Gearmotors

Gearmotors

Gearmotors consist of either an AC or DC motor that generates mechanical energy from electrical energy with a gear box or gear head that distributes speed up or down. Although both are widely available, AC gearmotors are manufactured more often than DC gearmotors.

When purchasing a gearmotor, important factors to consider include continuous torque, shaft speed, continuous current, and continuous output power. Continuous torque is the motor's output torque ability, while shaft speed is the DC motor voltage. The term continuous current represents the largest rated current that can be delivered to the motor without problems. The mechanical power supplied by the motor output is referred to as its continuous output power.

For AC gearmotors, relevant factors to consider include phase, voltage, frequency, and motor construction. Important gearing factors to keep in mind are the gearbox ratio, gearing arrangement, and gearbox efficiency. Gearmotor feedback can be provided by several additional options, including integral resolvers, intergral encoders, and integral tachometers. Other issues to take into account before choosing a gearmotor are design units, motor shape, diameter/width, shaft orientation/type, housing size, etc.