Dc motor Definition and 38 Discussions

A DC motor is any of a class of rotary electrical motors that converts direct current electrical energy into mechanical energy. The most common types rely on the forces produced by magnetic fields. Nearly all types of DC motors have some internal mechanism, either electromechanical or electronic, to periodically change the direction of current in part of the motor.
DC motors were the first form of motor widely used, as they could be powered from existing direct-current lighting power distribution systems. A DC motor's speed can be controlled over a wide range, using either a variable supply voltage or by changing the strength of current in its field windings. Small DC motors are used in tools, toys, and appliances. The universal motor can operate on direct current but is a lightweight brushed motor used for portable power tools and appliances. Larger DC motors are currently used in propulsion of electric vehicles, elevator and hoists, and in drives for steel rolling mills. The advent of power electronics has made replacement of DC motors with AC motors possible in many applications.

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  1. G

    DC Motor Efficiency

    So I am doing an experiement about DC motors, and I would like to know why the efficiency plot looks like a parabola. What is the structure behind that. Thank you in advance
  2. Chriz3223

    Questions about DC motor drive calculations

    Hi Physics! And again, thanks for the membership! I’m about to build a robot just with some old parts I have. The main thing is the motors. I have 2 DC Motors Specs below. (It’s a MFA975D Series with gear ratio 49:1) Operation range(Voltage): 12V No load = 147RPM Nm = 1,8 Stall Torque =...
  3. K

    DC Compound Motor Help

    What are the negative effects (if any) of running a compound DC motor with the series field open? I’m troubleshooting a 100hp recoiler motor on a metal slitter machine that constantly blows line and load fuses. It is on a DC drive. The drive has been replaced and the motor has been rewound. The...
  4. M

    Two Different Designs of DC Motors

    Hello, I have two designs of DC motors. Which one is more efficient? I believe what is in question is the location of the communicator. Whether it should be closer to the out piece of the shaft turning the gears? Or should it be further away towards the end? Does this make a difference...
  5. T

    Using a generator to charge 2 batteries

    My project is to create a circuit for a stroller that can store the mechanical work into electrical while moving around and with the push of a switch, use the electrically stored energy to assist the movement of the stroller. I’ve tried capacitors but it ended up not being enough voltage and I...
  6. K

    Choosing the right ESC for a Brushless motor

    Hello everyone. I have a RC helicopter (WLtoys V912) that recently had a crash. The main board was damaged and replaced and I got it working again but there is a problem. The main brushless motor is not as powerful as before and I have to apply 75% throttle to keep hovering above the ground. It...
  7. E

    Slowly Rotating Device For a Camera Pan Timelapse

    Hello all! I just discovered PF as I have been searching about a project I have been pondering for a day. The idea is to have a device that I can set my 3lb camera and have the device rotate left-to-right && || right-to-left over the duration of 2 hours for use in a sunset/cloud timelapse...
  8. J

    Torque on a DC motor spinning a wheel horizontally

    I need a 12v DC with appropriate torque. In my design, the axle of the motor would be pointed straight in the air and I want to affix a wheel to it and have the wheel spin flat, sort of like a pottery wheel sort of design. I know what the wheel is made of, its dimensions and approximate weight...
  9. nashikin58

    How to avoid a clash of magnetic charge and electric charge

    Hi, now I'm working on a project which involves a dc motor and high voltage. I'm developing a machine consists of a motor to rotate a platform disc and high voltage will be applied during the rotation. The problem is when I supply a positive high voltage at motor shaft during rotation, the motor...
  10. S

    Engineering Electrical Machine - Shunt DC Motor Problem

    Hi guys, can someone please have a look at the following problem that I am struggling with; An 8.25 kW shunt DC motor is supplied with a terminal DC voltage of 300 V. The armature resistance of the motor Ra is 0.25 ohms, and the field resistance Rf is 40 ohms. The field winding consists of 1500...
  11. D

    What generator/DC motor do I need for my wind turbine

    I am making a small wind turbine for my A-level RMT and wondering what kind of generator I need to charge a 12volt battery. The turbine is a vertical axis savonius turbine that will probably be about a meter high and half a meter wide. I know I can use permanent magnet dc motors and someone...
  12. D

    BLDC motor as generator to power eddy current brakes

    Hi everyone - here's a concept that I'd like a few opinions on: As part of a project, I'm looking at using a brushless DC motor mounted on a high-speed vehicle as a generator. Once the vehicle hits its top speed, the batteries should disconnect from the motor and the vehicle's own velocity will...
  13. kostoglotov

    Which data set should I trust more?

