Other than torque or speed, another factor should be considered when sizing motors.  

Topics: AC Motors, Stepper Motors, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear & Rotary Actuators, Speed Control, Motor Sizing, BLDC Motors, Gearheads, Servo Motors, Rotary/Index Tables

Proper sizing of a motor requires that 3 criteria must be met: torque, load inertia, and speed.  For the first part of this Motor Sizing Basics series, I will be explaining what load torque is, how to calculate it for specific application examples, and how it fits into the torque requirement for the application.

Topics: Conveyor, AC Motors, Stepper Motors, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear & Rotary Actuators, Speed Control, Motor Sizing, BLDC Motors, Servo Motors, Rotary/Index Tables

An AC motor is not working like it's supposed to.  What do you do?  Before replacing the motor, here are three ways to start troubleshooting your AC motor with a circuit tester.

Topics: AC Motors, Troubleshooting

For a permanent-split capacitor type AC motor (also known as capacitor start and run AC motors), a capacitor is required for proper operation.  Enjoy a cup of coffee as we explain why.

Topics: AC Motors

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd change gears (pun intended) and write about what Oriental Motor is thankful for.  

First, we are thankful for our customers for being our customers and helping us grow to be a globally reputable motion control manufacturer.  Second, we are thankful for the awards and recognition we've received over the years.  It's always good to know that we're doing a good job and these accolades definitely serve as motivation to become even better.

While we are grateful with these awards and recognition, our greatest satisfaction comes from applying our award-winning products to solve motion control challenges for our customers.

Topics: Stepper Motors, Absolute Positioning, Alphastep Hybrid Control

AC motors have the same operating theory, but by changing its design a little, you can modify its characteristics to suit certain applications better.  In the last post, I focused on AC induction motors for unidirectional applications.  In this post, I will explain what makes AC reversible motors and AC electromagnetic brake motors ideal for start/stop, reversing, or vertical applications, and demonstrate how to operate them.

Topics: AC Motors, VIDEOS, Application Examples

AC motors are simple to control, rugged, and cost effective for general purpose applications.  These reasons are why they are the most popular type of electric motor across various industries.  In this post, we will briefly introduce induction motors and demonstrate how to operate these motors.

Topics: AC Motors, VIDEOS, Application Examples

Do you know how to use this graph?

Topics: VIDEOS, Cooling Fans

Stepper motors vibrate.  It's what they do.

Topics: Stepper Motors, Stepper Motor Drivers, Vibration Control, Smooth Drive, Motor Sizing, VIDEOS, Gearheads

The terms "absolute" and "incremental" comes up frequently in the world of position control.  The exact meaning changes according to the context they are used in.  For example, absolute and incremental motion can refer to the type of motion done by the motor either by relating it to the absolute home position or the last known position.  Absolute and incremental feedback can also refer to the type of feedback device being used with the motor.  In this blog post, we will focus on the feedback system and hopefully clarify some differences for you.

Topics: Stepper Motors, Absolute Positioning, Alphastep Hybrid Control, Linear & Rotary Actuators, VIDEOS