “brushless dc motor” is a
limits the motors’ continuous-current ratings. The motors also
misnomer. No matter the term, there are permanent magnet, shunt,
present a spark hazard, so can’t go in explosive settings. At certain
series, and compound-wound brush dc motors. All except the
periods during the dc motor rotation, the commutator must reverse
former use two currents:
the current, reducing motor life with arcing and friction. So, brushed
1. Current through armature (rotor) windings to interact with a
dc motors require more maintenance in the form of replacement
stator magnetic field (for output of mechanical rotation) and
of springs and brushes that carry the electrical current, and
2. Current through stator windings to make the magnetic field
replacement or cleaning of the commutator. These components are
in question.
important for transferring electrical power from outside the motor to
In contrast, permanent-magnet brush dc motors use: the spinning coil windings of the rotor inside the motor.
1. Current through armature (rotor) windings to interact with a
stator magnetic field (for output of mechanical rotation) and Note: The brushes in dc brush motors wear and need replacing, and
2. Permanent magnets on the stator to make the magnetic field brush-wear particles mean that designers shouldn’t use dc brush
in question. motors in cleanrooms. Same goes for applications that need high
precision, as friction from brush-commutator engagement make for
The armature and field coils in a shunt-wound motor connect in long position-settling times.
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Shunt, series, and compound-
▼
S
eries-wound dc motors: As mentioned, the armature (rotor) Shunt-wound dc motors: As mentioned, armature and field coils
and field coils in series-wound motors connect in series. in shunt-wounds motor connect in parallel … so field current is
That means the entire armature (rotor) current passes to the proportional to the load on the motor. Variable-voltage input allows
field winding. So, these motors only need one input voltage for speed adjustment. Supply fixed voltage to a shunt-wound
supply. Torque equals current squared. Increasing armature (rotor) motor to make it run at constant speed. Then supply increasing
current induces a field-current increase. Regenerative braking isn’t motor current to a shunt-wound motor to increase torque without
possible; field current collapses when rotor current passes through significant slowing.
zero and reverses.
Torque is highest when the motor stops because the armature (rotor) With these motors, a
generates no back electromotive force (Bemf) when at rest. When technique called field IN SHUNT-WOUND
the armature (rotor) accelerates, Bemf increases. That in turn reduces weakening can control
effective current, voltage and torque. Without loading, the motor
MOTORS, THE FIELD
speed without forcing
accelerates to dangerous speeds. In contrast, increased load slows the controls to change (STATOR) WINDING
the motor but lowers Bemf … and increases torque to turn the load. input voltage. A field-
winding rheostat reduces
CONNECTS IN PARALLEL
Series-wound motors can’t regulate speed well, as speed control
depends on adjustments to the supply voltage. Even so, they’re field (stator) current and WITH THE ARMATURE
inexpensive and can drive designs that need high starting torque. with it the magnetic flux
For example, designers use series-wound motors in low and high- between armature and (ROTOR) WINDING.
power automotive mechanisms, consumer products such as power field — across the airgap
tools, toys, and sewing machines, and industrial traction drives that separates them. Speed is inversely proportional to flux, so this
with fixed and variable speed. Designers can reverse series-wound accelerates the motor. One caveat: Torque is directly proportional to
motors by reversing field or armature (rotor) winding connections. flux, so the acceleration comes with diminished torque output.
I
SERIES-WOUND MOTOR HAS
L EMF ROTOR and STATOR FIELDS
R in SERIES.
V
EMF
SHUNT-WOUND
BRUSHED MOTOR USED IN MOTOR HAS PARALLEL EMF
EXAMPLE CALCULATIONS ROTOR and STATOR FIELDS.
Shown here are typical brushed dc motor circuits. The one to the left is used to calculate the
relationship between voltage and dc motor output speed. Applied voltage equals the voltage
drop across the coil resistance R and the inductor L plus the back electromotive force Bemf.