    Homework Statement Control systems subject. Have a DC motor setup on a difference op-amp, then with gain, and the axel moves a wiper on a pot used for feedback. I understand the concepts reasonably well enough to complete the assignment. I'm using MATLAB scripts to approximate parameters...
  14. Cocoleia

    Conservation of Power in the armature circuit of a DC motor

    Homework Statement I am asked in a lab report to explain the conservation of power in the armature circuit of the DC motor. Homework Equations This is the data I have acquired: The Attempt at a Solution I have been reading around, and I have learned somewhat about the Armature Copper Loss...
  15. H

    Four carbon brushes for a DC Motor- what are they for?

    Hi in every theoretical explanation of any kind of DC motor there's always a split ring commutator and two brushes like in the following pic then when it comes to my motorbike/car starter motor rebuild the real thing in practice is different- see the following pic with four carbon brushes- two...
    • Hondaboi1729
    • Thread
    • dc motor electromagetism magnetism motor
    • Replies: 12
    • Forum: Electrical Engineering
  16. Manoj Sahu

    Why DC series motor should not be started without load?

    Today a professor of mine who teaches Electrical machines told us that a DC series motor should not be started without load. I wonder why is that so. Please provide a detailed explanation of this PF members. Thank you very much in advance.
  17. J

    Engineering Separately excited DC motor

    Homework Statement A 180V separately excited DC motor has an armature resistance of 1.2ohm. When the note runs at 1200rpm,t he armature current is 10A. 1) Assuming that motor torque is constant at all speeds,d determine the mechanical torque and power developed in the motor. 2)Find the speed of...
  18. E

    Engineering Electrical Machines DC Shunt Motor

    An 8.25 kW shunt DC motor is supplied with a terminal DC voltage of 300 V. The armature resistance of the motor Ra is 0.25 , and the field resistance Rf is 40 . The field winding consists of 1500 turns. An adjustable resistance Radj is connected in series to the field winding. Radj may be...
  19. C

    Using a DC Motor as a Generator

    So I'm working on a senior design project and was trying to use a DC motor to charge a battery. The point is to allow for quick use to charge a phone or a laptop in circumstances where you need a quick charge. We have lead-acid batteries connected in series and parallel to give us: 14,000mAh...
  20. H

    DC Motor for Miniature Car

    Hello all, I'm building a miniature vehicle and plan on using a DC motor that supposedly spins at 12800 rpm (1340 rad/s) for the engine. However, I'm a little confused as to what the car's acceleration would be. The DC motor on its own would instantaneously have an angular velocity of 1340...
  21. cyril joel

    Dc motor

    Hello i am abeginer i have to connect a 12v dc motor can i connect it to two 9v batteries in series meabs a total output of 18V.
  22. marellasunny

    Linear actuator limit switch replacement/repair

    Linear actuator spec.: 400mm stroke, 6000N, 2 limit switches, 5mm/sec, 12V DC supply, BIBUS IP65 casing. One of the limit switches of my LA (Linear Actuator) seems to have burned out. This happened because I accidentally plugged the LA leads into the AC mains socket (my LA is rated to run at...
  23. Narayanan KR

    A motor design to defy Lenz' law?

    1. The two rotors (purple, green) are electricaly isolated but mechanically fit to rotate along same axis 2. The motor action on the left side rotor will move the armature set, this will produce currents in right side rotor that will pass via a variable load. 3. do you see the magnetic feilds...
  24. J

    Power Output Given Certain Torque

    Hi, I have a problem that I've been trying to figure out for a while but cannot seem to get on my own. I'm trying to figure out how much power will be generated in a motor given a certain amount of torque. The problem is, to find the amount of power output , I also need to know the rotational...
    • Jmeeks29ig
    • Thread
    • dc motor power output rotational velocity torque
    • Replies: 7
    • Forum: Mechanics
  25. C

    Looking for the right DC motor

    Hello forum. I'm looking for a DC motor for a little project. I don't have a lot of experience with different types of motors, though I'm fairly confident I don't want a servo motor or a stepper motor. I have a disk of non-uniform weight distribution. I want to mount the disk vertically (motor...
  26. O

    How does a DC motor work?

