c


c
 

  c


c

c

c


c
 c



c

c 


c

c
c 

Electric motor.

 
An electric motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical energy, very typically through the
interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors. The reverse process, producing electrical
energy from mechanical energy, is accomplished by analternator, generator or dynamo. Many types of
electric motors can be run as generators, and vice versa. For example a starter/generator for agas
turbine or Traction motors used on vehicles often perform both tasks.

Electric motors are found in applications as diverse as industrial fans, blowers and pumps, machine tools,
household appliances, power tools, and disk drives. They may be powered by direct current (e.g.,
a battery powered portable device or motor vehicle), or byalternating current from a central electrical
distribution grid. The smallest motors may be found in electric wristwatches. Medium-size motors of highly
standardized dimensions and characteristics provide convenient mechanical power for industrial uses. The
very largest electric motors are used for propulsion of large ships, and for such purposes as pipeline
compressors, with ratings in the millions of watts. Electric motors may be classified by the source of electric
power, by their internal construction, by their application, or by the type of motion they give.

The physical principle of production of mechanical force by the interactions of an electric current and a
magnetic field was known as early as 1821. Electric motors of increasing efficiency were constructed
throughout the 19th century, but commercial exploitation of electric motors on a large scale required
efficientelectrical generators and electrical distribution networks.

Some devices, such as magnetic solenoids and loudspeakers, although they generate some mechanical
power, are not generally referred to as electric motors, and are usually
[1] [2]
termed actuators and transducers, respectively.
R
 & DEVELEN :-

RE  NC LE : -

The conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy byelectromagnetic means was demonstrated
by the British scientist Michael Faraday in 1821. A free-hanging wire was dipped into a pool of mercury, on
which a permanent magnet was placed. When a current was passed through the wire, the wire rotated
around the magnet, showing that the current gave rise to a circular magnetic field around the wire.[4] This
motor is often demonstrated in school physics classes, butbrine (salt water) is sometimes used in place of
the toxic mercury. This is the simplest form of a class of devices called homopolar motors. A later
refinement is the Barlow's Wheel. These were demonstration devices only, unsuited to practical
applications due to their primitive construction.[r

]

In 1827, Hungarian Ányos Jedlik started experimenting with electromagnetic rotating devices he called
"lightning-magnetic self-rotors". He used them for instructive purposes in universities, and in 1828
demonstrated the first device which contained the three main components of practical direct
current motors: thestator, rotor and commutator. Both the stationary and the revolving parts were
electromagnetic, employing no permanent magnets. Again, the devices had no practical application.[
e first electric motors

The first commutator-type direct current electric motor capable of turning machinery was invented by the
British scientist William Sturgeon in 1832.[12] Following Sturgeon's work, a commutator-type direct-current
electric motor made with the intention of commercial use was built by Americans Emily and Thomas
Davenport and patented in 1837. Their motors ran at up to 600 revolutions per minute, and powered
machine tools and a printing press.[13] Due to the high cost of the zinc electrodes required by primary
battery power, the motors were commercially unsuccessful and the Davenports went bankrupt. Several
inventors followed Sturgeon in the development of DC motors but all encountered the same cost issues
with primary battery power. No electricity distribution had been developed at the time. Like Sturgeon's
motor, there was no practical commercial market for these motors.[r

]

In 1855 Jedlik built a device using similar principles to those used in his electromagnetic self-rotors that
was capable of useful work.[6][8] He built a model electric motor-propelled vehicle that same year.[14] There is
no evidence that this experimentation was communicated to the wider scientific world at that time, or that it
influenced the development of electric motors in the following decades.[r

]

The modern DC motor was invented by accident in 1873, when Zénobe Gramme connected
the dynamo he had invented to a second similar unit, driving it as a motor. The Gramme machine was the
first electric motor that was successful in the industry.[r

]

In 1886 Frank Julian Sprague invented the first practical DC motor, a non-sparking motor capable of
constant speed under variable loads. Other Sprague electric inventions aboutthis time greatly improved
grid electric distribution (prior work done while employed by Thomas Edison), allowed power from electric
motors to be returned to the electric grid, provided for electric distribution to trolleys via overhead wires and
the trolley pole, and provided controls systems for electric operations. This allowed Sprague to use electric
motors to invent the first electric trolley system in 1887-88 in Richmond VA, the electric elevator and control
system in 1892, and the electric subway with independently powered centrally controlled cars, which was
first installed in 1892 in Chicago by the South Side Elevated Railway where it became popularly known as
the "L". Sprague's motor and related inventions led to an explosion of interest and use in electric motors for
industry, while almost simultaneously another great inventor was developing its primary competitor, which
would become much more widespread.

In 1888 Nikola Tesla invented the first practicable AC motor and with it the polyphase power transmission
system. Tesla continued his work on the AC motor in the years to follow at the Westinghouse
company.[r

]

The development of electric motors of acceptable efficiency was delayed for several decades by failure to
recognize the extreme importance of a relatively small air gap between rotor and stator. Early motors, for
some rotor positions, had comparatively huge air gaps which constituted a very high reluctance magnetic
circuit. They produced far-lower torque than an equivalent amount of power would produce with efficient
designs. The cause of the lack of understanding seems to be that early designs were based on familiarity
of distant attraction between a magnet and a piece of ferromagnetic material, or between two
electromagnets. Efficient designs, as this article describes, are based on a rotor with a comparatively small
air gap, and flux patterns that create torque.[15]

Note that the armature bars are at some distance (unknown) from the field pole pieces when power is fed
to one of the field magnets; the air gap is likely to be considerable. The text tells of the inefficiency of the
design. (Electricity was created, as a practical matter, by consuming zinc in wet primary cells!)

In his workshops Froment had an electromotive engine of one-horse power. But, though an interesting
application of the transformation of energy, these machines will never be practically applied on the large
scale in manufactures, for the expense of the acids and the zinc which they use very far exceeds that of the
coal in steam-engines of the same force. [...] motors worked by electricity, independently of any question as
to the cost of construction, or of the cost of the acids, are at least sixty times as dear to work as steam-
engines.

Although Gramme's design was comparatively much more efficient, apparently the Froment motor was still
considered illustrative, years later. It is of some interest that the St. Louis motor, long used in classrooms to
illustrate motor principles, is extremely inefficient for the same reason, as well as appearing nothing like a
modern motor. Photo of a traditional form of the motor: [3] Note the prominent bar magnets, and the huge
air gap at the ends opposite the rotor. Even modern versions still have big air gaps if the rotor poles are not
aligned.

Application of electric motors revolutionized industry. Industrial processes were no longer limited by power
transmission using shaft, belts, compressed air or hydraulic pressure. Instead every machine could be
equipped with its own electric motor, providing easy control at the point of use, and improving power
transmission efficiency. Electric motors applied in agriculture eliminated human and animal muscle power
from such tasks as handling grain or pumping water. Household uses of electric motors reduced heavy
labor in the home and made higher standards of convenience, comfort and safety possible. Today, electric
motors consume more than half of all electric energy produced.
Categorization of electric motors

The classic division of electric motors has been that of Alternating Current (AC) types vs Direct
Current (DC) types. This is more a r
 convention, rather than a rigid distinction. For example, many
classic DC motors run on AC power, these motors being referred to as universal motors.

Rated output power is also used to categorise motors, those of less than 746 Watts, for example, are often
referred to as fractional horsepower motors (FHP) in reference to the old imperial measurement.

The ongoing trend toward electronic control further muddles the distinction, as modern drivers have moved
the commutator out of the motor shell. For this new breed of motor, driver circuits are relied upon to
generate sinusoidal AC drive currents, or some approximation thereof. The two best examples are:
the brushless DC motor and the stepping motor, both being poly-phase AC motors requiring external
electronic control, although historically, stepping motors (such as for maritime and naval gyrocompass
repeaters) were driven from DC switched by contacts.

Considering all rotating (or linear) electric motors require synchronism between a moving magnetic field
and a moving current sheet for average torque production, there is a clearer distinction between
an asynchronous motor and synchronous types. An asynchronous motor requires slip between the moving
magnetic field and a winding set to induce current in the winding set by mutual inductance; the most
ubiquitous example being the common AC induction motor which must slip to generate torque. In the
synchronous types, induction (or slip) is not a requisite for magnetic field or current production (e.g.
permanent magnet motors, synchronous brush-less wound-rotor doubly-fed electric machine).

[
Comparison of motor types

›
  


·
 

 
 
 
  

    


  $% "&
  ! 
" #
  
    ! 



