The word 'drive', when used in the context of electric motors is often only associated with servo, brushless or stepper motors and these tend to be seen as relatively complex devices.
In many applications, a much more straightforward, programmable, and yet still versatile, drive and motor combination will often better suit the needs of the task.
Speed, position, and torque can all be controlled with relatively simple drives offering repeatable indexing, accurate speed holding, torque limiting and other more advanced features. These are often alongside an integrated multi I/O board for logic control and signalling to other external devices.
The standard brushed DC motor drive cards from Electromen offer control of speed, direction, current, and position - they are flexible, easy to use, cost effective and even the entry level models provide resettable over-current protection which can avoid incurring unnecessary service calls to reset trips.
Other drives from OEM are available from Mini Motor, Crouzet and Oriental to suit various other types of motors and applications.
For motion control drives with embedded intelligence, please see the section 'Motion control and intelligent drives'
Common applications:- Brushed DC motor control - basic over current trip to full speed, direction, and current protection.
- Conveyors - speed control easily adjusted with potentiometer or remote input.
- Indexing machines - move a set distance every time a signal is given.
- Linear actuator drive - Protect the motor against running into a dead stop.
- Lifting platforms - synchronise two DC gear motors to stop crabbing motion.
