Motor Sizes
On this page is a huge number of articles on different motor types, what they are used for, and what some of the biggest names in motors are. Read these articles before jumping in over your head in the motor world.
AC Motor
An AC motor is a type of motor that generally is small and powers small electronics and appliances. It is different from DC motors in that DC motors are able to be speed-specific for more precision.
Air Motors
Air motors, also known as pneumatic motors, use compressed air shoved through a rotor to power all sorts of pneumatic tools, like drills and air guns. They are one of the most efficient motors in the market, because it doesn't emit any greenhouse gases unless using CO2.
ATEX Motor
ATEX sets standards for environments where explosions are possible and sets standards for the type of models can be placed under the conditions present. These standards are to keep the work environment safe for the workers.
Awning Motor
An awning motor puts the awning out and takes it back up when it is not being used. Many awning motors have push buttons that make them operate, but some are not electric and use a hand crank to move them.
Baldor Motor
Baldor makes some very good motors and they normally comply with the NEMA suggested standards. They make some fairly efficient motors for a variety of light and heavy duty functions.
Bicycle Motor
On Popular Mechanics, you can learn how to put a motor on a bicycle if you so desire. However, putting a motor on a bicycle just puts more effort into a less thrilling and more safe motorcycle.
Brushless Motor
Brushless motors were invented to reduce the friction and noise of the DC motors that use brushes to run the motor. They are much quieter and cut down on the energy needed to run many of the brush motor tools.
Ceiling Motor
Ceiling motors create about 300 RPMs to power ceiling fans or other objects that require a circular motion in order to operate. Some of the heavy duty ceiling motors require 220 volts or more in order to work correctly.
Coin Motor
Coin motors are small motors that operate using vibration to power the objects connected to them, and are semi-hard to find. They are used for several DIY projects and have recently become more scarce du to this.
Compressor Motor
Compressor motors are used to compress gas so that it can be filtered into a tire or other air receiving object, such as an air gun. They are common on farms, construction sites and numerous other industries where air is required, like an automotive shop.
Curtain Motor
Fans of technology will enjoy putting a motor on everything, and curtains are not exempt, in fact, they make curtain motors for those techies out there. You can now put a motor on you curtains to make them close or open.
Display Motor
Some people like to display their motors so that a problem can be easily seen if one occurs. They put a strong,heat-resistant plexiglass viewing screen in front of their motor to prevent flying debris, but do not put one around it, because this will cause excessive heat and stress on the motor.
Electric Motor
Electric motors are any motors that are powered by an electric source, like an outlet, a battery, or a potato (only for very low energy motors). They are used to power kitchen appliances and a vast number of other machines.
Hydraulic Motor
A hydraulic motor powers hydraulic equipment by creating pressure through use of hydraulic oil being forced into tubes and behind a moving machine. They are fairly efficient, requiring fairly small amounts of power to do a huge workload.
HVAC Motor
HVAC (short for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) requires motors to move air through the house or business that employs the unit. These motors rotate in a circular motion and are attached to a fan blade that forces air through the ventilation shafts.
Induction Motor
An induction motor utilizes magnets to create the spinning that is used by the machine to do work. Induction motors spin slower than AC motors, though not by much, and usually take on the form of a squirrel cage motor.
Integrated Motor
Integrated motors are being used by a number of car companies to make hybrid vehicles (vehicles that run on both gas and electricity). These vehicles have better gas mileage and have less greenhouse gases emissions than their gasoline counterparts, but are generally less powerful and more expensive.
Fasco Motor
Fasco designs and sells replacement motors for non-NEMA motors that live up to the NEMA specifications. You can find them online, and they have a service calle Fasco Facts that will help you learn how to install one of their motors.
Fractional Horsepower Motor
Fractional horsepower motors are used in a variety of applications, from heating and cooling units, to pumps, jetted tubs, and spas. AO Smith is one of the world leaders, producing 35 million motors a year.
Robot Motor
Robots are machines that use motors to propel the robot either forward and backward and side to side. Usually they look somewhat humanoid in shape, having arms, legs and a head. They perform numerous tasks for humans.
Furnace Motor
Furnaces have motors that, much like an HVAC motor, force air through the ventilation shafts of the home or business. The only difference is that a furnace does not cool, it only heats. Otherwise, it is the same concept
Gast Motor
Gast Manufacturing is a company that focuses on air-moving motors and has some of the best air-moving motors on the market. They claim a commitment to quality and unparalleled design expertise and ensure buyers that the products they get will satisfy their needs.
Globe Motor
Globe manufacturers motors for a variety of uses, including military, industrial and automotive and make both AC and DC motors. If you have a special need for a motor, chances are they will have what you need in a motor.
Hobby Motor
Hobby motors are very small and are used in hobby crafts, like making a home made robot or something similar. They require very little energy and are great for young teens who are seeking to learn all about the worlds of mechanics and electricity.
Leeson Motor
Leeson is a manufacturer of motors that makes NEMA-compliant motors of a number of sizes and is one of the more popular brands. You can find their products and their specifications online in their product guide.