 
'      
 $% "&
&
 !  ! 
"  " (  


 


*

' ! ) ,)+)
 $& 
$   + 


)
)  +  ,
,


* 

   

  &"

 
- $% "&
! * 
"
      + 
 & 





    '
   
, ,
'  !  ! 
   "


  '

'

. ,   
 ,%,/," ,
! 
 


'

" 




*
 ( 

 
 ,
,
. , +      )
 
  0*


*  + ) 

 
 * 
 1
2!  ,
,

-,
 
  *  #%  0*


ervo motor
A servomechanism,or servo is an automatic device that uses error-sensing feedback to correct the
performance of a mechanism. The term correctly applies only to systems where the feedback or error-
correction signals help control mechanical position or other parameters. For example, an automotive power
window control is not a servomechanism, as there is no automatic feedback which controls position²the
operator does this by observation. By contrast the car's cruise control uses closed loop feedback, which
classifies it as a servomechanism.

cro
ous electric motor
A synchronous electric motor is an AC motor distinguished by a rotor spinning with coils passing magnets
at the same rate as the alternating current and resulting magnetic field which drives it. Another way of
saying this is that it has zero slip under usual operating conditions. Contrast this with an induction motor,
which must slip to produce torque. A synchronous motor is like an induction motor except the rotor is
excited by a DC field. Slip rings and brushes are used to conduct current to rotor. The rotor poles connect
to each other and move at the same speed hence the name synchronous motor.

uctio
motor
An induction motor (IM) is a type of asynchronous AC motor where power is supplied to the rotating device
by means of electromagnetic induction. Another commonly used name is squirrel cage motor because the
rotor bars with short circuit rings resemble a squirrel cage (hamster wheel). An electric motor converts
electrical power to mechanical power in its rotor (rotating part). There are several ways to supply power to
the rotor. In a DC motor this power is supplied to the armature directly from a DC source, while in an
induction motor this power is induced in the rotating device. An induction motor is sometimescalled a
rotating transformer because the stator (stationary part) is essentially the primary side of the transformer
and the rotor (rotating part) is the secondary side. Induction motors are widely used, especially polyphase
induction motors, which are often used in industrial drives.

Electrostatic motor (capacitor motor)

An electrostatic motor or capacitor motor is a type of electric motor based on the attraction and repulsion of
electric charge. Usually, electrostatic motors are the dual of conventional coil-based motors. They typically
require a high voltage power supply, although very small motors employ lower voltages. Conventional
electric motors instead employ magnetic attraction and repulsion, and require high current at low voltages.
In the 1750s, the first electrostatic motors were developed by Benjamin Franklin and Andrew Gordon.
Today the electrostatic motor finds frequent use in micro-mechanical (MEMS) systems where their drive
voltages are below 100 volts, and where moving, charged plates are far easier to fabricate than coils and
iron cores. Also, the molecular machinery which runs living cells is often based on linear and rotary
electrostatic motors.
÷ t

A÷
t
 i i t

 ÷ l ti

 . 
 
l
f
 ÷ i  i l
 



l
t
  i  i 

,  t ll i
t
,  i  i 
f   
 lt.

B f  t
t

 ÷
t
 t
  t   l t
,  i   it l 
 t l
t ti
 
 ti l t
t  
 illti A t f
t ÷ 
  
t  
t

l ÷  i i  ti t .

Brushed m rs
÷
t
 i t  
 illti t i  
 
t
,
  t,  it  
lit
i
t t
,  it  


 t t t t
. A 
t

it 
f



il
f
 i 
 
 

  ft;  l ti l

  
  i
 t  t
t 
t

il t
 t

tt
  it  , i t t
fl
 i it,

 i l t 
ti .  
t t

 t t i t
il t
  it   t 
t
 t, 
i t ti

l
f t 
t

    
f
  fll li i it t ti

l 
f t t t
 fil , 
tt t  
t
   t

 li 


 l 
 t t 
 
tti ifiit l  l
 

  i 

li  i ffi it f


   
t
t
 t


 t ft t
 l
  it l l
  t
f i ti
, t .

A:
t
B:
 i
! #$  %
: " " 
% !
f = fi l "il

   fi  t


f  ÷
t
:
A. ÷ t

 
t

B. ÷ i 

t

.÷



t
 t

fiti
:

š & ' ( )*



l ti
š ÷iff (+(ti &ll, )


÷. P t -
t ÷ -t

,
E. S  tl it ./
rusless DC motors
Some of the problems of the brushed DC motor are eliminated in the brushless design. In this motor, the
mechanical "rotating switch" or commutator/brushgear assembly is replaced by an external electronic
switch synchronised to the rotor's position. Brushless motors are typically 85-90% efficient or more (higher
efficiency for a brushless electric motor of up to 96.5% were reported by researchers at the Tokai
University in Japan in 2009),[17] whereas DC motors with brushgear are typically 75-80% efficient.

Coreless or iro
less DC motors
Nothing in the design of any of the motors described above requires that the iron (steel) portions of the
rotor actually rotate; torque is exerted only on the windings of the electromagnets. Taking advantage of this
fact is the coreless or iro
less DC motor, a specialized form of a brush or brushless DC motor.
Optimized for rapid acceleration, these motors have a rotor that is constructed without any iron core. The
rotor can take the form of a winding-filled cylinder, or a self-supporting structure comprising only the
magnet wire and the bonding material. The rotor can fit inside the statormagnets; a magnetically soft
stationary cylinder inside the rotor provides a return path for the stator magnetic flux.

Because the rotor is much lighter in weight (mass) than a conventional rotor formed from copper windings
on steel laminations, the rotor can accelerate much more rapidly, often achieving a mechanicaltime
constant under 1 ms. This is especially true if the windings use aluminum rather than the heavier copper.
But because there is no metal mass in the rotor to act as a heat sink, even small coreless motors must
often be cooled by forced air.

Related limited-travel actuators have no core and a bonded coil placed between the poles of high-flux thin
permanent magnets. These are the fast head positioners for rigid-disk ("hard disk") drives.

ri
te Armature or a
cake DC otors
A rather unique motor design the pancake/printed armature motor has the windings shaped as a disc
running between arrays of high-flux magnets, arranged in a circle, facing the rotor and forming an axial air
gap. This design is commonly known the pancake motor because of its extremely flat profile, although the
technology has had many brand names since its inception, such as ServoDisc.

The printed armature (originally formed on a printed circuit board) in a printed armature motor is made from
punched copper sheets that are laminated together using advanced composites to form a thin rigid disc.
The printed armature has a unique construction, in the brushed motor world, in that it does not have a
separate ring commutator. The brushes run directly on the armature surface making the whole design very
compact.

An alternative manufacturing method is to use wound copper wire laid flat with a central conventional
commutator, in a flower and petal shape. The windings are typically stabilized by being impregnated with
electrical epoxy potting systems. These are filled epoxies that have moderate mixed viscosity and a long
gel time. They are highlighted by low shrinkage and low exotherm, and are typically UL 1446 recognized as
a potting compound for use up to 180°C (Class H) (UL File No. E 210549).

The unique advantage of ironless DC motors is that there is no cogging (vibration caused by attraction
between the iron and the magnets) and parasitic eddy currents cannot form in the rotor as it is totally
ironless. This can greatly improve efficiency, but variable-speed controllers must use a higher switching
rate (>40 kHz) or direct current because of the decreased electromagnetic induction.

These motors were originally invented to drive the capstan(s) of magnetic tape drives, in the burgeoning
computer industry. Pancake motors are still widely used in high-performance servo-controlled systems,
humanoid robotic systems, industrial automation and medical devices. Due to the variety of constructions
now available the technology is used in applications from high temperature military to low cost pump and
basic servo applications.

Universal motors

A series-wound motor is referred to as a u

iversal motor when it has been designed to operate on either
AC or DC power. The ability to operate on AC is because the current in both the field and the armature
(and hence the resultant magnetic fields) will alternate (reverse polarity) in synchronism, and hence the
resulting mechanical force will occur in a constant direction.

Operating at normal power line frequencies, universal motors are often found in a range rarely larger than
one kilowatt (about 1.3 horsepower). Universal motors also form the basis of the traditional railway traction
motor in electric railways. In this application, the use of AC to power a motor originally designed to run on
DC would lead to efficiency losses due to eddy current heating of their magnetic components, particularly
the motor field pole-pieces that, for DC, would have used solid (un-laminated) iron. Although the heating
effects are reduced by using laminated pole-pieces, as used for the cores of transformers and by the use of
laminations of high permeability electrical steel, one solution available at start of the 20th Century was for
the motors to be operated from very low frequency AC supplies, with 25 and 16.7 hertz (Hz) operation
being common. Because they used universal motors, locomotives using this design were also commonly
capable of operating from a third rail powered by DC.

