In today's fast-paced industrial landscape, the role of conveyors has become more crucial than ever. These systems efficiently move materials, products, and goods for numerous industries, from labeling and packaging to warehousing and distribution. While many types of motors can be used in conveyors, this article highlights a few reasons why brushless motors should be considered for most conveyor applications.
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Types of Motors Used for Conveyors
There are several types of motors that are typically used by conveyors; depending on the type of conveyor.
| For fixed-speed conveyors where the constant speed is necessary and size isn't an issue, AC induction motors work well for their cost-effectiveness and ease of use. Brushed DC motors are another option for ease of use. | |
| For variable-speed conveyors where multiple speed settings are necessary, VFD-driven AC induction motors, brushless motors, or even servo motors can be considered. | |
| For indexing conveyors where repeatable stops are required, stepper motors are generally chosen for their stop accuracy. However, servo motors can be considered where heat generation and limited duty cycles can be an issue. |
Generally, brushless motors can be used for both variable-speed and start/stop conveyors if servo or stepper motor performance or stop accuracy isn't necessary. Furthermore, they offer several advantages that makes them ideal for conveyors at a reasonable price.
Comparing Brushless Motors to Other Motors
When compared to VFD-driven AC induction motors, closed-loop brushless motors bring a new level of efficiency due to using permanent magnets instead of electromagnetic induction. With higher efficiency, a brushless motor can be much smaller than an AC induction motor with equivalent output in watts. With built-in closed-loop feedback by encoder or hall-effect sensors and constant torque output, brushless motor drivers constantly monitor and adjust the motor performance, ensuring consistent speeds even under varying loads while the speed of an AC motor can be inconsistent due to load.
When compared to brushed DC motors, the most obvious difference is the absence of brushes. Without brushes, a brushless motor needs hall-effect sensors and a driver to commutate its windings, which drives up costs. By using permanent magnets in its rotor and no brushes, a brushless motor is also more efficient by design, draws less power, and is smaller in size. Brushless motors do not have regular brush and commutator maintenance and replacement that is necessary for brushed motors, which is a major advantage.
When compared to servo motors, which can offer the best torque and speed performance with available high peak torque, high speeds, and a PID loop, brushless motors present a simpler solution in cases where servo motors are oversized and overspec'ed. Due to the required encoder feedback by servo motor systems, servo motors are generally longer. Brushless motors are also easier to drive than servo motors, which means simpler designs and thus lower cost. For conveyors that do not need the highest speeds or the highest torque, brushless motors are a great alternative that should be considered.
When compared to stepper motors, a brushless motor is actually structurally similar. It also operates like one with power and phase excitation provided by a dedicated driver, but the similarities stop there. The lower number of poles and lack of holding torque are the main reasons why brushless motors do not offer the same stop accuracy as stepper motors. Stepper motors are designed for positioning applications with a limited duty cycle. While adding closed-loop control can optimize efficiency and performance, brushless motors are designed to run continuously and are a better match for variable-speed conveyors.
The table below summarizes the differences between AC motors, brushless motors, and servo motors.
Additional speed control comparison information is available.
The Case for Brushless Motors
A brushless motor is generally smaller and lighter than other types of motors. However, these advantages are amplified when a brushless motor is compared to an AC induction motor. A brushless motor is smaller than an AC induction motor because it is more efficient and uses permanent magnets. Therefore it does not have the same losses that occur during electromagnetic induction. A brushless motor also always runs at synchronous speed; while an AC motor runs at rated speed, which can be several hundred RPMs slower than synchronous speed according to load.
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Here's a video that compares the power consumption and CO2 emissions of a 6 W AC induction motor vs a 30 W brushless motors on a conveyor. The difference is pretty clear.
To further reduce its size, Oriental Motor's newest brushless motors combine an optimized magnetic design with high-performance magnetic steel sheets and permanent magnets. Closed-loop speed regulation for Oriental Motor's brushless motors is rated at +/-0.2% for motors with hall-effect sensors and up to +/-0.05% for motors with encoders. With a small overrun that ranges from approximately +/-0.1 to +/-0.4 revolutions according to the RPM and load inertia, brushless motors can also run some indexing conveyors. However, start/stop frequency and accuracy must be tested.
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| Long-Life Type | Watertight | JB Gear Type | JV Gear Type | Right-Angle | Flat Hollow Shaft |
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With a wide lineup between 30 W and 400 W and different AC-input driver options, oversizing can be avoided with no sacrifice to performance. A variety of gear options are provided for even the smallest frame sizes, so even the smallest requirements can be sized properly. One major difference between Oriental Motor's brushless motors and other brushless motors is that we offer several different frame sizes for different wattages; while other manufacturers tend to keep the same frame size and increase the length of the motor.
Recommended Product Series by Conveyor Type
In this section, we highlight two types of conveyors that our AC-input brushless motor systems are typically used for: single-axis, modular, low-profile conveyors and packaging /labeling conveyors.
| Single-Axis Modular Low-Profile Conveyors | For simple control, use: BMU Series |
For single-axis modular low-profile conveyors with basic speed control requirements, a BMU Series brushless motor and dedicated variable speed driver are recommended.
The simplicity of the BMU Series and ease-of-use of the front digital panel as well as easy connection makes it perfect for quick installation on single-axis, modular conveyors. The small size of the motor and driver helps reduce the footprint of the conveyor. The dedicated driver comes with built-in functions such as load factor and speed limits.
| Packaging and Labeling Conveyors | For advanced control, use: BLE2 Series |
For conveyors with advanced requirements, such as for packaging and labeling, a BLE2 Series brushless motor and dedicated variable speed driver are recommended.
Up to 16 speeds can be set via the control panel, external potentiometer, external analog voltage, or MEXE02 data setting software. To run a grip conveyor that has two motors running two belts on each side of the product being transferred, an HMI can output an analog voltage to control 2 drives at the same time as well as output commands to each driver via I/O. The driver comes with functions such as load factor, torque-limiting, and speed teaching.
Summary
A brushless motor's high efficiency, small footprint, and tight speed regulation meet the design requirements of a compact variable-speed conveyor. While it presents many advantages over a VFD-driven AC motor, it can also replace servo motors in certain applications.
While brushless motor design is similar among many manufacturers, Oriental Motor's brushless motors are offered in many frame sizes instead of longer stack lengths. Make oversizing a thing of the past. Contact our team for a motor sizing consultation today to find the perfectly sized motor for your application.
We know how you like charts. Here's a comparison of our two most popular AC-input brushless motor systems. For multi-axis network control, please ask our team for other motor options.
| Series | BMU Series | BLE2 Series | |
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| Ideal Application Example | Single-axis drive | Side-by-side conveyor | |
| Wattages | 30 W (1/25 HP) , 60 W (1/12 HP), 120 W (1/6 HP), 200 W (1/4 HP), 300 W (2/5 HP), 400 W (1/2 HP) |
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| Gear Types | Parallel, right-angle, hollow-shaft | Parallel, right-angle, hollow-shaft | |
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See all AC and DC input brushless motor and driver options.
Want to learn how to size a motor for your conveyor? Here's an article about sizing motors for conveyors.
