Unit 2

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SRI VIDYA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY COURSE MATERIAL (LECTURE NOTES)
Unit 2
ACTUATION SYSTEMS
Pneumatic systems
Pneumatics is a branch of technology, which deals with the study and

application of use of pressurized gas to affect mechanical motion.
Pneumatic systems are extensively used in industry, where factories are commonly
plumbed with compressed air or other compressed inert gases. This is because a
centrally-located and electrically- powered compressor that powers cylinders and
other pneumatic devices through solenoid valves is often able to provide motive
power in a cheaper, safer, more flexible, and more reliable way than a large number
of electric motors and actuators.
Pneumatics also has applications in dentistry, construction, mining, and other areas.
Gases used in pneumatic systems

Pneumatic systems in fixed installations such as factories use compressed air because
a sustainable supply can be made by compressing atmospheric air. The air usually
has moisture removed and a small quantity of oil added at the compressor, to avoid
corrosion of mechanical components and to lubricate them.
Factory-plumbed, pneumatic-power users need not worry about poisonous

leakages as the gas is commonly just air. Smaller or stand-alone systems can use
other compressed gases which are an asphyxiation hazard, such as nitrogen - often
referred to as OFN (oxygen-free nitrogen), when supplied in cylinders.
Any compressed gas other than air is an asphyxiation hazard - including nitrogen,
which makes up approximately 80% of air. Compressed oxygen (approx. 20% of air)
would not asphyxiate, but it would be an extreme fire hazard, so is never used in
pneumatically powered devices.
Portable pneumatic tools and small vehicles such as Robot Wars machines and other
hobbyist applications are often powered by compressed carbon dioxide because
containers designed to hold it such as soda stream canisters and fire extinguishers are
readily available, and the phase change between liquid and gas makes it possible to
obtain a larger volume of compressed gas from a lighter container than compressed air
would allow. Carbon dioxide is an asphyxiant and can also be a freezing hazard when
vented inappropriately.
ME2401/MECHATRONICS/UNIT-2 Page 1
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Advantages of pneumatics
 Simplicity of Design And Control
o Machines are easily designed using standard cylinders & other
components. Control is as easy as it is simple ON - OFF type control.
 Reliability
o Pneumatic systems tend to have long operating lives and require very
little maintenance.
o Because gas is compressible, the equipment is less likely to be damaged
by shock. The gas in pneumatics absorbs excessive force, whereas the fluid of
hydraulics directly transfers force.
 Storage
o Compressed Gas can be stored, allowing the use of machines when
electrical power islost.
 Safety
o Very low chance of fire (compared to hydraulic oil).
o Machines can be designed to be overload safe.
Hydraulic systems
Hydraulic machinery are machines and tools which use fluid power to do simple
work. Heavy equipment is a common example.
In this type of machine, high-pressure liquid — called hydraulic fluid — is

transmitted throughout the machine to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic
cylinders. The fluid is controlled directly or automatically by control valves and
distributed through hoses and tubes.
The popularity of hydraulic machinery is due to the very large amount of power
that can be transferred through small tubes and flexible hoses, and the high power
density and wide array of actuators that can make use of this power.
Hydraulic machinery is operated by the use of hydraulics, where a liquid is the

powering medium
Advantages of hydraulics
 Liquid (as a gas is also a 'fluid') does not absorb any of the supplied energy.
 Capable of moving much higher loads and providing much higher
forces due to the incompressibility.
 The hydraulic working fluid is basically incompressible, leading to a
minimum of spring action. When hydraulic fluid flow is stopped, the
slightest motion of the load releases the pressure on the load; there is
no need to "bleed off" pressurized air to release the pressure on the
load.
Directional control valves are one of the most fundamental parts in hydraulic
machinery. They allow fluid flow into different paths from one or more sources.
They usually consist of a piston inside a cylinder which is electrically controlled.
The movement of the cylinder restricts or permits the flow, thus it controls the fluid
flow.
Directional control valves are mainly two types:
 Hydraulic and
 Pneumatic.
Hydraulic directional control valves are for a liquid working fluid (e.g. water,
hydraulic oil) and pneumatic directional control valves are for a gaseous (usually
air) working fluid.
Control valves
Directional control valves route the fluid to the desired actuator. They usually consist
of a spool inside a cast iron or steel housing. The spool slides to different positions in
the housing, intersecting grooves and channels route the fluid based on the spool's
position.
The spool has a central (neutral) position maintained with springs; in this position the
supply fluid is blocked, or returned to tank. Sliding the spool to one side routes the
hydraulic fluid to an actuator and provides a return path from the actuator to tank.
When the spool is moved to the opposite direction the supply and return paths are
switched. When the spool is allowed to return to neutral (center) position the actuator
fluid paths are blocked, locking it in position.
Directional control valves are usually designed to be stackable, with one valve for
each hydraulic cylinder, and one fluid input supplying all the valves in the stack.
Tolerances are very tight in order to handle the high pressure and avoid leaking,
spools typically have a clearance with the housing of less than a thousandth of an inch
(25 µm). The valve block will be mounted to the machine's frame with a three point
pattern to avoid distorting the valve block and jamming the valve's sensitive
components.
The spool position may be actuated by mechanical levers, hydraulic pilot pressure,
or solenoids which push the spool left or right. A seal allows part of the spool to
protrude outside the housing, where it is accessible to the actuator.
The main valve block is usually a stack of off the shelf directional control valves
chosen by flow capacity and performance. Some valves are designed to be
proportional (flow rate proportional to valve position), while others may be simply
on-off. The control valve is one of the most expensive and sensitive parts of a
hydraulic circuit.
Pressure relief valves are used in several places in hydraulic machinery; on the
return circuit to maintain a small amount of pressure for brakes, pilot lines, etc...
On hydraulic cylinders, to prevent overloading and hydraulic line/seal rupture.
On the hydraulic reservoir, to maintain a small positive pressure which excludes
moisture and contamination.
Pressure regulators reduce the supply pressure of hydraulic fluids as needed
for various circuits.
Sequence valves control the sequence of hydraulic circuits; to ensure that
one hydraulic cylinder is fully extended before another starts its stroke, for
example.
Shuttle valves provide a logical or function.
Check valves are one-way valves, allowing an accumulator to charge and maintain
its pressure after the machine is turned off, for example.
 Pilot controlled Check valves are one-way valve that can be opened (for both
directions) by a foreign pressure signal. For instance if the load should not be hold
by the check valve anymore. Often the foreign pressure comes from the other pipe
that is connected to the motor or cylinder.
Counterbalance valves are in fact a special type of pilot controlled check valve.
Whereas the check valve is open or closed, the counterbalance valve acts a bit like a
pilot controlled flow control.
Cartridge valves are in fact the inner part of a check valve; they are off the shelf
components with a standardized envelope, making them easy to populate a
proprietary valve block. They are available in many configurations; on/off,
proportional, pressure relief, etc. They generally screw into a valve block and are
electrically controlled to provide logic and automated functions.
 Hydraulic fuses are in-line safety devices designed to automatically seal off a
hydraulic line if pressure becomes too low, or safely vent fluid if pressure becomes
too high.