An advantage of the universal motor is that AC supplies may be used on motors which have some
characteristics more common in DC motors, specifically high starting torque and very compact design if
high running speeds are used. The negative aspect is the maintenance and shortlife problems caused by
the commutator. As a result, such motors are usually used in AC devices such as food mixers and power
tools which are used only intermittently, and often have high starting-torque demands. Continuous speed
control of a universal motor running on AC is easily obtained by use of athyristor circuit, while (imprecise)
stepped speed control can be accomplished using multiple taps on the field coil. Household blenders that
advertise many speeds frequently combine a field coil with several taps and adiode that can be inserted in
series with the motor (causing the motor to run on half-wave rectified AC).
Universal motors generally run at high speeds, making them useful for appliances such
as blenders, vacuum cleaners, and hair dryers where high RPM operation is desirable. They are also
commonly used in portable power tools, such as drills, sanders (both disc and orbital), circular and jig
saws, where the motor's characteristics work well. Many vacuum cleaner and weed trimmer motors exceed
10,000 RPM, while Dremel and other similar miniature grinders will often exceed 30,000 RPM.

Universal motors also lend themselves to electronic speed control and, as such, are an ideal choice
for domestic washing machines. The motor can be used to agitate the drum (both forwards and in reverse)
by switching the field winding with respect to the armature. The motor can also be run up to the high
speeds required for the spin cycle.

Motor damage may occur due to overspeeding (running at an RPM in excess of design limits) if the unit is
operated with no significant load. On larger motors, sudden loss of load is to be avoided, and the possibility
of such an occurrence is incorporated into the motor's protection and control schemes. In some smaller
applications, a fan blade attached to the shaft often acts as an artificial load to limit the motor speed to a
safe value, as well as a means to circulate cooling airflow over the armature and field windings.

AC motors

In 1882, Nikola Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field, and pioneered the use of a rotary field of force
to operate machines. He exploited the principle to design a unique two-phase induction motor in 1883. In
1885, Galileo Ferraris independently researched the concept. In 1888, Ferraris published his research in a
paper to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Turin.

Tesla had suggested that the commutators from a machine could be removed and the device could operate
on a rotary field of force. Professor Poeschel, his teacher, stated that would be akin to building a perpetual
motion machine.[18] Tesla would later attain U.S. Patent 0,416,194,
r
 r
 (December 1889), which
resembles the motor seen in many of Tesla's photos. This classic alternating current electro-magnetic
motor was an induction motor.

Michail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky later invented a three-phase "cage-rotor" in 1890. This type of motor
is now used for the vast majority of commercial applications.

Compo
e
ts
A typical AC motor consists of two parts:

š An outside stationary stator having coils supplied with AC current to produce a rotating magnetic field,
and;
š An inside rotor attached to the output shaft that is given a torque by the rotating field.
Torque motors

A torque motor (also known as a limited torque motor) is a specialized form of induction motor which is
capable of operating indefinitely while stalled, that is, with the rotor blocked from turning, without incurring
damage. In this mode of operation, the motor will apply a steady torque to the load (hence the name).

A common application of a torque motor would be the supply- and take-up reel motors in a tape drive. In
this application, driven from a low voltage, the characteristics of these motors allow a relatively constant
light tension to be applied to the tape whether or not the capstan is feeding tape past the tape heads.
Driven from a higher voltage, (and so delivering a higher torque), the torque motors can also achieve fast-
forward and rewind operation without requiring any additional mechanics such asgears or clutches. In the
computer gaming world, torque motors are used in force feedback steering wheels.

Another common application is the control of the throttle of an internal combustion engine in conjunction
with an electronic governor. In this usage, the motor works against a return spring to move the throttle in
accordance with the output of the governor. The latter monitors engine speed by counting electrical pulses
from the ignition system or from a magnetic pickup [19] and, depending on the speed, makes small
adjustments to the amount of current applied to the motor. If the engine starts to slow down relative to the
desired speed, the current will be increased, the motor will develop more torque, pulling against the return
spring and opening the throttle. Should the engine run too fast, the governor will reduce the current being
applied to the motor, causing the return spring to pull back and close the throttle.

Slip ring

The slip ring is a component of the wound rotor motor as an induction machine (best evidenced by the
construction of the common automotive alternator), where the rotor comprises a set of coils that are
electrically terminated in slip rings. These are metal rings rigidly mounted on the rotor, and combined with
brushes (as used with commutators), provide continuous unswitched connection to the rotor windings.

In the case of the wound-rotor induction motor, external impedances can be connected to the brushes. The
stator is excited similarly to the standard squirrel cage motor. By changing the impedance connected to the
rotor circuit, the speed/current and speed/torque curves can be altered.

(Slip rings are most-commonly used in automotive alternators as well as in synchro angular data-
transmission devices, among other applications.)

The slip ring motor is used primarily to start a high inertia load or a load that requires a very high starting
torque across the full speed range. By correctly selecting the resistors used in the secondary resistance or
slip ring starter, the motor is able to produce maximum torque at a relatively low supply current from zero
speed to full speed. This type of motor also offers controllable speed.
Motor speed can be changed because the torque curve of the motor is effectively modified by the amount
of resistance connected to the rotor circuit. Increasing the value of resistance will move the speed of
maximum torque down. If the resistance connected to the rotor is increased beyond the point where the
maximum torque occurs at zero speed, the torque will be further reduced.

When used with a load that has a torque curve that increases with speed, the motor will operate at the
speed where the torque developed by the motor is equal to the load torque. Reducing the load will cause
the motor to speed up, and increasing the load will cause the motor to slow down until the load and motor
torque are equal. Operated in this manner, the slip losses are dissipated in the secondary resistors and can
be very significant. The speed regulation and net efficiency is also very poor.

Stepper motors

Closely related in design to three-phase AC synchronous motors are stepper motors, where an internal
rotor containing permanent magnets or a magnetically soft rotor with salient poles is controlled by a set of
external magnets that are switched electronically. A stepper motor may also be thought of as a cross
between a DC electric motor and a rotary solenoid. As each coil is energized in turn, the rotor aligns itself
with the magnetic field produced by the energized field winding. Unlike a synchronous motor, in its
application, the stepper motor may not rotate continuously; instead, it "steps" ² starts and then quickly
stops again ² from one position to the next as field windings are energized and de-energized in sequence.
Depending on the sequence, the rotor may turn forwards or backwards, and it may change direction, stop,
speed up or slow down arbitrarily at any time.

Simple stepper motor drivers entirely energize or entirely de-energize the field windings, leading the rotor to
"cog" to a limited number of positions; more sophisticated drivers can proportionally control the power to
the field windings, allowing the rotors to position between the cog points and thereby rotate extremely
smoothly. This mode of operation is often called microstepping. Computer controlled stepper motors are
one of the most versatile forms of positioning systems, particularly when part of a digital servo-
controlled system.

Stepper motors can be rotated to a specific angle in discrete steps with ease, and hence stepper motors
are used for read/write head positioning in computer floppy diskette drives. They were used for the same
purpose in pre-gigabyte era computer disk drives, where the precision and speed they offered was
adequate for the correct positioning of the read/write head of a hard disk drive. As drive density increased,
the precision and speed limitations of stepper motors made them obsolete for hard drives²the precision
limitation made them unusable, and the speed limitation made them uncompetitive²thus newer hard disk
drives use voice coil-based head actuator systems. (The term "voice coil" in this connection is historic; it
refers to the structure in a typical (cone type) loudspeaker. This structure was used for a while to position
the heads. Modern drives have a pivoted coil mount; the coil swings back and forth, something like a blade
of a rotating fan. Nevertheless, like a voice coil, modern actuator coil conductors (the magnet wire) move
perpendicular to the magnetic lines of force.)

Stepper motors were and still are often used in computer printers, optical scanners, and digital
photocopiers to move the optical scanning element, the print head carriage (of dot matrix and inkjet
printers), and the platen. Likewise, many computer plotters (which since the early 1990s have been
replaced with large-format inkjet and laser printers) used rotary stepper motors for pen and platen
movement; the typical alternatives here were either linear stepper motors or servomotors with complex
closed-loop control systems.

So-called quartz analog wristwatches contain the smallest commonplace stepping motors; they have one
coil, draw very little power, and have a permanent-magnet rotor. The same kind of motor drives battery-
powered quartz clocks. Some of these watches, such as chronographs, contain more than one stepping
motor.

Stepper motors were upscaled to be used in electric vehicles under the term SRM (Switched Reluctance
Motor).

Linear motors

A linear motor is essentially an electric motor that has been "unrolled" so that, instead of producing
a torque (rotation), it produces a straight-line force along its length by setting up a traveling electromagnetic
field.