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DC MOTORS DESIGN GUIDE
(continued)
Shunt, series, and compound-wound
dc motor variations
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Brushless dc motor designs
▼
B
rushless dc (BLDC) motors do away with mechanical Note that there are some naming-convention caveats: There exist
commutation in favor of electronic commutation, which permanent-magnet (PM) dc motors with brushes (for mechanical
eliminates the mechanical wear and tear involved with commutation) and some references call these motors PMDC
brushed dc motors. In BLDC motors, the permanent motors. Furthermore, some motors called brushless dc motors have
magnet is housed in the rotor and the coils are placed in the stator. permanent magnets (PMs) so they are technically PM synchronous
The coil windings produce a rotating magnetic field because they’re motors that run on ac (though through a dc bus and electronic
separated from each other electrically, which enables them to be inverter circuitry). In other words, this naming convention merely
turned on and off. The BLDC’s commutator does not bring the indicates that 1) these motors don’t run directly from ac lines and
current to the rotor. Instead, the rotor’s permanent magnet field 2) the motors (with the proper drives) can replace dc brush motors
trails the rotating stator field, producing the rotor field. Read the (paired with drives) in closed-loop applications.
related article: What are brushless dc motors? Technical summary
for engineers. Most permanent-magnet dc motors drive fractional-horsepower
applications though other uses are on the rise. Output torque is
proportional to armature (rotor) current over the motor’s speed range.
DON’T SUFFER FROM BRUSH WEAR … BUT THE BLDC motors have quite a few advantages over their brushed
counterparts. Compared to brushed dc motors, BLDC motors are
DRAWBACK IS THAT THEY NEED ELECTRONIC
more efficient due mainly to the elimination of the friction from the
CURRENT-PHASE COMMUTATION. brushes. They’re also more reliable and typically have longer life
spans as well. Getting rid of the brushes also means a decrease in
EMI (electromagnetic interference) noise and no sparking from the
brushes making contact with the commutator.
In short, brushless dc motors work like shunt-wound motors, but
field flux comes from magnets instead of current through a winding. BLDC motors excel in everything from low-power applications such
The permanent magnets are made of rare-earth elements such as as consumer products to high power applications in electric vehicles
high-energy neodymium that generate a magnetic field. and industrial equipment.
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Deep dive on linear BLDC behavior
▼
W
hen the term “linear behavior” is used
to describe a system, it implies that the TYPICAL BRUSHLESS DC MOTOR DESIGN:
system’s output is directly proportional PERMANENT MAGNETS ON ROTOR
to the input. Unlike their wound-field +c2 N
-b1 N
counterparts, permanent magnet dc (PMDC) motors
+b1 ic
exhibit linear behavior. The use of permanent -c2
S
N
θm = 0 deg
-a1
N
S
First, the motor’s angular velocity (or speed) is θe = 0 deg -a2
ia
directly proportional to the applied voltage, as
shown by the equation: S
C
ib
THREE-PHASE VARIATION
+b2
-c1 BY FAR MOST COMMON
ic
Where ω = angular velocity; V = voltage; k = motor +c1 -b2
Despite their similar speed and torque behavior, there are two
significant differences between PMDC and BLDC motors. First,
PMDC motors are commutated mechanically, via brushes and a
commutator, whereas BLDC motors are commutated electronically,
typically via Hall effect sensors on the stator. Second, PMDC motors
have a stator made of permanent magnets, while BLDC motors have
permanent magnet rotors.
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Difference between slotted
▼
T
he original brushless dc (BLDC) motors were designed there’s no iron core, inductance is very low and current can get into
with slotted stators, and the majority of BLDC motors the stator windings very quickly, making slotless motors good for
are still made this way. But this design produces cogging applications that require high acceleration and dynamic response.
torque, which makes it difficult to achieve smooth motion,
especially at slow speeds. To eliminate this effect, a new design was But slotted motors still hold some advantages. For example, the air
developed, eliminating the slots in the stator (which are the root gap in a slotted motor is smaller than the air gap in a slotless design
cause of cogging torque), and slotless motors were born. (which must accommodate the self-supported winding assembly).