Auxiliary valves in complex hydraulic systems may have auxiliary valve blocks to
handle various duties unseen to the operator, such as accumulator charging, cooling
fan operation, air conditioning power, etc. They are usually custom valves designed
for the particular machine, and may consist of a metal block with ports and channels
drilled. Cartridge valves are threaded into the ports and may be electrically
controlled by switches or a microprocessor to route fluid power as needed.
Hydraulic rotary actuators
The hydraulic rotary actuator is a device which transform hydraulic power

(pressure and flow) in rotational mechanical power (torque and speed).
It is used for alternative movements with a limited rotation angle (max 280°).The
simplicity of construction allows to obtain very high mechanical efficiency
values, close to 95%.
Mechanical actuation systems Mechanical linear actuators operate by conversion

of rotary motion into linear motion. Conversion is commonly made via a few simple
types of mechanism:
 Screw: Screw jack, ball screw and roller screw actuators all operate on the
principle of the simple machine known as the screw. By rotating the actuator's
nut, the screw shaft moves in a line.
 Wheel and axle: Hoist, winch, rack and pinion, chain drive, belt drive, rigid
chain and rigid belt actuators operate on the principle of the wheel and axle.
By rotating a wheel/axle (e.g. drum, gear, pulley or shaft) a linear member
(e.g. cable, rack, chain or belt) moves.[1]
 Cam: Cam actuators function on a principle similar to that of the wedge, but
provide relatively limited travel. As a wheel-like cam rotates, its eccentric shape
provides thrust at the base of a shaft.
Some mechanical linear actuators only pull (e.g. hoist, chain drive and belt drive)
and others only push (e.g. cam actuator).
Cams
A linear actuator is an actuator that, when driven by a non-linear motion, creates
linear motion (as opposed to rotary motion, e.g. of an electric motor). Mechanical and
hydraulic actuation are the most common methods of achieving the linear motion.
A cam is a rotating or sliding piece in a mechanical linkage used especially in
transforming rotary motion into linear motion or vice-versa.[1][2] It is often a part
of a rotating wheel (e.g. an eccentric wheel) or shaft (e.g. a cylinder with an irregular
shape) that strikes a lever at one or more points on its circular path. The cam can be
a simple tooth, as is used to deliver pulses of power to a steam hammer, for
example, or an eccentric disc or other shape that produces a smooth reciprocating
(back and forth) motion in the follower, which is a lever making contact with the
cam.
Gear train
A gear train is a set or system of gears arranged to transfer rotational torque

from one part of a mechanical system to another.
Gear trains may consist of:
 Driving gears - attached to the input shaft
 Driven gears/Motor gears - attached to the output shaft
 Idler gears - interposed between the driving and driven gear in order to maintain
the direction of the output shaft the same as the input shaft or to increase the
distance between the drive
and driven gears. A compound gear train refers to two or more gears used to
transmit motion. Types of gear trains include:
 Simple gear train

 Compound gear train
 Epicyclic gear train
 Reverted gear train
A gear train is two or more gear working together by meshing their teeth and turning
each other in a system to generate power and speed. It reduces speed and increases
torque. To create large gear ratio, gears are connected together to form gear trains.
They often consist of multiple gears in the train. The smaller gears are one-fifth of the
size of the larger gear. Electric motors are used with the gear systems to reduce the
speed and increase the torque. Electric motor is connected to the driving end of each
train and is mounted on the test platform. The output end output end of the gear train
is connected to a large magnetic particle brake that is used to measure the output
torque.
Types of Gear Trains
 Simple Gear Train - The most common of the gear train is the gear pair
connecting parallel shafts. The teeth of this type can be spur, helical or
herringbone. The angular velocity is simply the reverse of the tooth ratio. The
main limitation of a simple gear train is that the maximum speed change ratio is
10:1. For larger ratio, large size of gear trains are required. The sprockets and
chain in the bicycle is an example of simple gear train. When the paddle is
pushed, the front gear is turned and that meshes with the links in the chain. The
chain moves and meshes with the links in the rear gear that is attached to the
rear wheel. This enables the bicycle to move.
 Compound Gear Train - For large velocities, compound arrangement is

preferred. Two keys are keyed to a single shaft. A double reduction train can
be arranged to have its input and output shafts in a line, by choosing equal
center distance for gears and pinions.
 Epicyclic Gear Train - It is the system of epicyclic gears in which at least

one wheel axis itself revolves around another fixed axis.
 Planetary Gear Train - It is made of few components, a small gear at the

center called the sun, several medium sized gears called the planets and a large
external gear called the ring gear. The planet gear rolls and revolves about the
sun gear and the ring gear rolls on the planet gear. Planetary gear trains have
several advantages. They have higher gear ratios. They are popular for
automatic transmissions in automobiles. They are also used in bicycles for
controlling power of pedaling automatically or manually. They are also used
for power train between internal combustion engine and an electric motor.
Applications
Gear trains are used in representing the phases of moon on a watch or clock dial.
It is also used for driving a conventional two-disk lunar phase display off the
day-of-the-week shaft of the calendar.
Ratchet & pawl ratchet is a device that allows continuous linear or rotary motion in
only one direction while preventing motion in the opposite direction. Because most
socket wrenches today use ratcheting handles, the term "ratchet" alone is often used to
refer to a ratcheting wrench, and the terms "ratchet" and "socket" are closely associated
in many users' minds.
A ratchet consists of a round gear (see Figure 1) or linear rack with teeth, and a
pivoting, springloaded finger called a pawl (or click[1]) that engages the teeth. The
teeth are uniform but asymmetrical, with each tooth having a moderate slope on one
edge and a much steeper slope on the other edge.
When the teeth are moving in the unrestricted (i.e., forward) direction (see
Figure 2), the pawl easily slides up and over the gently sloped edges of the teeth, with
a spring forcing it (often with an audible
'click') into the depression between the teeth as it passes the tip of each tooth. When the
teeth move
in the opposite (backward) direction, however, the pawl will catch against the steeply
sloped edge of
the first tooth it encounters, thereby locking it against the tooth and preventing any
further motion in that direction.
Backlash
Because the ratchet can only stop backward motion at discrete points (i.e., at
tooth boundaries), a ratchet does allow a limited amount of backward motion. This
backward motion—which is limited to a maximum distance equal to the spacing
between the teeth—is called backlash. In cases where backlash must be minimized, a
smooth, toothless ratchet with a high friction surface such as rubber is sometimes
used. The pawl bears against the surface at an angle so that any backward motion
will cause the pawl to jam against the surface and thus prevent any further backward
motion. Since the backward travel distance is primarily a function of the
compressibility of the high friction surface, this mechanism can result in
significantly reduced backlash.
Belt drives
A belt is a loop of flexible material used to link two or more rotating shafts
mechanically. Belts may be used as a source of motion, to transmit power efficiently,
or to track relative movement. Belts are looped over pulleys. In a two pulley system,
the belt can either drive the pulleys in the same direction, or the belt may be crossed,
so that the direction of the shafts is opposite. As a source of motion, a conveyor belt is
one application where the belt is adapted to continually carry a load between two
points. Belts are the cheapest utility for power transmission between shafts that may
not be axially aligned. Power transmission is achieved by specially designed belts and
pulleys. The demands on a belt drive transmission system are large and this has led to
many variations on the theme. They run smoothly and with little noise, and cushion
motor and bearings against load changes, albeit with less strength than gears or chains.
However, improvements in belt engineering allow use of belts in systems that only
formerly allowed chains or gears.
Belt drive, moreover, is simple, inexpensive, and does not require axially aligned
shafts. It helps protect the machinery from overload and jam, and damps and isolates
noise and vibration. Load fluctuations are shock-absorbed (cushioned). They need
no lubrication and minimal maintenance. They have high efficiency (90-98%,
usually 95%), high tolerance for misalignment, and are inexpensive if the shafts are
far apart. Clutch action is activated by releasing belt tension. Different speeds can be
obtained by step or tapered pulleys.
The angular-velocity ratio may not be constant or equal to that of the pulley diameters,
due to slip and stretch. However, this problem has been largely solved by the use of
toothed belts. Temperatures ranges from −31 °F (−35 °C) to 185 °F (85 °C).
Adjustment of center distance or addition of an idler pulley is crucial to compensate for
wear and stretch.
Flat belts
The drive belt: used to transfer power from the engine's flywheel. Here shown
driving a threshing machine.
Flat belts were used early in line shafting to transmit power in factories.[1] It is a
simple system of power transmission that was well suited for its day.
It delivered high power for high speeds (500 hp for 10,000 ft/min), in cases of
wide belts and large pulleys. These drives are bulky, requiring high tension leading
to high loads, so vee belts have mainly replaced the flat-belts except when high speed
is needed over power. The Industrial Revolution soon demanded more from the
system, and flat belt pulleys needed to be carefully aligned to prevent the belt from
slipping off. Because flat belts tend to climb towards the higher side of the pulley,
pulleys were made with a slightly convex or "crowned" surface (rather than flat) to
keep the belts centered.
Flat belts also tend to slip on the pulley face when heavy loads are applied and
many proprietary dressings were available that could be applied to the belts to
increase friction, and so power transmission. Grip was better if the belt was
assembled with the hair (i.e. outer) side of the leather against the pulley although
belts were also often given a half-twist before joining the ends (forming a Möbius
strip), so that wear was evenly distributed on both sides of the belt (DB). Belts were
joined by lacing the ends together with leather thonging, or later by steel comb
fasteners.[4] A good modern use for a flat belt is with smaller pulleys and large
central distances. They can connect inside and outside pulleys, and can come in both
endless and jointed construction.
Round belts
Round belts are a circular cross section belt designed to run in a pulley with a
circular (or near circular) groove. They are for use in low torque situations and may
be purchased in various lengths or cut to length and joined, either by a staple, gluing
or welding (in the case of polyurethane). Early sewing machines utilized a leather
belt, joined either by a metal staple or glued, to a great effect.
Vee belts
Belts on a Yanmar 2GM20 marine diesel engine.
A multiple-V-belt drive on an air compressor.
Vee belts (also known as V-belt or wedge rope) solved the slippage and
alignment problem. It is now the basic belt for power transmission. They provide the
best combination of traction, speed of movement, load of the bearings, and long
service life. The V-belt was developed in 1917 by John Gates of the Gates Rubber
Company. They are generally endless, and their general cross-section shape is
trapezoidal. The "V" shape of the belt tracks in a mating groove in the pulley (or
sheave), with the result that the belt cannot slip off. The belt also tends to wedge into
the groove as the load increases — the greater the load, the greater the wedging action
— improving torque transmission and making the V-belt an effective solution,
needing less width and tension than flat belts. V-belts trump flat belts with their small
center distances and high reduction ratios. The preferred center distance is larger than
the largest pulley diameter, but less than three times the sum of both pulleys. Optimal
speed range is 1000–7000 ft/min. V-belts need larger pulleys for their larger thickness
than flat belts. They can be supplied at various fixed lengths or as a segmented section,
where the segments are linked (spliced) to form a belt of the required length. For high-
power requirements, two or more vee belts can be joined side-by-side in an
arrangement called a multi-V, running on matching multi-groove sheaves. The
strength of these belts is obtained by reinforcements with fibers like steel, polyester or
aramid (e.g. Twaron or Kevlar). This is known as a multiple-V-belt drive (or
sometimes a "classical V-belt drive"). When an endless belt does not fit the need,
jointed and link V- belts may be employed. However they are weaker and only usable
at speeds up to 4000 ft/min. A link v-belt is a number of rubberized fabric links held
together by metal fasteners. They are length adjustable by disassembling and removing
links when needed.
Multi-groove belts
A multi-groove or polygroove belt [5] is made up of usually 5 or 6 "V" shapes