Linear motors are most commonly induction motors or stepper motors. You can find a linear motor in
a maglev (Transrapid) train, where the train "flies" over the ground, and in many roller-coasters where the
rapid motion of the motorless railcar is controlled by the rail. On a smaller scale, at least one letter-size
(8.5" x 11") computer graphics X-Y pen plotter made by Hewlett-Packard (in the late 1970s to mid 1980's)
used two linear stepper motors to move the pen along the two orthogonal axes.

Feeding and windings

Doubl -fe electric motor
Doubly-fed electric motors have two independent multiphase windings that actively participate in theenergy
conversion process with at least one of the winding sets electronically controlled for variable speed
operation. Two is the most active multiphase winding sets possible without duplicating singly-fed or doubly-
fed categories in the same package. As a result, doubly-fed electric motors are machines with an effective
constant torque speed range that is twice synchronous speed for a given frequency of excitation. This is
twice the constant torque speed range as singly-fed electric machines, which have only one active winding
set.
A doubly-fed motor allows for a smaller electronic converter but the cost of the rotor winding and slip rings
may offset the saving in the power electronics components. Difficulties with controlling speed near
synchronous speed limit applications.[20]

i
l -fe electric motor
Singly-fed electric motors incorporate a single multiphase winding set that is connected to a power supply.
Singly-fed electric machines may be either induction or synchronous. The active winding set can be
electronically controlled. Induction machines develop starting torque at zero speed and can operate as
standalone machines. Synchronous machines must have auxiliary means for startup, such as a starting
induction squirrel-cage winding or an electronic controller. Singly-fed electric machines have an effective
constant torque speed range up to synchronous speed for a given excitation frequency.

The induction (asynchronous) motors (i.e., squirrel cage rotor or wound rotor), synchronous motors (i.e.,
field-excited, permanent magnet or brushless DC motors, reluctance motors, etc.), which are discussed on
this page, are examples of singly-fed motors. By far, singly-fed motors are the predominantly installed type
of motors.

Nanotube nanomotor

Researchers at University of California, Berkeley, recently developed rotational bearings based upon
multiwall carbon nanotubes. By attaching a gold plate (with dimensions of the order of 100 nm) to the outer
shell of a suspended multiwall carbon nanotube (like nested carbon cylinders), they are able to
electrostatically rotate the outer shell relative to the inner core. These bearings are very robust; devices
have been oscillated thousands of times with no indication of wear. These nanoelectromechanical systems
(NEMS) are the next step in miniaturization and may find their way into commercial applications in the
future.

ervo otors

A servo motor consists of several main parts, the motor and gearbox, a position
sensor, an error amplifier and motor driver and a circuit to decode the requested
position. Figure 1 contains a block diagram of a typical servo motor unit.

The radio control receiver system (or other controller) generates a pulse of varying
length approximately every 20 milliseconds. The pulse is normally between 1 and 2
milliseconds long. The length of the pulse is used by the servo to determine the
position it should rotate to.

Fiure 1.
ervo otor lock Diaram

Starting from the control pulse we will work though each part of the diagram and
explain how it all fits together. Once we have gone through how the servo works we
will investigate how the control pulses can be generated with a microcontroller.

ulse wit to voltae co
verter

The control pulse is feed to a pulse width to voltage converter. This circuit charges a
capacitor at a constant rate while the pulse is high. When the pulse goes low the
charge on the capacitor is fed to the output via a suitable buffer amplifier. This
essentially produces a voltage related to the length of the applied pulse.

The circuit is tuned to produce a useful voltage over a 1ms to 2ms period. The output
voltage is buffered and so does not decay sign ificantly between control pulses so the
length of time between pulses is not critical.

ositio

e
sor
The current rotational position of the servo motor output shaft is read by a sensor.
This is normally a potentiometer (variable resistor) which produces a voltage that is
related to the absolute angle of the output shaft.

The position sensor then feeds its current value into the Error Amplifier which
compares the current position with the commanded position from the pulse width to
voltage converter.

Error Amplifier

The error amplifier is an operational amplifier with negative feedback. It will always
try to minimise the difference between the inverting (negative) and non -inverting
(positive) inputs by driving its output is the correct direction.

The output of the error amplifier is either a negative or positive voltage representing
the difference between its inputs. The greater the difference the greater the voltage.

The error amplifier output is used to drive the motor; If it is positive the motor will turn
in one direction, if negative the other. This allows the error amplifier to reduce the
difference between its inputs (thus closing the negative feedback loop) and so make
the servo go to the commanded position.

The servo normally contains a single integra ted circuit and a hand full of discreet
components to implement the entire control system.

Co
trolli
 a
ervo otor wit a icroco
troller

From the above we can determine that we need to generate a pulse approximately
every 20ms although the actual time b etween pulses is not critical. The pulse width
however must be accurate to ensure that we can accurately set the position of the
servo.

  moules

Many microcontrollers are equipped with PWM generators and most people initially
consider using these to gen erate the control signals. Unfortunately they are not really
suitable.

The problem is that we need a relatively accurate short pulse then a long delay; and
generally you only have one PWM generator share between several servos which
would require switching components outside the microcontroller and complicate the
hardware.

The PWM generator is designed to generate an accurate pulse between 0% and

100% duty cycle, but we need something in the order of 5% to 10% duty cycle
(1ms/20ms to 2ms/20ms). If a typical PWM generator is 8 or 10 bits say, then we
can only use a small fraction of the bits to generate the pulse width we need and so
we loose a lot of accuracy.

imers
A more beneficial approach can be implemented with simple timers and software
interrupts. The key is realising that we can run a timer at a faster rate and do a single
servo at a time, followed by the next and the next etc. Each of the outputs is driven in
turn for its required time and then turned off. Once all outputs have been driven, the
cycle repeats.

This approach is demonstrated in the PIC servo controller project.

The timer is configured so that we have plenty of accuracy over the 1 to 2

millisecond pulse time. Each servo pin is driven high in turn and the timer configured
to interrupt the processor when the pulse should be finished. The interrupt routine
then drives the output low.

For simplicity, the output pins can be arranged on a single port and the value zero
(0x00) written to the port to turn off all pins at once so that the interrupt routine does
not need to know which servo output is currently active.

After the pulse has ended, the microprocessor sets up the next pulse and begins the
process again.
 0

EER MOTOR

1rame 23 45 t lt

t 67 i8 t
 , tt ti
t5  t tt5 f
   i t. 9it t
: <
tt li
 t lt
t 7, t ill ; li
tl fft f lt
t .1rame 2 3 4 t lt
t
67 i t
 ff,  t i
t lt
t 6< i 
i=, 
lli
t  t tt li
tl t t i
t. 4i
> > =

lt i t ti f .?° i ti  l.1rame 3 3 4 ;tt lt
t 6 i 
i ; t .?°
>
@ >
t ti 
. 1rame 4 3 4 lft lt
t 6 i  l, t ti

i  .?°. 9 t t lt
t
67 i
i  l, t tt i t t :ill   t t   tt iti; i t  <A tt, it :ill
BB
t  7 t t   f
ll t ti i ti  l.

B
 f  
it, i
ti f t ii

,  t t
  
t, t  t 
 itl  t i
it l tll. S i
it t t    l   C t tll 
 
 an H-bridge ² must be inserted between digital controller and motor's windings. The above image shows the basic

circuit of a motor controller that can also sense motor current. The circuitry to control one winding of a motor i s

shown; a stepper motor would use a circuit that could control four windings, and a normal DC motor would need

circuitry to control two windings. All of this circuitry is typically incorporated in an integrated H-bridge chip.

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.

Stepper motor characteristics

1. Stepper motors are constant power devices.

2. As motor speed increases, torque decreases. (most motors exhibit maximum torque when
stationary, however the torque of a motor when stationary 'holding torque' defines the ability of the
motor to maintain a desired position while under external load)
3. The torque curve may be extended by using current limiting drivers and increasing the driving
voltage (sometimes referred to as a 'chopper' circuit, there are several off the shelf driver chips
capable of doing this in a simple manner).

4. Steppers exhibit more vibration than other motor types, as the discrete step tends to snap the rotor
from one position to another, (this is important as at certain speeds the motor can actually change
direction).
5. This vibration can become very bad at some speeds and can cause the motor to lose torque (or
lose direction).

