Motors and Gearboxes

Motors and Gearboxes

When selecting a motor and gearbox, there are several important factors that you need to be aware of; The motor’s output torque, its current draw, its output speed, its power, and its efficiency.

What is Torque?

A motor’s output torque is the amount of force with which its output shaft can rotate.  If too much torque is applied to a motor, its output shaft will stall, or stop turning.  Other motor characteristics are commonly written as a function of torque.  It is usually measured in N-m when metric units are required and oz-in when English units are required.

Current Draw you say?

The motor’s current draw is the amount of electrical current the motor draws at any given load.  As the load on the motor (the torque) increases, the amount of current that the motor draws increases linearly.

Speed says what?

The motor’s output speed is the rotational velocity at which the output shaft spins.  As the load on the motor increases, the output speed decreases linearly.