along side each other. This gives a thinner belt for the same drive surface, thus is
more flexible, although often wider. The added flexibility offers an improved
efficiency, as less energy is wasted in the internal friction of continually bending the
belt. In practice this gain of efficiency is overshadowed by the reduced heating effect
on the belt, as a cooler-running belt lasts longer in service.
A further advantage of the polygroove belt, and the reason they have become so
popular, stems from the ability to be run over pulleys on the ungrooved back of the
belt. Although this is sometimes done with vee belts and a single idler pulley for
tensioning, a polygroove belt may be wrapped around a pulley on its back tightly
enough to change its direction, or even to provide a light driving force. [6]
Any vee belt's ability to drive pulleys depends on wrapping the belt around a
sufficient angle of the pulley to provide grip. Where a single-vee belt is limited to a
simple convex shape, it can adequately wrap at most three or possibly four pulleys, so
can drive at most three accessories. Where more must be driven, such as for modern
cars with power steering and air conditioning, multiple belts are required. As the
polygroove belt can be bent into concave paths by external idlers, it can wrap any
number of driven pulleys, limited only by the power capacity of the belt. [6]
This ability to bend the belt at the designer's whim allows it to take a complex
or "serpentine" path. This can assist the design of a compact engine layout, where the
accessories are mounted more closely to the engine block and without the need to
provide movable tensioning adjustments. The entire belt may be tensioned by a
single idler pulley.
Ribbed belt
A ribbed belt is a power transmission belt featuring lengthwise grooves. It

operates from contact between the ribs of the belt and the grooves in the pulley. Its
single-piece structure it reported to offer an even distribution of tension across the
width of the pulley where the belt is in contact, a power range up to 600 kW, a high
speed ratio, serpentine drives (possibility to drive off the back of the belt), long life,
stability and homogeneity of the drive tension, and reduced vibration. The ribbed belt
may be fitted on various applications : compressors, fitness bikes, agricultural
machinery, food mixers, washing machines, lawn mowers, etc.[7]
Film belts
Though often grouped with flat belts, they are actually a different kind. They
consist of a very thin belt (0.5-15 millimeters or 100-4000 micrometres) strip of
plastic and occasionally rubber. They are generally intended for low-power (10 hp or
7 kW), high-speed uses, allowing high efficiency (up to 98%) and long life. These are
seen in business machines, printers, tape recorders, and other light- duty
operations.Timing belts
Timing belt
Belt-drive cog on a belt-driven bicycle
Timing belts, (also known as Toothed, Notch, Cog, or Synchronous belts) are a
positive transfer belt and can track relative movement. These belts have teeth that fit
into a matching toothed pulley. When correctly tensioned, they have no slippage, run
at constant speed, and are often used to transfer direct motion for indexing or timing
purposes (hence their name). They are often used in lieu of chains or gears, so there is
less noise and a lubrication bath is not necessary. Camshafts of automobiles, miniature
timing systems, and stepper motors often utilize these belts. Timing belts need the
least tension of all belts, and are among the most efficient. They can bear up to 200 hp
(150 kW) at speeds of 16,000 ft/min.
Timing belts with a helical offset tooth design are available. The helical offset
tooth design forms a chevron pattern and causes the teeth to engage progressively. The
chevron pattern design is self- aligning. The chevron pattern design does not make the
noise that some timing belts make at idiosyncratic speeds, and is more efficient at
transferring power (up to 98%).
Disadvantages include a relatively high purchase cost, the need for specially
fabricated toothed pulleys, less protection from overloading and jamming, and the
lack of clutch action.
Specialty belts
Belts normally transmit power on the tension side of the loop. However, designs
for continuously variable transmissions exist that use belts that are a series of solid
metal blocks, linked together as in a chain, transmitting power on the compression side
of the loop.
Rolling roads
Belts used for rolling roads for wind tunnels can be capable of 250 km/h.[8]
Flying rope
For transmission of mechanical power over distance without electrical energy, a

flying rope can be used[9]. A wire or manila rope can be used to transmit mechanical
energy from a steam engine or water wheel to a factory or pump which is located a
considerable distance (10 to 100s of meters or more) from the power source. A flying
rope way could be supported on poles and pulleys similar to the cable on a chair lift
or aerial tramway. Transmission efficiency is generally high.
Chain drives
Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. It is
often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and
motorcycles. It is also used in a wide variety of machines besides vehicles.
Most often, the power is conveyed by a roller chain, known as the drive chain or
transmission chain,[1] passing over a sprocket gear, with the teeth of the gear
meshing with the holes in the links of the chain. The gear is turned, and this pulls the
chain putting mechanical force into the system.
Sometimes the power is output by simply rotating the chain, which can be used to lift
or drag objects. In other situations, a second gear is placed and the power is recovered
by attaching shafts or hubs to this gear.
Though drive chains are often simple oval loops, they can also go around corners
by placing more than two gears along the chain; gears that do not put power into the
system or transmit it out are generally known as idler-wheels. By varying the diameter
of the input and output gears with respect to each other, the gear ratio can be altered,
so that, for example, the pedals of a bicycle can spin all the way around more than
once for every rotation of the gear that drives the wheels.
Chains versus belts
Drive chains are most often made of metal, while belts are often rubber, plastic,
or other substances. Although well-made chains may prove stronger than belts, their
greater mass increases drive train inertia.
Drive belts can often slip (unless they have teeth) which means that the output
side may not rotate at a precise speed, and some work gets lost to the friction of the
belt against its rollers. Teeth on toothed drive belts generally wear faster than links on
chains, but wear on rubber or plastic belts and their teeth is often easier to observe;
you can often tell a belt is wearing out and about to break more easily than a chain.
Chains are often narrower than belts, and this can make it easier to shift them to
larger or smaller gears in order to vary the gear ratio. Multi-speed bicycles with
derailleurs make use of this. Also, the more positive meshing of a chain can make it
easier to build gears that can increase or shrink in diameter, again altering the gear
ratio.
Both can be used to move objects by attaching pockets, buckets, or frames to

