Types of Motors?

[JessiS]

I am seeking a good reference on motors that is clear and in plain english. Specfically, I have three questions:

Can a brushless dc motor be a commutator motor?

Can a brushless dc motor be an impedance-protected motor, a fractional-horsepower motor, or an integral horsepower motor?

And, more importantly, how can I tell from a spec what kind of a motor I am dealing with?

THANKS!

 

[motorsdirect]

Hi.
Best as I can..answers in order:

1. No.

2. dont know
yes...I would imagine so.
what is this??

3. Sometimes, the motor data plate or label will give clues...otherwise there is no easy way...experience I suppose.

hope this helps

Jeff

http://www.motors-direct.co.uk

 

[JessiS]

Thanks for the info, Jeff. As far as what a integral-horsepower motor is, I am under the impression it can be the same thing as a polyphase motor - but I am not positive of that. If it si the case, then a DC brushless couldn't be that, since it is AC.

I do not have the motors in front of me, so no nameplates to look at :O( I guess I'll have to work on that experience. Thanks.

 

[UKpete]

If you spin the shaft by hand and feel some cogging, it's a PM (permanent magnet) motor. However, if the motion is smooth it could be any type, including PM with skewed stator slots or an airgap winding to eliminate cogging!

I think integral horsepower means the opposite to fractional horsepower, i.e. an integer number of hp. The range of brushless dc motors is vast, from a few watts to tens of kW. I don't know what impedance protected means either.

When it comes to small motors, even experienced people often can't tell what type it is unless they look inside.