6. The effect can be mitigated by accelerating quickly through the problem speeds range, physically
damping (frictional damping) the system, or using a micro-stepping driver.
7. Motors with a greater number of phases also exhibit smoother operation than those with fewer
phases (this can also be achieved through the use of a micro stepping drive)
Open-loop versus closed-loop commutation

Steppers are generally commutated open loop, i.e. the driver has no feedback on where the rotor actually
is. Stepper motor systems must thus generally be over engineered, especially if the load inertia is high, or
there is widely varying load, so that there is no possibility that the motor will lose steps. This has often
caused the system designer to consider the trade-offs between a closely sized but
expensive servomechanism system and an oversized but relatively cheap stepper.

A new development in stepper control is to incorporate a rotor position feedback (e.g.

an encoder or resolver), so that the commutation can be made optimal for torque generation according to
actual rotor position. This turns the stepper motor into a high pole count brushless servo motor, with
exceptional low speed torque and position resolution. An advance on this technique is to normally run the
motor in open loop mode, and only enter closed loop mode if the rotor position error becomes too large²
this will allow the system to avoid hunting or oscillating, a common servo problem.

Types

There are three main types of stepper motors:[1]

1. Permanent Magnet Stepper (can be subdivided in to 'tin-can' and 'hybrid', tin-can being a cheaper
product, and hybrid with higher quality bearings, smaller step angle, higher power density)
2. Hybrid Synchronous Stepper
3. Variable Reluctance Stepper

Permanent magnet motors use a permanent magnet (PM) in the rotor and operate on the attraction or
repulsion between the rotor PM and the stator electromagnets. Variable reluctance (VR) motors have a
plain iron rotor and operate based on the principle that minimum reluctance occurs with minimum gap,
hence the rotor points are attracted toward the stator magnet poles. Hybrid stepper motors are named
because they use a combination of PM and VR techniques to achieve maximum power in a small package
size.

Two-phase stepper motors

There are two basic winding arrangements for the electromagnetic coils in a two phase stepper motor:
bipolar and unipolar.

Ô
ipolar motors
A unipolar stepper motor has two windings per phase, one for each direction of magnetic field. Since in this
arrangement a magnetic pole can be reversed without switching the direction of current, the commutation
circuit can be made very simple (eg. a single transistor) for each winding. Typically, given a phase, one end
of each winding is made common: giving three leads per phase and six leads for a typical two phase motor.
Often, these two phase commons are internally joined, so the motor has only five leads.
A itll  t t tll   
 t ti t t i t it i t i
t ,
 ti   f  ti  
il  t 
l  it it; t   l t  t
  t
t i 

l  t.

Dil  t t il

EF t it,    t iti

i  i f il i i   
i
t
it . Git  t  i  il i i l   lf f  t it i t il
H
  il i. i i 
 t t f t t t t i t
ll ti t l
t f il t t
E
  l  lf f t  i t t . A 
i   t ti if t t t i
i
i t t i
it  t  i  t t
i
t  ft,  i
 t   l
it  i flt, it ii t t t t i
it t t  ti
l  ii
i l  t t t   i
i
.

Bi lar m r
H
Bil  t   i
l ii
  .  
t i ii
 t   i  t
 
ti l,  t ii
i
it 
t   li t, ti ll it   I
E
i
  
t  t   l ff t lf i i  il l t   ti il
H
ff i .   t l    ,   .

I
St ti fiti fft
i
 i
     it t i i tl
i [r
J KL LMMNMN .

 ]

O
B
 ii
  tt
tili , t   f
l t 
il  t f t   i
t.
P i i 
 t t i l   
i  t ii
. A
il  t   ti t 
t f i
QR% ffiit S i tl TR% f
i t    , 
t l  lf
 t  it i ti,  i
P
t t
 
t
t  il l . 

 il  i  li t t i, t 
  f i i
  ti i 
 l iffi
lt t i.

U
A l  t i 
 li
il  t, 
t t l   t ji t  it ll t t
P
t. i i f t    i i  l fi

 ti:

š Vil .
š
W
Bil  it i ii
. i
i i
 i
t  
t l 
t  ii
.

š
W
Bil  it   lll ii
. i 
i i
 
t 
t   f tt  t ii

i
t  i 
.

š
W
Bil  it i
l ii
  . i t ill 
 t t  l  lf t  il l
ii
, i ill 
 t  il l l  t
 
t 
i l 
t.
Higher-phase count stepper motors

Multi-phase stepper motors with many phases tend to have much lower levels of vibration, although the
cost of manufacture is higher. These motors tend to be called 'hybrid' and have more expensive machined
parts, but also higher quality bearings. Though they are more expensive, they do have a higher power
density and with the appropriate drive electronics are actually better suited to the application[r

],
however price is always an important factor. Look in your average printer and it will be a hybrid type design,
and these printers are manufactured down to a cost.

Stepper motor drive circuits

Stepper motor performance is strongly dependent on the drive circuit. Torque curves may be extended to
greater speeds if the stator poles can be reversed more quickly, the limiting factor being the winding
inductance. To overcome the inductance and switch the windings quickly, one must increase the drive
voltage. This leads further to the necessity of limiting the current that these high voltages may otherwise
induce.

L/ rive circuits

L/R drive circuits are also referred to as constant voltage drives because a constant positive or negative
voltage is applied to each winding to set the step positions. However, it is winding current, not voltage that
applies torque to the stepper motor shaft. The current I in each winding is related to the applied voltage V
by the winding inductance L and the winding resistance R. The resistance R determines the maximum
X
current according to Ohm's law I V/R. The inductance L determines the maximum rate of change of the
current in the winding according to the formula for an Inductor dI/dt X V/L. Thus when controlled by an L/R
drive, the maximum speed of a stepper motor is limited by its inductance since at some speed, the voltage
U will be changing faster than the current I can keep up. In simple terms the rate of change of current is L X
R (e.g. a 10mH inductance with 2 ohms resistance will take 20 ms to reach approx 2/3rds of maximum
torque or around 0.1 sec to reach 99% of max torque). If you need to use the torque at high speeds you
need a large drive voltage with a low resistance/inductance. With an L/R drive it is possible to control a low
voltage resistive motor with a higher voltage drive simply by adding an external resistor in series with each
winding. This will waste power in the resistors, and generate heat. It is therefore considered a low
performing option, albeit simple and cheap.

Copper rive circuits

Chopper drive circuits are also referred to as constant current drives because they generate a somewhat
constant current in each winding rather than applying a constant voltage. On each new step, a very high
voltage is applied to the winding initially. This causes the current in the winding to rise quickly since dI/dt X
V/L where V is very large. The current in each winding is monitored by the controller, usually by measuring
the voltage across a small sense resistor in series with each winding. When the current exceeds a
specified current limit, the voltage is turned off or "chopped", typically using power transistors. When the
winding current drops below the specified limit, the voltage is turned on again. In this way, the current is
 Y
l l til t t f  ti
l  t iti. i 
i iti l lti t  ii


t,  tl t iti

, 
t it ll t t t  i it i
 t
 t i

Z[
 t  / i. It
 t lti f ti 
  il  il l.

P  
t  f

A t t i l  A \ Y


 t   l ,  it i i ll i 
i
i l 
t. A f
ll t  f i
 i ti f i
i,  i t    t
t iit  
 i ti. V i
 i ti
    l t tt i t
i
i l i  f: t   lf ti
 iti
.

]
÷ifft i  i
il 
t   
il  t t

ºull step dri e two phases on)

Y i i t

l t f f
ll t ii
t t. Bt    l  . Y  t ill   f
ll
 t t
.

Wave drive
I ti i t l i
l   i ti t t ti. It   t   
 f t  t f
ll
t i, 
t t t ill   i
ifi tl l t   t t
. It i  l
.

Hal stepping
^   lf ti
, t i lt t t t     i
l   . Y i i  t
\


l  l
ti, 
t t t l   l t
  _`% t t  lf t iti \ l
Y
i
l   i  . i    iti
t  i i
t 
t i t ti ii
t  t.
Y   t
 f  lf ti
i t t t i lti  t  
 t 
t it.
Mi rostepping
What is commonly referred to as microstepping is actual "sine cosine microstepping" in which the winding
current approximates a sinusoidal AC waveform. Sine cosine microstepping is the most common form, but
other waveforms are used [1]. Regardless of the waveform used, as the microsteps become smaller, motor
operation becomes more smooth, thereby greatly reducing resonance in any parts the motor may be
connected to, as well as the motor itself. While microstepping appears to make running at very high
resolution possible, this resolution is rarely achievable in practice regardless of the controller, due to
mechanical stiction and other sources of error between the specified and actual positions. In professional
equipment gearheads are the preferred way to increase angular resolution.

