How to Choose the Right Industrial Electric Motor for Your Application

Are you shopping for an industrial electric motor? If you are, you might be feeling overwhelmed with all the choices. And the reality is that when your use-cases are as varied as drills, pumps, industrial processes, compressors, mixers, lifts, cranes, hosts, textiles, and more, there are always going to be a lot of considerations unique to your specific application.

While we can’t answer every question you may have in this post, we’ve developed a framework that our customers find helpful when considering the right motor for their needs.

Define your requirements

When you understand your requirements, things get a lot easier. There are a number of key requirements that are common to almost any application, here are a few few most important ones:

What are your power requirements?

Here you will want to consider factors such as overall power, size and efficiency. For example DC motors tend to be more efficient than AC motors. That being said, AC motors tend to offer higher power factors at lower speeds, so even when it comes to power considerations it really does all come down to your unique circumstances.

What is your maintenance budget?

It may be tempting to purchase the motor with the lowest purchase price, but that motor may end up costing you more down the line in maintenance costs. Generally speaking AC motors are lower maintenance than DC motors. So generally an AC motor is a strong choice, except for in circumstances where higher energy efficiency and density are required.

What are your performance requirements?

You will want to consider the required torque and rotational speed you need to accomplish your task. Do you need the motor to accelerate or decelerate quickly? You’ll also want to consider whether there are any significant load variations, or whether you need continuous or intermittent operation.