them; chains are often used to move things vertically by holding them in frames, as in
industrial toasters, while belts are good at moving things horizontally in the form of
conveyor belts. It is not unusual for the systems to be used in combination; for
example the rollers that drive conveyor belts are themselves often driven by drive
chains.
Drive shafts are another common method used to move mechanical power
around that is sometimes evaluated in comparison to chain drive; in particular shaft
drive versus chain drive is a key design decision for most motorcycles. Drive shafts te
Bearing
A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more

parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly
according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as
well as by the directions of applied loads they can handle.
Plain bearings use surfaces in rubbing contact, often with a lubricant such as oil or
graphite. A plain bearing may or may not be a discrete device.
It may be nothing more than the bearing surface of a hole with a shaft passing
through it, or of a planar surface that bears another (in these cases, not a discrete
device); or it may be a layer of bearing metal either fused to the substrate (semi-
discrete) or in the form of a separable sleeve (discrete). With suitable lubrication,
plain bearings often give entirely acceptable accuracy, life, and friction at minimal
cost. Therefore, they are very widely used.
However, there are many applications where a more suitable bearing can
improve efficiency, accuracy, service intervals, reliability, speed of operation, size,
weight, and costs of purchasing and operating machinery. Thus, there are many types
of bearings, with varying shape, material, lubrication, principal of operation, and so
on. For example,
Rolling-element bearings use spheres or drums rolling between the parts to
reduce friction; reduced friction allows tighter tolerances and thus higher precision
than a plain bearing, and reduced wear extends the time over which the machine stays
accurate.
Plain bearings are commonly made of varying types of metal or plastic

depending on the load, how corrosive or dirty the environment is, and so on. In
addition, bearing friction and life may be altered dramatically by the type and
application of lubricants.
For example,
a lubricant may improve bearing friction and life, but for food processing a
bearing may be lubricated by an inferior food-safe lubricant to avoid food
contamination; in other situations a bearing may be run without lubricant because
continuous lubrication is not feasible, and lubricants attract dirt that damages the
bearings.
Principles of operation
There are at least six common principles of operation:
 plain bearing, also known by the specific styles: bushings, journal bearings,
sleeve bearings, rifle bearings
 Rolling-element bearings such as ball bearings and roller bearings
 jewel bearings, in which the load is carried by rolling the axle slightly off-center
 fluid bearings, in which the load is carried by a gas or liquid
 magnetic bearings, in which the load is carried by a magnetic field
 flexure bearings, in which the motion is supported by a load element which
bends.
 angular contact bearing Motions
Common motions permitted by bearings are:
 Axial rotation e.g. shaft rotation

 Linear motion e.g. drawer
 spherical rotation e.g. ball and socket joint
 hinge motion e.g. door, elbow, knee electrical actuators
Relay
A solid state relay (SSR) is an electronic switching device in which a small

control signal controls a larger load current or voltage. It comprises a voltage or
current sensor which responds to an appropriate input (control signal), a solid-state
electronic switching device of some kind which switches power to the load circuitry
either on or off, and some coupling mechanism to enable the control signal to activate
this switch without mechanical parts. The relay may be designed to switch either AC
or DC to the load. It serves the same function as an electromechanical relay, but has
no moving parts.
Operation
An SSR based on a single MOSFET, or multiple MOSFETs in a paralleled array,

works well for DC loads.
There is an inherent substrate diode in all MOSFETs that conducts in the

reverse direction. This means that a single MOSFET cannot block current in both
directions. For AC (bi-directional) operation two MOSFETs are arranged back to
back with their source pins tied together. Their drain pins are connected to either side
of the output. The substrate diodes then are alternately reverse biased in order to
block current when the relay is off. When the relay is on, the common source is
always riding on the instantaneous signal level and both gates are biased positive
relative to the source by the photo-diode.
It is common to provide access to the common source so that multiple

MOSFETs can be wired in parallel if switching a DC load. There is also commonly
some circuitry to discharge the gate when the LED is turned off, speeding the relay's
turn-off.
Advantages over mechanical relays
Most of the relative advantages of solid state and electromechanical relays are
common to all solid- state as against electromechanical devices.
 SSRs are faster than electromechanical relays; their switching time is

dependent on the time needed to power the LED on and off, of the order of
microseconds to milliseconds
 Lower (if any) minimum output current (latching current) required
 Increased lifetime, particularly if activated many times, as there are no moving
parts to wear
Output resistance remains constant regardless of amount of use

 Clean, bounceless operation
 Decreased electrical noise when switching
 No sparking, allowing use in explosive environments where it is critical
that no spark is generated during switching
 Totally silent operation
 Inherently smaller than a mechanical relay of similar specification (if desired
may have the same "casing" form factor for interchangeability).
 Much less sensitive to storage and operating environment. For example much
less sensitive to mechanical shock and vibration, humidity.
Solenoid
solenoid is a coil wound into a tightly packed helix. In physics, the term
solenoid refers to a long, thin loop of wire, often wrapped around a metallic
core, which produces a magnetic field when an electric current is passed
through it. Solenoids are important because they can create controlled magnetic
fields and can be used as electromagnets. The term solenoid refers specifically
to a magnet designed to produce a uniform magnetic field in a volume of space
(where some experiment might be carried out).
In engineering, the term solenoid may also refer to a variety of

transducer devices that convert energy into linear motion. The term is also
often used to refer to a solenoid valve, which is an integrated device
containing an electromechanical solenoid which actuates either a pneumatic
or hydraulic valve, or a solenoid switch, which is a specific type of relay
that internally uses an electromechanical solenoid to operate an electrical
switch; for example, an automobile starter solenoid, or a linear solenoid,
which is an electromechanical solenoid.
AC motor
An AC motor is an electric motor that is driven by an alternating current.

It consists of two basic parts, an outside stationary stator having coils supplied
with alternating current to produce a rotating magnetic field, and an inside rotor
attached to the output shaft that is given
a torque by the rotating field. (There are examples, such as some Papst motors,
which have the
stator on the inside and the rotor on the outside to increase the inertia and
cooling. They were common on high quality tape and film machines where
speed stability is important.)
There are two types of AC motors, depending on the type of rotor used
(not including eddy current motors also AC/DC mechanically commutated
machines in which speed is dependent on voltage and winding connection). The
first is the synchronous motor, which rotates
exactly at the supply frequency or a submultiple of the supply frequency. The
magnetic field on the rotor is either generated by current delivered through slip
rings or by a permanent magnet. The second type is the induction motor,
which runs slightly slower than the supply frequency. The magnetic field on
the rotor of this motor is created by an induced current.
Squirrel-cage rotors
Most common AC motors use the squirrel cage rotor, which will be found in
virtually all domestic and light industrial alternating current motors. The squirrel cage
refers to the rotating exercise cage for pet animals. The motor takes its name from the
shape of its rotor "windings"- a ring at either end of the rotor, with bars connecting
the rings running the length of the rotor. It is typically cast aluminum or copper
poured between the iron laminates of the rotor, and usually only the end rings will be
visible. The vast majority of the rotor currents will flow through the bars rather than
the higher-resistance and usually varnished laminates. Very low voltages at very high
currents are typical in the bars and end rings; high efficiency motors will often use
cast copper to reduce the resistance in the rotor.
In operation, the squirrel cage motor may be viewed as a transformer with a

rotating secondary. When the rotor is not rotating in sync with the magnetic field,
large rotor currents are induced; the large rotor currents magnetize the rotor and
interact with the stator's magnetic fields to bring the rotor almost into
synchronization with the stator's field. An unloaded squirrel cage motor at rated no-
load speed will consume electrical power only to maintain rotor speed against
friction and resistance losses. As the mechanical load increases, so will the
electrical load - the electrical load is inherently related to the mechanical load. This
is similar to a transformer, where the primary's electrical load is related to the
secondary's electrical load.
This is why a squirrel cage blower motor may cause household lights to dim
upon starting, but doesn't dim the lights on startup when its fan belt (and therefore
mechanical load) is removed. Furthermore, a stalled squirrel cage motor (overloaded
or with a jammed shaft) will consume current limited only by circuit resistance as it
attempts to start. Unless something else limits the current (or cuts it off completely)
overheating and destruction of the winding insulation is the likely outcome.
To prevent the currents induced in the squirrel cage from superimposing itself
back onto the supply, the squirrel cage is generally constructed with a prime number
of bars, or at least a small multiple of a prime number (rarely more than 2). There is
an optimum number of bars in any design, and increasing the number of bars beyond
that point merely serves to increase the losses of the motor particularly when starting.
Virtually every washing machine, dishwasher, standalone fan, record player, etc.
uses some variant of a squirrel cage motor.
Calecon Effect
If the rotor of a squirrel runs at the true synchronous speed, the flux in the rotor
at any given place on the rotor would not change, and no current would be created in
the squirrel cage. For this reason, ordinary squirrel-cage motors run at some tens of
rpm slower than synchronous speed, even at no load. Because the rotating field (or
equivalent pulsating field) actually or effectively rotates faster than the rotor, it could
be said to slip past the surface of the rotor. The difference between synchronous speed
and actual speed is called slip, and loading the motor increases the amount of slip as
the motor slows down slightly.
Two-phase AC servo motors
A typical two-phase AC servo-motor has a squirrel cage rotor and a field consisting of
two windings:
1. a constant-voltage (AC) main winding.