Step size repeatability is an important step motor feature and a fundamental reason for their use in
positioning. Example: many modern hybrid step motors are rated such that the travel of every Full step
(example 1.8 Degrees per Full step or 200 Full steps per revolution) will be within 3% or 5% of the travel of
every other Full step; as long as the motor is operated within its specified operating ranges. Several
manufacturers show that their motors can easily maintain the 3% or 5% equality of step travel size as step
size is reduced from Full stepping down to 1/10th stepping. Then, as the microstepping divisor number
grows, step size repeatability degrades. At large step size reductions it is possible to issue many microstep
commands before any motion occurs at all and then the motion can be a "jump" to a new position.

Theory

A step motor can be viewed as a synchronous AC motor with the number of poles (on both rotor and stator)
increased, taking care that they have no common denominator. Additionally, soft magnetic material with
many teeth on the rotor and stator cheaply multiplies the number of poles (reluctance motor). Modern
steppers are of hybrid design, having both permanent magnets and soft iron cores.

To achieve full rated torque, the coils in a stepper motor must reach their full rated current during each
step. Winding inductance and reverse EMF generated by a moving rotor tend to resist changes in drive
current, so that as the motor speeds up, less and less time is spent at full current ² thus reducing motor
torque. As speeds further increase, the current will not reach the rated value, and eventually the motor will
cease to produce torque.

ull-i
torque
This is the measure of the torque produced by a stepper motor when it is operated without an acceleration
state. At low speeds the stepper motor can synchronise itself with an applied step frequency, and this pull-
in torque must overcome friction and inertia. It is important to make sure that the load on the motor is
frictional rather than inertial as the friction reduces any unwanted oscillations.

ull-out torque
The stepper motor pull-out torque is measured by accelerating the motor to the desired speed and then
increasing the torque loading until the motor stalls or "pulls out of synchronism" with the step frequency.
This measurement is taken across a wide range of speeds and the results are used to generate the stepper
motor's dynamic performance curve. As noted below this curve is affected by drive voltage, drive current
and current switching techniques. It is normally recommended to use a safety factor of between 50% and
100% when comparing your desired torque output to the published pull-out torque performance curve of a
step motor.

Dete
t torque
Synchronous electric motors using permanent magnets have a remnant position holding torque
(called detent torque or cogging, and sometimes included in the specifications) when not driven electrically.
Soft iron reluctance cores do not exhibit this behavior.

Stepper motor ratings and specifications

Stepper motors nameplates typically give only the winding current and occasionally the voltage and
winding resistance. The rated voltage will produce the rated winding current at DC: but this is mostly a
meaningless rating, as all modern drivers are current limiting and the drive voltages greatly exceed the
motor rated voltage.

A stepper's low speed torque will vary directly with current. How quickly the torque falls off at faster speeds
depends on the winding inductance and the drive circuitry it is attached to, especially the driving voltage.

Steppers should be sized according to published torque curve, which is specified by the manufacturer at
particular drive voltages and/or using their own drive circuitry. It is not guaranteed that you will achieve the
same performance given different drive circuitry, so the pair should be chosen with great care.

Applications

Computer-controlled stepper motors are one of the most versatile forms of positioning systems. They are
typically digitally controlled as part of an open loop system, and are simpler and more rugged than closed
loop servo systems.

Industrial applications are in high speed pick and place equipment and multi-axis machine CNC machines
often directly driving lead screws or ballscrews. In the field of lasers and optics they are frequently used in
precision positioning equipment such as linear actuators, linear stages, rotation stages, goniometers,
and mirror mounts. Other uses are in packaging machinery, and positioning of valve pilot stages for fluid
control systems.

Commercially, stepper motors are used in floppy disk drives, flatbed scanners, computer
printers, plotters, slot machines, and many more devices.

Some people looking for generators for homemade Wind Turbines found success in using stepper motors
for generating power

E O ER

A
a   l
t t   it bc t . At t t     t 
i
, it
t i,  li
t

; t t tt     t i
lt  
t t.

A rotary encoder, l  ll shaft encoder, i  lt i l i t t t
t 

l  iti f  ft  l t   l
 i
it l ,  i
it  
l t 
. t  d
 
 i   li ti t t 
i i  ft
liit t tiil
i
i
ti l
e f
tl, ti, i l 
 t
 i l[ ], 
t i
t i 
 
g
t i l i  t  ll ,  t ti
  l tf.   t  i t: l
t 
f
it l l ti .

›


[h hij
kl m
— Abso  ro ry encoder

ï — — onsrucon

ï —
*echanca absoue encoders

ï —  Opca absoue encoders

 ï —  Sandard bnary encodng

ï —  Gray encodng

ï —  Snge-rack Gray encodng

ï —  Encoder oupu formas

Incremena roary encoder

 Incremena versus absoue encoder ermnoogy

ï  — Tradona absoue encoders

ï 
Tradona ncremena encoders

ï   .aery backed ncremena encoders

 Sne wave encoder

 Use n ndusry

ï  — Encoders used on servomoors

 Encoder echnooges

 See aso

r Exerna nks

‰ eferences

Al
t t  

Al
t t   no÷ pqr

›onstruction
s
Al
t i
it l t 

i
 i
it l  f   itit 
l f t  ft.   i t
 i t: ti l   i l.

Mechanical absolute encoders

A t l i t ii

t f ti i
 f i
 i fi t  i
l ti
i, i i i
il
fi t t  ft. A  f lii
t t i fi t t ti  jt  t t   t t i
it
t t l i t ifft it  f t  ft. A t i t t it t  ft,  f t t t
 t
t
 t l, il t f ll i t
  t t l    
t 
t.  t l t i t
t
t 
 f lti 
t,    t t i t t   t lti l .  t l
 tt i i
  t t   il iti f t l  t
i
i   i i 
u u
f t t t  t t t 
t 
 i.. it   t  t i.. it ff .

Optical absolute encoders

t  ti l  i i   f
l   l ti it t  t   
  . A li
t 

 t tt     t ti l  tt t t 
lt f t i iti t   ti.
t i        tlli
i, 
  i, t ti t 
l f t
 ft.
t  l
t  l
t 

i
 
l  l
 t t    t l t it  l
t
u

l f t  ft 
i
i l l
it .

tandard binary encoding

vt   f 

l 
i
i   i wit i . x i i
 t t t y i t
z {
t l. Bl  t  .  
 i  t i
t  i, it 
l i i

tli.

A  l f i  , i  tl ilifi  it l t t t, i  l.

c
 


 


c  ›
 ›
 ›
 


— off off off 0° o °

off off ON ° o ‰0°

O  13  45°  O °

6  13 13 O °  75°

 13   75° 88 °

 13  13 88 ° 895°

9 13 13  895° O °

7 13 13 13 O ° O
5°

In general, where there are  contacts, the number of distinct positions of the shaft is 2. In this
example,  is 3, so there are 2³ or 8 positions.

In the above example, the contacts produce a standard binary count as the disc rotates. However, this has
the drawback that if the disc stops between two adjacent sectors, or the contacts are not perfectly aligned,
it can be impossible to determine the angle of the shaft. To illustrate this problem, consider what happens
when the shaft angle changes from 179.9° to 180.1° (from sector 4 to sector 5). At some instant, according
to the above table, the contact pattern changes from off-on-on to on-off-off. However, this is not what
happens in reality. In a practical device, the contacts are never perfectly aligned, so each switches at a
different moment. If contact 1 switches first, followed by contact 3 and then contact 2, for example, the
actual sequence of codes is:

off-on-on (starting position)

on-on-on (first, contact 1 switches on)
on-on-off (next, contact 3 switches off)
on-off-off (finally, contact 2 switches off)

Now look at the sectors corresponding to these codes in the table. In order, they are
4, 8, 7 and then 5. So, from the sequence of codes produced, the shaft appears to
have jumped from sector 4 to sector 8, then gone backwards to sector 7, then
backwards again to sector 5, which is where we expected to find it. In many
situations, this behaviour is undesirable and could cause the system to fail. For
example, if the encoder were used in a robot arm, the controller would think that the
arm was in the wrong position, and try to correct the error by turning it through 180°,
perhaps causing damage to the arm.

ára e
coi

 |t   f 
l 
i
i   i }it i flt ~  
B|~ . € i i
 t t t  i t t l. Bl  t  .
‚ 
 i  t i
t  i, it 
l i i
tili.
ƒ  i t  l, „  i
i
. ƒ i i t f i 
…

ti
i i j t  iff i l  iti.  t tt t
„
 l
i , t   i 
l   fll.