Lincoln Motor
Lincoln makes some of the industry leading motors, with a great track record of reliability and top of the line construction. They even introduced some warranties that had never before been seen by the electric motor company at that time.
Machine Motor
Motors power all sorts of machines, from washing machines, to refrigeration systems and furnaces. You can use a motor to build complex or fairly simple machines that power a multitude of various household appliances.
Micro Motor
There are dozens and probably hundreds of micro motors, and one group of researchers were able to make a micro motor that is powered by bacteria. This is a first for the scientific community and is a story on MSN.
Mirror Ball Motor
One of the most popular items for dance floors is a mirror ball, also known as a disco ball, and the motor it uses is slow. You will need a very slow and deliberate motor in order to use a mirror ball.
Panasonic Motor
Panasonic makes all sorts of motors for their electronics, like their CD players, DVD players, and other electronics. If your motor goes out, then you should probably either replace your electronic or send it in for repairs.
Pneumatic Motor
A pneumatic motor is a motor that turns compressed air into useful mechanical use, much like hydraulics do with oil. When air is forced over a rotor, it turns it, creating the working mechanism used to power the tool.
Pancake Motor
A pancake motor is not necessarily a type of motor, as much as a class of motors that are thin in comparison to their width. They are generally ceiling motors, or other motors that have to fit into a small area.
Pump Motor
Pump motors are used in a vast number of water pumps for such items like aquariums and swimming pools and usually circulate water to clean it. You can find several manufacturers of these online.
Reliance Motor
Reliance is one of the bigger suppliers for motors in the United States and makes motors that fit NEMA motor specifications. Someone looking for a Reliance motor should probably look at their website for the best chance of finding one.
Router Motor
Routers feature small horsepower motors to do their work, normally staying in the lower single digits with variable speeds.
Scooter Motor
Scooter motors are low horsepower motors that turn at relatively low RPMs to power scooters, normally on getting 10 miles an hour. There are some motors that will take the scooter much faster than that, but for the most part, they stay around 10 mph.
Shutter Motor
Shutter motors are put on one end of a greenhouse to keep the wind from entering and are normally a tubular type motor. They are a common greenhouse motor, installed in a large number of them across the country.
Smart Motor
SmartMotors are built by Animatics and are reputed to be able to power an entire machine, and come in NEMA standard sizes of 17 to 56. They are able to make speeds of over 10000 RPMs.
Special Motor
A special motor will not be in the NEMA motor size standards, but can meet up to the energy ratings that NEMA has suggested. If you are looking for a special size of motor, a search using your exact specifications would be the best way.
Spindle Motor
Hard drives (hard disks) use spindle motors to read and record information on the hard drive. If you are looking for a spindle motor and have an old unusable hard drive lying around, you can use the spindle motor.
Stepping Motor
Stepping motors are extremely precise and can divide a wheel rotation into a huge number of steps. This makes for an extremely precise motor, because it can be stopped at any point in the process.
Synchronous Motor
Sychronous Motors operate at the same time to tag team a process instead of using just one big motor. Sometimes, motors will be moving two different sets of the same action to reduce the stress on both motors.
Torque Motor
A torque motor is a motor that creates a large amount of torque at the initial start-up. Torque then naturally decreases as the speed of the engine increases, and it will return to a more normal engine torque as the speed reaches higher levels.
Trolling Motor
Trolling motors are used to move boats around fairly noiselessly and are used in fishing, bird watching or some other sport where noise is undesirable. You can find them at Bass Pro, or at a fishing or boating store.
Toy Motor
Small toy motors are very basic and do not have a large power output, but they are sources of joy for little ones that enjoy watching moving cars. Remote control cars are one of the favorite toys of children and are powered by this type of motor.
Tubular Motor
Tubular motors commonly power shade screens or other small objects that require very little power or energy. They are very energy efficient, but since they are rarely on, they do not use much energy, anyway.
Turntable Motor
Turntable motors must operate at a continuous speed and be variable for slower and faster play records. Some people have made their own and had a lot of fun doing it, but this takes a lot of time and around 50 dollars.
Vacuum Motor
Vacuum motors create suction by inhaling large amounts of air and displacing it elsewhere, much like your lungs breathing in air and placing in your lungs. However, vacuums have an automatic air transferance that pushes the air out to keep constant suction.
Vane Motor
Vane motors can be either hydraulic or pneumatic, although there are some rare motors that are compatible with both. The more common vane motors are pneumatic because many people have compressed air at their home or workplace.
Volts of Motor
Motors run on a variety of different voltages, some of them run at 6 volts, and some run at 12, while still others run much larger or smaller voltages. Be sure to get a high enough voltage motor to power what you want to power.
Washdown Motor
Washdown motors will help you keep your shop sparkling clean, however, you will need to buy some accesories before it is able to do its work. Some of these include a hose and a spray nozzle to get that ultimate in clean.
Wax Motor
Wax motors have three different parts that allow it to work, a block of wax, a plunger, and an electric heater. When the wax is heated, it expands Then the plunger is pushed up and the wax cools, and the plunger comes back down.