2. a control-voltage (AC) winding in quadrature (i.e., 90 degrees phase shifted)
with the main winding so as to produce a rotating magnetic field. Reversing phase
makes the motor reverse.
An AC servo amplifier, a linear power amplifier, feeds the control winding. The
electrical resistance of the rotor is made high intentionally so that the speed/torque
curve is fairly linear. Two-phase
servo motors are inherently high-speed, low-torque devices, heavily geared down to
drive the load.
Single-phase AC induction motors
Three-phase motors produce a rotating magnetic field. However, when only

single-phase power is available, the rotating magnetic field must be produced using
other means. Several methods are commonly used: Shaded-pole motor
A common single-phase motor is the shaded-pole motor and is used in devices

requiring low starting torque, such as electric fans or the drain pump of washing
machines and dishwashers or in other small household appliances. In this motor, small
single-turn copper "shading coils" create the
moving magnetic field. Part of each pole is encircled by a copper coil or strap; the
induced current in the strap opposes the change of flux through the coil. This causes a
time lag in the flux passing through the shading coil, so that the maximum field
intensity moves across the pole face on each cycle. This produces a low level rotating
magnetic field which is large enough to turn both the rotor and its attached load. As
the rotor picks up speed the torque builds up to its full level as the princ ipal magnetic
field is rotating relative to the rotating rotor.
A reversible shaded-pole motor was made by Barber-Colman several decades

ago. It had a single field coil, and two principal poles, each split halfway to create two
pairs of poles. Each of these four "half-poles" carried a coil, and the coils of
diagonally-opposite half-poles were connected to a pair of terminals. One terminal of
each pair was common, so only three terminals were needed in all.
The motor would not start with the terminals open; connecting the common to
one other made the motor run one way, and connecting common to the other made
it run the other way. These motors were used in industrial and scientific devices.
An unusual, adjustable-speed, low-torque shaded-pole motor could be found in

traffic-light and advertising-lighting controllers. The pole faces were parallel and
relatively close to each other, with the disc centred between them, something like the
disc in a watthour meter. Each pole face was split, and had a shading coil on one part;
the shading coils were on the parts that faced each other. Both shading coils were
probably closer to the main coil; they could have both been farther away, without
affecting the operating principle, just the direction of rotation.
Applying AC to the coil created a field that progressed in the gap between the
poles. The plane of the stator core was approximately tangential to an imaginary
circle on the disc, so the travelling magnetic field dragged the disc and made it
rotate.
The stator was mounted on a pivot so it could be positioned for the desired
speed and then clamped in position. Keeping in mind that the effective speed of the
travelling magnetic field in the gap was constant, placing the poles nearer to the
centre of the disc made it run relatively faster, and toward the edge, slower.
Split-phase induction motor
Another common single-phase AC motor is the split-phase induction motor,[5]

commonly used in major appliances such as washing machines and clothes dryers.
Compared to the shaded pole motor, these motors can generally provide much greater
starting torque by using a special startup winding in conjunction with a centrifugal
switch.
In the split-phase motor, the startup winding is designed with a higher

resistance than the running winding. This creates an LR circuit which slightly shifts
the phase of the current in the startup winding. When the motor is starting, the
startup winding is connected to the power source via a set of spring-loaded contacts
pressed upon by the stationary centrifugal switch. The starting winding is wound
with fewer turns of smaller wire than the main winding, so it has a lower inductance
(L) and higher resistance (R). The lower L/R ratio creates a small phase shift, not
more than about 30 degrees, between the flux due to the main winding and the flux
of the starting winding. The starting direction of rotation may be reversed simply by
exchanging the connections of the startup winding relative to the running winding.
The phase of the magnetic field in this startup winding is shifted from the phase
of the mains power, allowing the creation of a moving magnetic field which starts the
motor. Once the motor reaches near design operating speed, the centrifugal switch
activates, opening the contacts and disconnecting the startup winding from the power
source. The motor then operates solely on the running winding.
The starting winding must be disconnected since it would increase the losses in the
motor.
Capacitor start motor
Schematic of a capacitor start motor.
A capacitor start motor is a split-phase induction motor with a starting capacitor

inserted in series with the startup winding, creating an LC circuit which is capable of
a much greater phase shift (and so, a much greater starting torque). The capacitor
naturally adds expense to such motors.
Resistance start motor
A resistance start motor is a split-phase induction motor with a starter

inserted in series with the startup winding, creating capacitance. This added starter
provides assistance in the starting and initial direction of rotation.
Permanent-split capacitor motor
Another variation is the permanent-split capacitor (PSC) motor (also known as a

capacitor start and run motor).[6] This motor operates similarly to the capacitor-start
motor described above, but there is no centrifugal starting switch,[6] and what
correspond to the start windings (second windings) are permanently connected to the
power source (through a capacitor), along with the run windings. [6] PSC motors are
frequently used in air handlers, blowers, and fans (including ceiling fans) and other
cases where a variable speed is desired.
A capacitor ranging from 3 to 25 microfarads is connected in series with the

"start" windings and remains in the circuit during the run cycle. The "start" windings
and run windings are identical in this motor, and reverse motion can be achieved by
reversing the wiring of the 2 windings, with the capacitor connected to the other
windings as "start" windings. By changing taps on the running winding but keeping
the load constant, the motor can be made to run at different speeds. Also, provided all
6 winding connections are available separately, a 3 phase motor can be converted to a
capacitor start and run motor by commoning two of the windings and connecting the
third via a capacitor to act as a start winding.
Wound rotors
An alternate design, called the wound rotor, is used when variable speed is
required. In this case, the rotor has the same number of poles as the stator and the
windings are made of wire, connected to slip rings on the shaft. Carbon brushes
connect the slip rings to an external controller such as a variable resistor that allows
changing the motor's slip rate. In certain high-power variable speed wound-rotor
drives, the slip-frequency energy is captured, rectified and returned to the power
supply through an inverter. With bidirectionally controlled power, the wound-rotor
becomes an active participant in the energy conversion process with the wound-rotor
doubly-fed configuration showing twice the power density.
Compared to squirrel cage rotors and without considering brushless wound-rotor

doubly-fed technology, wound rotor motors are expensive and require maintenance of
the slip rings and brushes, but they were the standard form for variable speed control
before the advent of compact power electronic devices.
Transistorized inverters with variable-frequency drive can now be used for speed
control, and wound rotor motors are becoming less common.
Several methods of starting a polyphase motor are used. Where the large inrush
current and high starting torque can be permitted, the motor can be started across the
line, by applying full line voltage to the terminals (direct-on-line, DOL). Where it is
necessary to limit the starting inrush current (where the motor is large compared with
the short-circuit capacity of the supply), reduced voltage starting using either series
inductors, an autotransformer, thyristors, or other devices are used. A technique
sometimes used is (star-delta, YΔ) starting, where the motor coils are initially
connected in star for acceleration of the load, then switched to delta when the load is
up to speed. This technique is more common in Europe than in North America.
Transistorized drives can directly vary the applied voltage as required by the starting
characteristics of the motor and load.
This type of motor is becoming more common in traction applications such as

locomotives, where it is known as the asynchronous traction motor.
The speed of the AC motor is determined primarily by the frequency of the

AC supply and the number of poles in the stator winding, according to the
relation:
Ns = 120F / p
where
Ns = Synchronous speed, in revolutions per minute

F = AC power frequency
p = Number of poles per phase winding
Actual RPM for an induction motor will be less than this calculated
synchronous speed by an amount known as slip, that increases with the torque
produced. With no load, the speed will be very close to synchronous. When loaded,
standard motors have between 2-3% slip, special motors may have up to 7% slip, and
a class of motors known as torque motors are rated to operate at 100% slip (0
RPM/full stall). The slip of the AC motor is calculated by:
S = (Ns − Nr) / Ns
where
Nr = Rotational speed, in revolutions per minute.