This means that the flux density is higher in a slotted motor, and
In a slotted motor design, the stator is made of slotted steel laminations torque production is more effective and efficient.
that are stacked together, and copper windings are inserted into
these slots. (The design of the stator is sometimes referred to as
having teeth.) The slotted motor design is simple and inexpensive to
manufacture, but it has a major drawback — cogging torque. THE TERM IRON CORE IS COMMONLY USED WHEN
Cogging torque (also referred to as detent torque) is a result of the DISCUSSING SLOTTED LINEAR MOTORS. THIS
permanent magnets in the rotor attempting to line up with the slots,
ORIGINATES FROM THE FACT THAT THE ASSEMBLY
or teeth, of the stator. The primary effect of cogging torque is that
it causes motor rotation to be jerky and not smooth … especially at OF STATOR WINDINGS ENCASED IN A STEEL,
low motor speeds.
SLOTTED STATOR IS SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS
In a slotless motor, there are no iron teeth to support the windings.
AN IRON CORE. IN CONTRAST, SLOTLESS LINEAR
Instead, the stator lamination is constructed of steel rings that are
stacked together, and the windings are encapsulated in an epoxy MOTORS ARE OFTEN CALLED AIR CORE MOTORS.
resin, which gives the winding structure shape and rigidity. This
self-supporting winding is placed in the air gap between the stator
lamination and the rotor.
One way that manufacturers of slotless motors overcome the effects
of the bigger air gap is to use larger, stronger permanent magnets
The primary benefit of a slotless motor design is that the lack of teeth
in the rotor. But this increases cost. And, the cost to manufacturer
in the lamination eliminates cogging torque and results in a motor with
the self-supporting winding structure is typically higher than a
very smooth running characteristics. Torque production is predictable
conventional slotted design. For this reason, the traditional slotted
and highly controllable because in the absence of these uncontrolled
motor design is still the first choice for applications in which smooth
disturbances (such as that from cogging torque) motor torque
running and the elimination of cogging are not critical.
production is directly related to the current supplied to the winding.
There are other benefits to the slotless design. First, the elimination
of cogging also significantly reduces audible noise. And since
SLOTLESS MOTORS
DELIVER SMOOTH MOTION.
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Details on voltage and dc motor output speed
▼
D
uring operation of a dc motor, a coil is placed in a magnetic Where: T = torque and kT = Torque constant inherent to the motor
field — and when an electric current passes through the
coil a torque is produced to make the motor turn. The entire Substituting for I, the voltage equation now becomes:
process is driven by applying electrical power to the coil,
with the source voltage having a direct relationship to the motor’s
output speed. To understand this relationship between voltage and
This shows the direct relationship between the applied voltage and
speed, consider a typical dc motor circuit.
the motor’s angular velocity. Rearranging to solve for the angular
Applied voltage equals the voltage drop across the coil resistance R velocity:
and the inductor L plus the back electromotive force Bemf …
BRUSHLESS
Which can be rearranged as: DC MOTOR STALL
TORQUE
TORQUE SHUNT-WOUND
MOTOR
NO-LOAD
TORQUE
SPEED
SPEED
NO-LOAD
STALL SPEED
TORQUE
Unlike dc motors with wound fields, SPEED
permanent magnet dc motors exhibit STALL
TORQUE SERIES-WOUND
linear behavior without electrical losses
MOTOR
associated with dc motors with other
types of construction. COMPOUND-WOUND
TORQUE
MOTOR
NO-LOAD SPEED
TORQUE
SPEED
NO-LOAD SPEED
SPEED
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The relationship between current
▼
Where Ia = total current through the armature and A = area of the coil.
FORCE ON ONE COIL IS THE PRODUCT OF
Substituting for Ic in the force equation, we get: FLUX DENSITY, CURRENT, AND COIL LENGTH
N r
N
Where Tc = torque on one coil and r = distance from center of
armature. The flux density B equals the total flux divided by area: r
fc
fc
Where φ= total flux. Because the motor is essentially a cylinder, area
is calculated:
S
Where P = number of poles. Substituting into the flux density
equation, we get:
We use this four-pole motor in our example calculations on the
relationship between current and dc motor output torque.
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Ways to avoid torque
ripple in dc motors
T
orque ripple — variations in torque production during
shaft revolution — is an undesirable effect that occurs in
permanent-magnet motors that prevents smooth motor
rotation. Torque ripple is generally defined as non-linear
torque production of an energized motor. Cogging torque (a
phenomenon similar to torque ripple) is torque produced by the
attraction between the permanent magnets of the rotor and the
slots of the stator in an un-energized motor.
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