á
› 


c  ›
 ›
 ›
 


— off off off 0° o °

off off ON ° o ‰0°

 off ON ON ‰0° o —°

 off ON off —° o —r0°

 ON ON off —r0° o

°

 ON ON ON

° o
0°

 ON off ON
0° o —°

r ON off off —° o 0°

I ti  l, t t iti f t

† t t ‡, li ll t t iti,
il l  f t t t  
i
it t t f  t ff  i  . i
ˆ
  t t t 
 f it   i t i
 ill
t ti
 t  .

ingle-track Gray encoding

‰
If t i
  t t t ifft 

l  iti 
t t t  
it  f t t  ft , t t i
i
 tt  t 
‰
t t t   
l t
i t   
t
t. If t t i
ifi t it t i
Š ‹
i
i i

 i t t 

, it  tl  t t t i

t. Si t
i
  t iti l, t i i
   itt,  t  f t t i

‰
 t t  ii
, iti l i

t fft t t t 
l f t t 
Œ
 t t i
.  t   i
l i
  
 t
 .

Š    , Œ t Sill  t  t tii  li t t it  

iil t  iti  i
l t   t t 
ti iti iff
t l i
l , t f t t, t  
 t
 .
, i ‹ŽŽ . B. Si

it  tt ‰‘ P tt ’“ ”•– i
it
  il it  l  l. S Si
lt  —   f t il.

Encoder output formats

I i l l
t  t   l f t f t ii f
l
t   t , il
i
  lll i , SSI, BiSS, ISI, Pfi
, A 
÷it, A, E t if , i
 t  
f t
 f t
i

It l t  

E ˜™÷ š›œ

An incremental rotary encoder, also known as a quadrature encoder or a relative
rotary encoder, has two outputs called quadrature outputs. They can be either
mechanical or optical. In the optical type there are two gray coded tracks, while the
mechanical type has two contacts that are actuated by cams on the rotating shaft.
The mechanical type requires debouncing and is typically used as digital
potentiometers on equipment including consumer devices. Most modern home and
car stereos use mechanical rotary encoders for volume. Due to the fact the
mechanical switches require debouncing, the mechanical type are limited in the
rotational speeds they can handle. The incremental rotary encoder is the most
widely used of all rotary encoders due to its low cost: only two sensors are required.

The fact that incremental encoders use only two sensors does not compromise their
accuracy. One can find in the market incremental encoders with up to 10,000 counts
per revolution, or more.

There can be an optional third output: reference, which happens once every turn.
This is used when there is the need of an absolute reference, such as positioning
systems.

The optical type is used when higher RPMs are encountered or a higher degree of
precision is required.

Incremental encoders are used to track motion and can be used to determine
position and velocity. This can be either linear or rotary motion. Because the
direction can be determined, very accurate measurements can be made.

They employ two outputs called A & B which are called quadrature outputs as they
are 90 degrees out of phase.

The state diagram:

á   á  

 

   
 

 

     

 5 5   5

8 5  8  
 — —  0 —

 — 0  0 0

 
   i 
 t
 žli t ti .

Ÿ  t 
t
t   f   ¡ 
 
t f  , i i ll t t t
Ÿ

 t
 t  .  i
 l   t 
 
t
 
l 
¢

t  
l.  i
i ft , t A & B 
t
t    
ft , it i  it
t   
  lli
,  t  t l i

¢
t  t iti.   l if t l t  l
  ¡¡  t 
t  l
 i
¡£, t i      lf t i t li iti. Ÿ   i l
t 
l  
 fit  
ii
t t t   ¤ li  l
   
¥
t i 
 f ti f 
i i
t t  
.

If t  i t
i

t f t,  i li t iti   
, 
  ¡¡.
Ÿ  i    t  i   t  t
; if it   ¡¡,  
.

If t  i t
i

 f t,    
t   
. E l:
i t  t iti ¤¦ t f  . If t  i t
i

t f t, t t i

t   l t   t t , i il 
¤
t iti  t    .
Ÿ i   iil i
 i  ll i t t  t t 
 i i
t t
i
t/lft  f /  .

§t   it i

l 
t
t  t    t  iti,
Ÿ

t    §P ¨.   t
  ll t t .

It l 
 l
t  til


Ÿ   t  
    t  t tit
t  it l 
  t  l
t .
raitio
al absolute e
coers
Traditional absolute encoders have multiple code rings with various binary
weightings which provide a data word representing the absolute position of the
encoder within one revolution. This type of encoder is often referred to as a parallel
absolute encoder. The distinguishing feature of the absolute encoder is that it
reports the absolute position of the encoder to the electronics immediately upon
power-up with no need for indexing. [2]

raitio
al i
creme
tal e
coers
A traditional incremental encoder works differently by providing an A and a B pulse
output which provide no usable count information in their own right. Rather, the
counting is done in the external electronics. The point where the counting begins
depends on the counter in the external electronics and not on the position of the
encoder. To provide useful position information, the encoder position must be
referenced to the device to which it is attached, generally using an index pulse. The
distinguishing feature of the incremental encoder is that it reports an incremental
change in position of the encoder to the counting electronics.[2] Encoder
manufacturer Precizika Metrology

atter backe i
creme
tal e
coers
Some encoder manufacturers, such as Fanuc, have taken a different approach to
this terminology. These manufacturers use absolute as their terminology for
incremental encoders with a battery backed up memory to store count information
and provide an absolute count immediately upon power up.[2]

Sine wave encoder

A variation on the Incremental encoder is the Sinewave Encoder. Instead of

producing two quadrature square waves, the outputs are quadrature sine waves (a
Sine and a Cosine). By performing the arctangent function, arbitrary levels of
resolution can be achieved.

Use in industry

E
coers use o
servomotors
Rotary encoders are often used to track the position of the motor shaft on
permanent magnet brushless motors, which are commonly used
on CNC machines, robots, and other industrial equipment. Incremental (Quadrature)
encoders are used on Induction Motor type servomotors, but absolute encoders are
used in Permanent Magnet Brushless Motors, where applicable. In these
applications, the feedback device (encoder) plays a vital role in ensuring that the
 © ª

it  t l.   i  t l ti t 
t
 t t ii
iti t t 
t i  t i. « i
 t


lt if t 
t i li t t ii
  t t 
t  i
©
 ti
l  iti  
 l ti t t t t ii
.  t ill f
l  t t ll if ti tii
i t j
t tl. I  li
t
 t t   t
ll 
 it t 
    ti 
lti
i
  
 
   iti. t li
t i l
tl ti l t 
 ti f t t.[ ¬ ]

E tl
i

 llfft 
 t
 , i

  tt  t i ft f t il.

E    ilt
i

 it f tl
i:

š 
ti t . A i f    t t P B i
 t

 t if ti. t t 
  t 
ti  . i f
©
f  i   l .

š ­ti l. © i
 li

t ii
t ti t

 lit i t l 
©

l  i. ®flti i l it. i i  f t t 
tl
i.

š «
ti. Sti f 
ti  ti l  l   t t ti
i  
   llfft   
titi .  ll fft 
 l
 t 
  tt itl, it
t t  f   t
 i.

„ 
  )
 

  :
( 
  

     
)

+
   +" ,1   

 :(

+=
  
:*  
+ +"

    :


  
  
) 
)

)

"
:1

  
  ) 
 
:
    " 
 

  
 
   
: 
› 


·

 "


ï : 1

ï :8*

ï :O

ï :6

ï : 2"

 8
 
ï 8: *  
ï 8:8*  " 
 O1    
ï O:   
š O: : 
 
š O: :8
 -
ï O:8,
ï O:O 

 6"
 % 
 
 2
 

. -
 9 




  " ""
   

  :




1

·      - "  " %
* ;)
    

:("

 
 " 
    
     
    
 : 
 
 2,)+2,)  &
+ + :

|


*

·8  "
 < +



   "+ &
)'2
 
 :0

  

"
"
  
          
   :




  
  
  

 "·O:

    " :
( "
·6+ 
 
 

  

 
-&
 +&+  +:

›




 -+"


+
:
("

 
:




$O785 5)=2"

"
  
=)
  " 
)
 

  +")
 & 
 )


+"  






 

 :* ·  -  "

 
*2
:


 
(   
  
>&

|



*  
 
 
&   
**)
)

)   ·
) ·9, ,1:

|
 



 
   "   "
   

)&
 :("

 
  + 
) 
 )
-&&
.
 +"!  ? 