    How can this DC motor work without a commutator. Should it not turn no more than once and then stop because on one side the rotor is attracted to the magnet? An answer I can think of is that the rotor is repelled on one side and attracted on the other by the same force which neutralize each...
    • Oti
    • Thread
    • dc motor
    • Replies: 1
    • Forum: Mechanics
  27. R

    Calculating the speed taking into account the weight of a person

    I need to buy a DC motor for an electric skateboard project. I need to calculate the speed at which it can travel with a person on top. I can calculate the speed at which the skateboard can go but is does not account for the weight of a person as that will surely decrease the speed. What formula...
  28. K

    Need Help Selecting a Motor

    Hello, I am working on a design, and I am having trouble selecting a motor. I will be able to supply 1.2 A and 12VDC, and I need the motor to be able to move a load of 0.5 lbs at 500 rpm. So far, I tried calculating torque (based on F=ma and T=Fr, r=1.06 in in this case). Then I used HP=...
  29. D

    Maximum voltage and current values for building a DC motor

    Hello, I am building a large DC motor for a Go-kart. I have a question: How would I know how much voltage and current (the maximum values I can use) I need to make the DC motor work and spin? I'm guessing the armature size and the winded wire's length depends on how much voltage and current...
  30. D

    Building a large DC motor

    Hello, I would like to start building a simple DC motor Go-kart, but I would like to build my own DC motor for it. A simple one that can make the car move. I know how DC motors work and I understand the physics of it, but i'm not sure about some things: - Are all DC motors (large or small) the...
  31. D

    Predicting DC generator response

    I am creating a scale model wind turbine using a DC motor as a generator and would like to predict the motor response analytically. Generally speaking, the flow will spin the rotor (as in the turbine's), which will spin the motor, and then there will be what I'm calling the motor response, and...
  32. C

    Mechanism that only rotates when driven from one side

    I have a geared DC motor taken from a hand drill. When I manually turn the internal motor, the drill bit rotates. This can be done in both directions. However If I try and turn the drill bit it does not rotate. What is the mechanism called that achieves this? My friend says it is a sprag...
  33. IamDev

    Specification of DC motor for my project work?

    Hello, I need to buy a DC motor for my project work. My project involves rotation of a cylindrical disk of 1 kg, inside water (approx. 2 cm below the water level) at different speed ranging between 100 rpm -200 rpm. For this purpose I need to buy a DC motor but I am not sure of what...
  34. M

    Combining two power sources

    Hi guys, I'm working on a school project and I don't know a lot about electricity, so here is my question. Lets say that I have two small 6V DC generators, and I need an output of 12V (I can not use a 12V DC generator because space is limited, the two 6V fit perfectly) is there a way to...
    • Moncada
    • Thread
    • dc motor electricity generator
    • Replies: 2
    • Forum: Mechanics
  35. M

    Engineering Using the Locked Rotor Test to find parameters of DC motor?

    Homework Statement A locked rotor test is performed on a permanent magnet DC machine with the following results: Terminal Voltage 5 V DC Input Current 10 A DC Locked rotor torque. 20 Nm a) Making suitable approximations deduce the effective rotor resistance in ohms? b) Making suitable...
  36. D

    Need help with DC Motor Circuit

    Good day. I was wondering if anyone could help me with the following problem. As you can see in the diagram below, I want to set up a circuit with 4 DC Motors in parallel, each with a push button switch. And a variable resistor to control the speed manually. I would like a LED strip to be...
  37. Heros

    Ohms law not so linear?

    Hi, i didnt know where to put this question cos its kind of multitopic, here is why... I am working on a better way to take mechanical energy from muscles, i made a teste bench for pedalling in very different ways, including traditional(circular) pedalling, the thing is. I am measuring the power...
    • Heros
    • Thread
    • biomechanics dc motor dynamo generator light bulb non-linear ohm resistance temperature
    • Replies: 14
    • Forum: Electromagnetism
  38. H

    Variable low speed motor, how much can I vary it?

    I'm looking at getting a motor to drive a micrometer. It's on an interferometer mirror for the curious. I'll need around 1RPM or so, but I want to be able to vary the speed, because I'm pretty unsure about how fast I'll need it to go for my experiment to work. I'm thinking a range of like 1/4 to...
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