S = Normalised Slip, 0 to 1.
As an example, a typical four-pole motor running on 60 Hz might have a nameplate

rating of 1725
RPM at full load, while its calculated speed is 1800 RPM.
The speed in this type of motor has traditionally been altered by having
additional sets of coils or poles in the motor that can be switched on and off to
change the speed of magnetic field rotation. However, developments in power
electronics mean that the frequency of the power supply can also now be varied to
provide a smoother control of the motor speed.
Three-phase AC synchronous motors
If connections to the rotor coils of a three-phase motor are taken out on slip-rings
and fed a separate field current to create a continuous magnetic field (or if the rotor
consists of a permanent magnet), the result is called a synchronous motor because the
rotor will rotate synchronously with the rotating magnetic field produced by the
polyphase electrical supply.
The synchronous motor can also be used as an alternator.
Now a days, synchronous motors are frequently driven by transistorized

variable-frequency drives. This greatly eases the problem of starting the massive rotor
of a large synchronous motor. They may also be started as induction motors using a
squirrel-cage winding that shares the common rotor: once the motor reaches
synchronous speed, no current is induced in the squirrel-cage winding so it has little
effect on the synchronous operation of the motor, aside from stabilizing the motor
speed on
load changes.
Synchronous motors are occasionally used as traction motors; the TGV may
be the best-known example of such use.
One use for this type of motor is its use in a power factor correction scheme.
They are referred to as synchronous condensers. This exploits a feature of the
machine where it consumes power at a leading power factor when its rotor is over
excited. It thus appears to the supply to be a capacitor, and could thus be used to
correct the lagging power factor that is usually presented to the electric supply by
inductive loads. The excitation is adjusted until a near unity power factor is obtained
(often automatically). Machines used for this purpose are easily identified as they
have no shaft extensions. Synchronous motors are valued in any case because their
power factor is much better than that of induction motors, making them preferred for
very high power applications.
Some of the largest AC motors are pumped-storage hydroelectricity generators

that are operated as synchronous motors to pump water to a reservoir at a higher
elevation for later use to generate electricity using the same machinery. Six 350-
megawatt generators are installed in the Bath County Pumped Storage Station in
Virginia, USA. When pumping, each unit can produce 563,400 horsepower (420
megawatts. Universal motors and series wound motors
AC motors can also have brushes. The universal motor is widely used in small
home appliances and power tools.
Repulsion motor
Repulsion motors are wound-rotor single-phase AC motors that are similar to

universal motors. In a repulsion motor, the armature brushes are shorted together
rather than connected in series with the field. By transformer action ,the stator induces
currents in the rotor, which create torque by repulsion instead of attraction as in other
motors.
DC MOTOR
A DC motor is an electric motor that runs on direct current (DC) electricity.
Stepper motor
A stepper motor (or step motor) is a brushless, synchronous electric motor that can
divide a full rotation into a large number of steps. The motor's position can be
controlled precisely without any feedback mechanism (see Open-loop controller), as
long as the motor is carefully sized to the application. Stepper motors are similar to
switched reluctance motors (which are very large stepping motors with a reduced pole
count, and generally are closed-loop commutated.)
Fundamentals of operation
Stepper motors operate differently from DC brush motors, which rotate when
voltage is applied to their terminals. Stepper motors, on the other hand, effectively
have multiple "toothed" electromagnets arranged around a central gear-shaped piece
of iron. The electromagnets are energized by an external control circuit, such as a
microcontroller. To make the motor shaft turn, first one electromagnet is given
power, which makes the gear's teeth magnetically attracted to the electromagnet's
teeth. When the gear's teeth are thus aligned to the first electromagnet, they are
slightly offset from the next electromagnet.
So when the next electromagnet is turned on and the first is turned off, the gear
rotates slightly to align with the next one, and from there the process is repeated. Each
of those slight rotations is called a "step", with an integer number of steps making a full
rotation. In that way, the motor can be turned by a precise angle.
Electrical DC Motors
Electrical DC Motors are continuous actuators that convert electrical energy into
mechanical energy. The DC motor achieves this by producing a continuous angular
rotation that can be used to rotate pumps, fans, compressors, wheels, etc. As well as
conventional rotary DC motors, linear motors are also available which are capable of
producing a continuous liner movement.
There are basically three types of conventional electrical motor available: AC

type Motors, DC type Motors and Stepper Motors.
A Typical Small DC Motor

AC Motors are generally used in high power single or multi-phase industrial
applications were a constant rotational torque and speed is required to control large
loads such as fans or pumps.
In this tutorial on Electrical Motors we will look only at simple light duty DC
Motors and Stepper Motors which are used in many different types of electronic,
positional control, microprocessor, PIC and robotic type circuits.
The Basic DC Motor

The DC Motor or Direct Current Motor to give it its full title, is the most commonly
used actuator for producing continuous movement and whose speed of rotation can
easily be controlled, making them ideal for use in applications were speed control, servo
type control, and/or positioning is required. A DC motor consists of two parts, a
“Stator” which is the stationary part and a “Rotor” which is the rotating part. The result
is that there are basically three types of DC Motor available.
 Brushed Motor – This type of motor produces a magnetic field in a wound rotor
(the part that rotates) by passing an electrical current through a commutator and
carbon brush assembly, hence the term “Brushed”. The stators (the stationary
part) magnetic field is produced by using either a wound stator field winding or
by permanent magnets. Generally brushed DC motors are cheap, small and easily
controlled.
 Brushless Motor – This type of motor produce a magnetic field in the rotor by
using permanent magnets attached to it and commutation is achieved
electronically. They are generally smaller but more expensive than conventional
brushed type DC motors because they use “Hall effect” switches in the stator to
produce the required stator field rotational sequence but they have better
torque/speed characteristics, are more efficient and have a longer operating life
than equivalent brushed types.
 Servo Motor – This type of motor is basically a brushed DC motor with some
form of positional feedback control connected to the rotor shaft. They are
connected to and controlled by a PWM type controller and are mainly used in
positional control systems and radio controlled models.
Normal DC motors have almost linear characteristics with their speed of rotation
being determined by the applied DC voltage and their output torque being determined
by the current flowing through the motor windings. The speed of rotation of any DC
motor can be varied from a few revolutions per minute (rpm) to many thousands of
revolutions per minute making them suitable for electronic, automotive or robotic
applications. By connecting them to gearboxes or gear-trains their output speed can be
decreased while at the same time increasing the torque output of the motor at a high
speed.
The “Brushed” DC Motor