 !  )+ )
:·7



 


„near encoders eher have anaogue or dga oupus


 






The ndusry sandard, anaogue oupu for near encoders s sne and cosne quadraure
sgnas

The sne and cosne oupus

These are usuay ransmed dfferenay so as o mprove nose mmuny An eary

ndusry sandard was —
µA peak-peak curren sgnas bu more receny hs has been
repaced wh — peak o peak voage sgnas ompared o dga ransmsson, he
anaogue sgnas' ower bandwdh heps o mnmse emc emssons
Quadraure sne%cosne sgnas can be monored easy by usng an oscoscope n XY mode
o dspay a crcuar „ssajous Fgure Hghes accuracy sgnas are obaned f he „ssajous
Fgure s crcuar (no gan or phase error) and perfecy cenred *odern encoder sysems
empoy crcury o rm hese error mechansms auomacay The overa accuracy of he
near encoder s a combnaon of he scae accuracy and errors nroduced by he readhead
Scae conrbuons o he error budge ncude neary and sope (scang facor error)
eadhead error mechansms are usuay descrbed as r r=r
 or  ===



  as hey repea every scae perod The arges conrbuor o readhead naccuracy s
sgna offse, foowed by sgna mbaance (epcy) and phaseerror (he quadraure
sgnas no beng exacy ‰0° apar) Overa sgna s e does no affec encoder accuracy,
however, sgna-o-nose and jer performance may degrade wh smaer sgnas Auomac
sgna compensaon mechansms can ncude=r

r
=



=r

r
r
=




=r
=

r

 Phase s more
dffcu o compensae dynamcay and s usuay apped as one me compensaon durng
nsaaon or cabraon Oher forms of naccuracy ncude sgna dsoron (frequeny
harmonc dsoron of he sne%cosne sgnas)

V

*os ncremena, near encoders can produce an ndex or reference mark puse provdng a
daum poson aong he scae for use a power-up or foowng a oss of power Ths ndex
sgna mus be abe o denfy poson whn one, unque perod of he scae The reference
mark may comprse a snge feaure on he scae, an auocorreaor paern (ypcay a.arker
code) or a chrp paern
Dsance coded reference marks (D*) are paced ono he scae n a unque paern
aowng a mnma movemen (ypcay movng pas wo reference marks) o defne he
readhead's poson *upe, equay spaced reference marks may aso be paced ono he
scae such ha foowng nsaaon, he desred marker can be seeced- usuay va a
magne or opcay

÷ 

The A and . quadraure channes

*any near encoders nerpoae he anaogue sne%cosne sgnas n order o sub-dvde he

scae perod, provdng a hgher measuremen resouon The oupu of he nerpoaon
process are quadraure squarewaves - he dsance beween edges of he wo channes beng
he resouon of he encoder The reference mark or ndex puse w aso processed dgay
and w be a puse, usuay one o four uns-of-resouon wde
The major advanage of encoders wh bu-n nerpoaon and dga sgna ransmsson s
mproved nose mmuny However, he hgh frequency, fas edge speed sgnas may produce
more emc emssons
Incremena encoders wh bu-n dga processng make  possbe o ransm poson o
any subsequen eecroncs n a poson couner n ncuded n he ogc
As we as radona ncremena, near encoders, near encoders may be  n naure
Wh suaby encoded scaes (murack, verner or pseudorandom) an encoder can
deermne s poson whou movemen or needng o fnd a reference poson Such
absoue encoders aso communcae usng sera communcaon proocos
*any of hese proocos are proprery - Fanuc, *subsh, EnDa, Drveq, Panasonc,
Yaskawa - bu open sandards such as .SS [‰
are now appearng, whch avod yng users o
a parcuar supper

„

*any near encoders ncude bu-n m swches - eher opca or magnec Two m

swches are frequeny ncuded such ha on power-up he conroer can deermne f he
encoder s a an end-of-rave and n whch drecon o drve he axs




 

„near encoders may be eher 
r or 
Encosed near encoders are empoyed n
dry, hose envronmens such as machne-oos They ypcay comprse an aumnum
  
   
:#+ ) 
 
:


"   
 "  +"
 

 :
# 


")    " 
 
 )

 :

 "   

)  " 
 
:
 
 
  ) ) )
)
 
@  
:(
 "+  )+ "
  +  
 :(
- 
" 
   

    
!   ++ -   :
 bookmark page (Ctrl+D) | e-
» å

 mail page

at s A esolver?
å

 

When discussing , people often interchange terms such as: encoders,
rotary position sensors, motion feedback sensors, and transducer sensors. On
occasion, synchros (cousin to the resolver) are also mentioned when explaining
devices of this nature. Regardless of the names people choose to describe resolvers,
their role in the world of automation remains unparalleled.

Referenced as an analog sensor that is

absolute over a single turn, the `
 `was
originally developed for military
applications and has benefited from more
than 50 years of continuous use and
development. It was not long before
numerous industrial segments recognized
the benefits of this rotary position sensor,
engineered to withstand the punishment of
a military application. Product packaging
plants and stamping press lines are perfect
examples of where you might find resolver based systems at work. In typical
applications, the resolver sensor feeds rotary position data to a decoder stationed in a
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) that interprets this information and executes
commands based on the machines' position.

Recent advances in technology have enabled

the integration of a 
 and on-board
electronics in one housing as an alternative
to other types of encoders. Referred to as
DuraCoders, these motion sensing devices
are available with the following output types;
Absolute Parallel, Incremental Digital, Analog
Current, Analog Voltage, and DeviceNet. The
Absolute Parallel and Incremental Digital
versions can also be ordered with a field
programmable option. Using simple onboard
switches, technicians and engineers can
easily select the unique resolution required
by the application, thereby reducing the
number of units that must be stocked.

Through the evolution of machine

development, builders and system integrators alike, agree that the µ`
 `±
transducer is unsurpassed in its ability to reliably supply rotary position data in the
harshest industrial environments.

 
A 
 is a rotary transformer where the
magnitude of the energy through the resolver
windings varies sinusoidally as the shaft rotates. A
resolver control transmitter has one primary
winding, the Reference Winding, and two
secondary windings, the SIN and COS Windings.
(See , Resolver Cross Section). The
Reference Winding is located in the rotor of the
resolver, the SIN and COS Windings in the stator.
The SIN and COS Windings are mechanically
displaced 90 degrees from each other. In a
brushless resolver, energy is supplied to the
Reference Winding (rotor) through a rotary Figure 1.1 Typical Brushless Resolver
transformer. This eliminates brushes and slip rings Cross Section
in the resolver and the reliability problems
associated with them.

In general, in a control
transmitter, the Reference
Winding is excited by an AC
voltage called the Reference
Voltage (Vr). (See ,
Resolver Schematic). The induced
voltages in the SIN and COS
Windings are equal to the value of
the Reference Voltage multiplied
by the SIN or COS of the angle of
the input shaft from a fixed zero
point. Thus, the`
 ` provides


Figure 1.2 Brushless Resolver Control two voltages whose ratio

Transmitter Schematic represents the absolute position of
the input shaft. (SIN LJ / COS LJ =
TAN LJ, where LJ = shaft angle.) Because the ratio of the SIN and COS voltages is
considered, any changes in the resolvers± characteristics, such as those caused by
aging or a change in temperature, are ignored. An additional advantage of this SIN /
COS ratio is that the shaft angle is absolute. Even if the shaft is rotated with power
removed, the resolver will report its new position value when power is restored.




A 
 control
transformer has two
input stator windings,
the SIN and COS
windings and one rotor
output winding.
(See) The
rotor output is
proportional to the sine
of the angular difference
between the electrical


Figure 1.3 Brushless Resolver Control Transformer Schematic

input angle of the inputs
and the mechanical angular position of its shaft...in other words, the voltage induced
into the rotor is proportional to sin( ), where is measured from some
reference shaft position called zero.

 shows what might be called the "classic" resolver mechanical follow-up
servomechanism. The command angle is established by the shaft position of the
control transmitter. When the servomotor has reached the commanded position,
the control transformers output is zero and the motor stops. Although the
 above description is oversimplified, it is useful in describing a control transformer.

Figure 1.4 Typical Electromechanical Follow -up Servo

Both control transmitters and control transformers are unidirectional devices i.e.
Control transmitters manufacturers specifications are only valid when the electrical
input is the rotor, and control transformers specifications are only valid when the
electrical inputs are the stator. Although both can be used "backwards", performance
cannot be guaranteed.

å
! 

"
#$ % & 

When an encoder application exists in a hot, humid, dusty, oily, or mechanically

demanding environment, the `
 `-based system is the preferred choice. Ultra
reliability, coupled with proven performance support the bulletproof reputation this
rotary position sensing device has earned.


'#(


 
#)

*','-
*'+
Geared
Resolver
Resolver
Transducer
Transducer
more info »
more info »

*', *','-
Resolver Resolver
Transducer Transducer

more info » more info »

*. *' ,,'-

Resolver Resolver
Transducer Transducer

more info » more info »

(/ + *' ,,'-

Resolver Resolver
Replacement Transducer

more info » more info »