DC MOTOR PRINCIPLES

Lecture 15
 Basic DC Motors
• The most simplest DC motor has a stationary set of
magnetic poles. This is called the stator. The stator can
use permanent magnets or electro-magnets which creates
a stationary magnetic field. The stator can have multiple
magnetic fields.
• The DC motor has a rotating set of electro-magnetic poles
called the rotor. A DC voltage is applied to the rotor
through a set of terminals called brushes. The brushes are
attached to a rotating device called a commutator which
feeds the rotor winding(s) that create the rotor’s electro-
magnetic field(s).
• The commutator is designed to switch the direction of the
current in the rotor windings to cause the rotor magnetic
fields to be out of phase with the stator’s magnetic field(s).
 Stator

S The direction of
motion CW
Rotor’s Magnetic field
Stator

Rotor
winding

N 1. The magnetic field of

the stator goes from
N to S.
Stator’s Magnetic field
2. The commutator gap
is perpendicular to
the brushes
Force on the 3. The current flowing
rotor due to through the rotor
Brush

+
the magnetic loop caused the

-
field. perpendicular
magnetic field to
Brush point downward.
4. There is now a force
Commutat
on the rotor to align
or
the rotor’s magnetic
field with the
 S

N 1. The magnetic field of

the stator goes from
N to S.
2. The commutator gap
is at angle to the
brushes
3. The current flowing
through the rotor

+
loop caused the

-
perpendicular
magnetic field to
point downward.
4. The force on the
rotor to align the
magnetic fields is
reduced.
 S

N
1. The magnetic field of
the stator goes from
N to S.
2. The commutator gap
is aligned with the
brushes.
3. The rotor magnetic
field is aligned with

+
the stator magnetic

-
field.
4. The force on the
rotor to align the
magnetic fields is
zero.
5. The direction of
motion is CW.
6. HOWEVER….
 S

N
1. The magnetic field of
the stator goes from
N to S.
2. The momentum of
the rotor causes
commutator gap
reverse the current
in the rotor.

+
3. The rotor magnetic

-
field is now opposite
to the stator
magnetic field.
4. The force on the
rotor reappears to
align the magnetic
fields is zero.
5. The direction of
 S

N
1. The magnetic field of
the stator goes from
N to S.
2. The rotor continues
to rotate CW.
3. The rotor magnetic
field is moving to
align with the stator

+ -
magnetic field.
4. The force on the
rotor continues to
align the magnetic
fields.
5. The direction of
motion is CW.
 S

N
1. The magnetic field of
the stator goes from
N to S.
2. The rotor continues
to rotate CW and has
moved 180 degrees.
3. The rotor magnetic
field is moving to

+
align with the stator

-
magnetic field.
4. The force on the
rotor continues to
align the magnetic
fields.
5. The direction of
motion is CW.
6. Back to the first
 Some properties of DC motors
• Reversing the direction of the motor can be achieved by
reversing the polarity of the DC supply voltage.

S
N

-
+
• The speed of rotation is a function of the current and
therefore the DC supply voltage.
 Speed Control
• By placing a potentiometer in series with the motor and DC
supply, a varying current and therefore, varying speed can be
achieved.
• However, consumes a lot of power. Instead, Pulse Width
Modulation (PWM) can be used. The Arduino and a transistor
can be used to control the speed of the motor.
Motor +
Potentiometer VDC
--
Arduino
Generates
+ PWM BJT
VDC Mot
-- or

• Third party speed controllers can also be procured.

 Reversing the direction of rotation
How an H-Bridge works

By switching the relays, the motor voltage is

reversed and the changes direction of rotation.

https://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/h-bridge/
Reversing the direction of rotation
• To reverse the direction of rotation of a DC
motor, a switching matrix called an H-bridge
can be used.
• A H-bridge can be configured using simple
relays or an electronic device.

Drawings from
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/io/io_7.html
 Stepper Motors
• Stepper Motors are DC motor which only move a specific
number of degrees at a time.
• Typical Stepper Motors have steps of 1.8 degrees; that is
200 steps.
• Stepper motors have multiple windings to achieve the
stepping action. The order in which the multiple windings
are energies determines the direction of rotation of the
rotor.
• Typically a hardware or software controller is used to
facilitate the sequencing of the multiple windings.
Therefore, such a controller uses two bits: one for
determined direction of rotation and one to send a pulse
per step.
 Typical Stepper Motor

Drawings from
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/io/io_7.html
 Servo Motor
• A Servo Motor is a DC (or AC) motor which uses a feedback
control system to move to specific angles of rotation.
• A Servo Motor requires a PWM signal to move the rotor to a
particular angle.

Drawings and photos from

https://howtomechatronics.com/how-it-works/how-servo-motors-work-how-to-control-
servos-using-arduino/
 Brushless DC Motor
• Standard DC Motor
• Stator has permanent magnet
• Rotor has coils wrapped around metallic sections (poles) where current flow
magnetizes the poles in sequence through a commutator.
• The magnetic fields on the rotor tries to align with magnetic field of the stator.

RENESAS
https://www.renesas.com/us/en/support/engineer-school/brushless-dc-motor-01-overview
 Brushless DC Motor
• Brushless DC Motor
• Rotor has permanent magnet
• Stator has coils wrapped around metallic sections (poles) where current flow
magnetizes the poles in sequence and no commutator is needed.
• The magnetic fields on the rotor tries to align with magnetic field of the stator.
 Brushless DC Motor
• Method of control of the rotations.
1. The poles of the stator are energized in a
particular order
2. As the poles are energized, the resultant
magnetic field of the stator rotates in a circular
 Brushless DC Motor
• Here is a video of the sequence to rotate the
stator magnetic field.
 Brushless DC Motor
• Other methods of control of the rotation are:
– Sinusoid signals at the stator coils provide smoother control.

– PWM is applied at the coils at various duty cycles to control

varying signals (e.g., sinusoidal).
– Positional sensors (encoders) to aid in assuring the proper
direction of rotation