A conventional brushed DC Motor consist basically of two parts, the stationary
body of the motor called the Stator and the inner part which rotates producing the
movement called the Rotor or “Armature” for DC machines.
The motors wound stator is an electromagnet circuit which consists of electrical

coils connected together in a circular configuration to produce the required North-pole
then a South-pole then a North-pole etc, type stationary magnetic field system for
rotation, unlike AC machines whose stator field continually rotates with the applied
frequency. The current which flows within these field coils is known as the motor field
current.
These electromagnetic coils which form the stator field can be electrically
connected in series, parallel or both together (compound) with the motors armature. A
series wound DC motor has its stator field windings connected in series with the
armature. Likewise, a shunt wound DC motor has its stator field windings connected in
parallel with the armature as shown.
Series and Shunt Connected DC Motor
The rotor or armature of a DC machine consists of current carrying conductors

connected together at one end to electrically isolated copper segments called the
commutator. The commutator allows an electrical connection to be made via carbon
brushes (hence the name “Brushed” motor) to an external power supply as the armature
rotates.
The magnetic field setup by the rotor tries to align itself with the stationary stator
field causing the rotor to rotate on its axis, but can not align itself due to commutation
delays. The rotational speed of the motor is dependent on the strength of the rotors
magnetic field and the more voltage that is applied to the motor the faster the rotor will
rotate. By varying this applied DC voltage the rotational speed of the motor can also be
varied.
Conventional (Brushed) DC Motor
The Permanent magnet (PMDC) brushed DC motor is generally much smaller

and cheaper than its equivalent wound stator type DC motor cousins as they have no
field winding. In permanent magnet DC (PMDC) motors these field coils are replaced
with strong rare earth (i.e. Samarium Cobolt, or Neodymium Iron Boron) type magnets
which have very high magnetic energy fields.
The use of permanent magnets gives the DC motor a much better linear
speed/torque characteristic than the equivalent wound motors because of the permanent
and sometimes very strong magnetic field, making them more suitable for use in
models, robotics and servos.
Although DC brushed motors are very efficient and cheap, problems associated
with the brushed DC motor is that sparking occurs under heavy load conditions between
the two surfaces of the commutator and carbon brushes resulting in self generating heat,
short life span and electrical noise due to sparking, which can damage any
semiconductor switching device such as a MOSFET or transistor. To overcome these
disadvantages, Brushless DC Motors were developed.
The “Brushless” DC Motor

The brushless DC motor (BDCM) is very similar to a permanent magnet DC
motor, but does not have any brushes to replace or wear out due to commutator
sparking. Therefore, little heat is generated in the rotor increasing the motors life. The
design of the brushless motor eliminates the need for brushes by using a more complex
drive circuit were the rotor magnetic field is a permanent magnet which is always in
synchronisation with the stator field allows for a more precise speed and torque control.
Then the construction of a brushless DC motor is very similar to the AC motor

making it a true synchronous motor but one disadvantage is that it is more expensive
than an equivalent “brushed” motor design.
The control of the brushless DC motors is very different from the normal brushed
DC motor, in that it this type of motor incorporates some means to detect the rotors
angular position (or magnetic poles) required to produce the feedback signals required
to control the semiconductor switching devices. The most common position/pole sensor
is the “Hall Effect Sensor”, but some motors also use optical sensors.
Using Hall effect sensors, the polarity of the electromagnets is switched by the
motor control drive circuitry. Then the motor can be easily synchronized to a digital
clock signal, providing precise speed control. Brushless DC motors can be constructed
to have, an external permanent magnet rotor and an internal electromagnet stator or an
internal permanent magnet rotor and an external electromagnet stator.
Advantages of the Brushless DC Motor compared to its “brushed” cousin is

higher efficiencies, high reliability, low electrical noise, good speed control and more
importantly, no brushes or commutator to wear out producing a much higher speed.
However their disadvantage is that they are more expensive and more complicated to
control.
The DC Servo Motor

DC Servo motors are used in closed loop type applications were the position of
the output motor shaft is fed back to the motor control circuit. Typical positional
“Feedback” devices include Resolvers, Encoders and Potentiometers as used in radio
control models such as aeroplanes and boats etc.
A servo motor generally includes a built-in gearbox for speed reduction and is
capable of delivering high torques directly. The output shaft of a servo motor does not
rotate freely as do the shafts of DC motors because of the gearbox and feedback devices
attached.
DC Servo Motor Block Diagram
A servo motor consists of a DC motor, reduction gearbox, positional feedback

device and some form of error correction. The speed or position is controlled in relation
to a positional input signal or reference signal applied to the device.
RC Servo Motor
The error detection amplifier looks at this input signal and compares it with the
feedback signal from the motors output shaft and determines if the motor output shaft is
in an error condition and, if so, the controller makes appropriate corrections either
speeding up the motor or slowing it down. This response to the positional feedback
device means that the servo motor operates within a “Closed Loop System”.
As well as large industrial applications, servo motors are also used in small
remote control models and robotics, with most servo motors being able to rotate up to
about 180 degrees in both directions making them ideal for accurate angular
positioning. However, these RC type servos are unable to continually rotate at high
speed like conventional DC motors unless specially modified.
A servo motor consist of several devices in one package, the motor, gearbox,
feedback device and error correction for controlling position, direction or speed. They
are widely used in robotics and small models as they are easily controlled using just
three wires, Power, Ground and Signal Control.
DC Motor Switching and Control

Small DC motors can be switched “On” or “Off” by means of switches, relays,
transistors or MOSFET circuits with the simplest form of motor control being “Linear”
control. This type of circuit uses a bipolar Transistor as a Switch (A Darlington
transistor may also be used were a higher current rating is required) to control the motor
from a single power supply.
By varying the amount of base current flowing into the transistor the speed of the
motor can be controlled for example, if the transistor is turned on “half way”, then only
half of the supply voltage goes to the motor. If the transistor is turned “fully ON”
(saturated), then all of the supply voltage goes to the motor and it rotates faster. Then
for this linear type of control, power is delivered constantly to the motor as shown
below.
Motor Speed Control
The simple switching circuit above shows the circuit for a Uni-directional (one
direction only) motor speed control circuit. As the rotational speed of a DC motor is
proportional to the voltage across its terminals, we can regulate this terminal voltage
using a transistor.
The two transistors are connected as a darlington pair to control the main
armature current of the motor. A 5kΩ potentiometer is used to control the amount of
base drive to the first pilot transistor TR1, which in turn controls the main switching
transistor, TR2 allowing the motor’s DC voltage to be varied from zero to Vcc, in this
example 9 to 12 volts.
Optional flywheel diodes are connected across the switching transistor, TR2 and
the motor terminals for protection from any back emf generated by the motor as it
rotates. The adjustable potentiometer could be replaced with continuous logic “1” or
logic “0” signal applied directly to the input of the circuit to switch the motor “fully-
ON” (saturation) or “fully-OFF” (cut-off) respectively from the port of a micro-
controller or PIC.
As well as this basic speed control, the same circuit can also be used to control
the motors rotational speed. By repeatedly switching the motor current “ON” and
“OFF” at a high enough frequency, the speed of the motor can be varied between stand
still (0 rpm) and full speed (100%) by varying the mark-space ratio of its supply. This is
achieved by varying the proportion of “ON” time (tON) to the “OFF” time (tOFF) and this
can be achieved using a process known as Pulse Width Modulation.
Pulse Width Speed Control

We said previously that he rotational speed of a DC motor is directly proportional
to the mean (average) voltage value on its terminals and the higher this value, up to
maximum allowed motor volts, the faster the motor will rotate. In other words more
voltage more speed. By varying the ratio between the “ON” (tON) time and the “OFF”
(tOFF) time durations, called the “Duty Ratio”, “Mark/Space Ratio” or “Duty Cycle”, the
average value of the motor voltage and hence its rotational speed can be varied. For
simple unipolar drives the duty ratio β is given as:
and the mean DC output voltage fed to the motor is given as: Vmean = β x Vsupply.
Then by varying the width of pulse a, the motor voltage and hence the power applied to
the motor can be controlled and this type of control is called Pulse Width Modulation or
PWM.
Another way of controlling the rotational speed of the motor is to vary the
frequency (and hence the time period of the controlling voltage) while the “ON” and
“OFF” duty ratio times are kept constant. This type of control is called Pulse Frequency
Modulation or PFM.
With pulse frequency modulation, the motor voltage is controlled by applying

pulses of variable frequency for example, at a low frequency or with very few pulses the
average voltage applied to the motor is low, and therefore the motor speed is slow. At a
higher frequency or with many pulses, the average motor terminal voltage is increased
and the motor speed will also increase.
Then, Transistors can be used to control the amount of power applied to a DC

motor with the mode of operation being either “Linear” (varying motor voltage), “Pulse
Width Modulation” (varying the width of the pulse) or “Pulse Frequency Modulation”
(varying the frequency of the pulse).
Reversing The Direction Of A DC Motor
While controlling the speed of a DC motor with a single transistor has many
advantages it also has one main disadvantage, the direction of rotation is always the
same, its a “Uni-directional” circuit. In many applications we need to operate the motor
in both directions forward and back.
To control the direction of a DC motor, the polarity of the DC power applied to

the motor’s connections must be reversed allowing its shaft to rotate in the opposite
direction. One very simple and cheap way to control the rotational direction of a DC
motor is to use different switches arranged in the following manner:
DC Motor Directional Control
The first circuit uses a single double-pole, double-throw (DPDT) switch to

