The Differences Between Brushed and Brushless Motors
Joe Martino - Sales Engineer for maxon precision motors, discusses the key differences between brushed and brushless DC motors.
Transcript
00:00:03 [Music] hi I'm max on sales engineer Joe Martino in this video I'll be giving you an overview of the differences between a max on DC brushed and max on DC brushless motor the key difference between brushed and brushless motors is service life the service life of a brushed motor is shorter and limited by the wear of the brushes while a
00:00:27 brushless motor is far more gradual and wear and is only limited by the life of the ball bearings for many applications the service life of brush motor is not a concern because it's offset by lower cost another consideration is speed typically the max speed of a brush motor is in the range of 20,000 rpm but the mechanical wear sharply increases and decreases service life in this case in
00:00:51 practice brush motors tend to run below 10,000 rpm a brushless motor of similar size and magnetic design can be operated at much higher speeds reaching tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of rpm in some cases these are perfect for applications such as grinders cutters blowers where speed is critical but these are generalizations you'll have to look at the Maxon catalog to
00:01:17 understand the speed and torque capabilities of each individual motor on a case-by-case basis ambient conditions are another important factor in service life if electromagnetic interference is a concern brush motors may not be suitable due to the phenomenon known as arcing brushes made of graphite need humidity and oxygen in the atmosphere to work properly and produce dust that
00:01:39 might pollute clean rooms high vacuums or optical devices for these reasons most motors and special ambient conditions are brushless there's no physical brush residue no spark related emissions they can be sterilized operated in ultra-high vacuum applications be exposed to very high heat and even operate in space brushless motors can also survive a very high
00:02:02 level of vibration and temperature for example in down hole drilling and aerospace applications there is no motor as simple to operate as a brushed DC motor just apply voltage and it's Bin's a brushless motor requires an electronic controller and additional cabling adding complexity and cost but this advantages in gated in applications needing higher levels of control we're
00:02:26 both brush and brushless motors alike require controllers from motor speed shaft position and torque control so whether you're considering a brushed or brushless motor there a variety of factors to consider in terms of service life complexity ambi conditions and cost for more information about Maxon motors visit our website view our other videos or request a detailed catalog
00:02:52 thanks for watching [Music]