control the polarity of the motors connections. By changing over the contacts the supply
to the motors terminals is reversed and the motor reverses direction. The second circuit
is slightly more complicated and uses four single-pole, single-throw (SPST) switches
arranged in an “H” configuration.
The mechanical switches are arranged in switching pairs and must be operated in
a specific combination to operate or stop the DC motor. For example, switch
combination A + D controls the forward rotation while switches B + C control the
reverse rotation as shown. Switch combinations A + B or C + D shorts out the motor

terminals causing it to brake quickly. However, using switches in this manner has its
dangers as operating switches A + C or B + D together would short out the power
supply.
While the two circuits above would work very well for most small DC motor
applications, do we really want to operate different combinations of mechanical
switches just to reverse the direction of the motor, NO!. We could change the manual
switches for set of Electromechanical Relays and have a single forward-reverse button
or switch or even use a solid state CMOS 4066B quad bilateral switch.
But another very good way of achieving bi-directional control of a motor (as well as its
speed) is to connect the motor into a Transistor H-bridge type circuit arrangement as
shown below.
Basic Bi-directional H-bridge Circuit
The H-bridge circuit above, is so named because the basic configuration of the four
switches, either electro-mechanical relays or transistors resembles that of the letter "H"
with the motor positioned on the centre bar. The Transistor or MOSFET H-bridge is
probably one of the most commonly used type of bi-directional DC motor control
circuits. It uses “complementary transistor pairs” both NPN and PNP in each branch
with the transistors being switched together in pairs to control the motor.
Control input A operates the motor in one direction ie, Forward rotation while input B
operates the motor in the other direction ie, Reverse rotation. Then by switching the
transistors “ON” or “OFF” in their “diagonal pairs” results in directional control of the
motor.
For example, when transistor TR1 is “ON” and transistor TR2 is “OFF”, point A is
connected to the supply voltage (+Vcc) and if transistor TR3 is “OFF” and transistor
TR4 is “ON” point B is connected to 0 volts (GND). Then the motor will rotate in one
direction corresponding to motor terminal A being positive and motor terminal B being
negative.
If the switching states are reversed so that TR1 is “OFF”, TR2 is “ON”, TR3 is “ON”
and TR4 is “OFF”, the motor current will now flow in the opposite direction causing the
motor to rotate in the opposite direction.
Then, by applying opposite logic levels “1” or “0” to the inputs A and B the motors
rotational direction can be controlled as follows.
H-bridge Truth Table

Input A Input B Motor Function
TR1 and TR4 TR2 and TR3
0 0 Motor Stopped (OFF)
1 0 Motor Rotates Forward
0 1 Motor Rotates Reverse
1 1 NOT ALLOWED
It is important that no other combination of inputs are allowed as this may cause the
power supply to be shorted out, ie both transistors, TR1 and TR2 switched “ON” at the
same time, (fuse = bang!).
As with uni-directional DC motor control as seen above, the rotational speed of the
motor can also be controlled using Pulse Width Modulation or PWM. Then by
combining H-bridge switching with PWM control, both the direction and the speed of
the motor can be accurately controlled.
Commercial off the shelf decoder IC’s such as the SN754410 Quad Half H-Bridge IC or
the L298N which has 2 H-Bridges are available with all the necessary control and safety
logic built in are specially designed for H-bridge bi-directional motor control circuits.
The DC Stepper Motor
Like the DC motor above, Stepper Motors are also electromechanical actuators that
convert a pulsed digital input signal into a discrete (incremental) mechanical movement
are used widely in industrial control applications. A stepper motor is a type of

synchronous brushless motor in that it does not have an armature with a commutator
and carbon brushes but has a rotor made up of many, some types have hundreds of
permanent magnetic teeth and a stator with individual windings.
Stepper Motor
As it name implies, the stepper motor does not rotate in a continuous fashion like a
conventional DC motor but moves in discrete “Steps” or “Increments”, with the angle
of each rotational movement or step dependant upon the number of stator poles and
rotor teeth the stepper motor has.
Because of their discrete step operation, stepper motors can easily be rotated a finite
fraction of a rotation at a time, such as 1.8, 3.6, 7.5 degrees etc. So for example, lets
assume that a stepper motor completes one full revolution (360o in exactly 100 steps.
Then the step angle for the motor is given as 360 degrees/100 steps = 3.6 degrees per
step. This value is commonly known as the stepper motors Step Angle.
There are three basic types of stepper motor, Variable Reluctance, Permanent Magnet
and Hybrid (a sort of combination of both). A Stepper Motor is particularly well suited
to applications that require accurate positioning and repeatability with a fast response to
starting, stopping, reversing and speed control and another key feature of the stepper
motor, is its ability to hold the load steady once the require position is achieved.
Generally, stepper motors have an internal rotor with a large number of permanent
magnet “teeth” with a number of electromagnet “teeth” mounted on to the stator. The
stators electromagnets are polarized and depolarized sequentially, causing the rotor to
rotate one “step” at a time.
Modern multi-pole, multi-teeth stepper motors are capable of accuracies of less than 0.9
degs per step (400 Pulses per Revolution) and are mainly used for highly accurate
positioning systems like those used for magnetic-heads in floppy/hard disc drives,
printers/plotters or robotic applications. The most commonly used stepper motor being
the 200 step per revolution stepper motor. It has a 50 teeth rotor, 4-phase stator and a
step angle of 1.8 degrees (360 degs/(50×4)).
Stepper Motor Construction and Control
In our simple example of a variable reluctance stepper motor above, the motor
consists of a central rotor surrounded by four electromagnetic field coils labelled A, B,
C and D. All the coils with the same letter are connected together so that energising, say
coils marked A will cause the magnetic rotor to align itself with that set of coils.
By applying power to each set of coils in turn the rotor can be made to rotate or
"step" from one position to the next by an angle determined by its step angle
construction, and by energising the coils in sequence the rotor will produce a rotary
motion.
The stepper motor driver controls both the step angle and speed of the motor by
energising the field coils in a set sequence for example, “ADCB, ADCB, ADCB, A…”
etc, the rotor will rotate in one direction (forward) and by reversing the pulse sequence
to “ABCD, ABCD, ABCD, A…” etc, the rotor will rotate in the opposite direction
(reverse).
So in our simple example above, the stepper motor has four coils, making it a 4-phase
motor, with the number of poles on the stator being eight (2 x 4) which are spaced at 45
degree intervals. The number of teeth on the rotor is six which are spaced 60 degrees
apart.
Then there are 24 (6 teeth x 4 coils) possible positions or “steps” for the rotor to
complete one full revolution. Therefore, the step angle above is given as:
360o/24 = 15o.
Obviously, the more rotor teeth and or stator coils would result in more control
and a finer step angle. Also by connecting the electrical coils of the motor in different
configurations, Full, Half and micro-step angles are possible. However, to achieve
micro-stepping, the stepper motor must be driven by a (quasi) sinusoidal current that is
expensive to implement.
It is also possible to control the speed of rotation of a stepper motor by altering

the time delay between the digital pulses applied to the coils (the frequency), the longer
the delay the slower the speed for one complete revolution. By applying a fixed number
of pulses to the motor, the motor shaft will rotate through a given angle.
The advantage of using time delayed pulse is that there would be no need for any
form of additional feedback because by counting the number of pulses given to the
motor the final position of the rotor will be exactly known. This response to a set
number of digital input pulses allows the stepper motor to operate in an “Open Loop
System” making it both easier and cheaper to control.
For example, lets assume that our stepper motor above has a step angle of 3.6
degs per step. To rotate the motor through an angle of say 216 degrees and then stop
again at the require position would only need a total of: 216 degrees/(3.6 degs/step) =
80 pulses applied to the stator coils.
There are many stepper motor controller IC’s available which can control the step
speed, speed of rotation and motors direction. One such controller IC is the SAA1027
which has all the necessary counter and code conversion built-in, and can automatically
drive the 4 fully controlled bridge outputs to the motor in the correct sequence.
The direction of rotation can also be selected along with single step mode or
continuous (stepless) rotation in the selected direction, but this puts some burden on the
controller. When using an 8-bit digital controller, 256 microsteps per step are also
possible

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