Issue link: https://resources.mouser.com/i/1442757
Low-power direct current (DC) motors are seeing an increased range of applications as a result of many factors. First, the motors have become more efcient and powerful due to new magnetic materials. Second, they are now easier to control via smarter power-control integrated circuits (ICs) with integral eld-effect transistors (FETs). Third, even though most Internet of Things (IoT) applications are sensor-only situations and have no motion requirements, the growing diversity of IoT applications, in general, has spurred a need for these small- scale motors. What is a low-power DC motor? There is no formal denition or standard, but the universal industry understanding is this: A motor with an average "root mean square" (RMS) drive current of up to 1A and a peak current of 2A is considered a low-power device. That may seem like a lot of current when compared to the milliamp-range current consumption of the associated electronics; however, many of these motors are used in applications with low duty cycles, so their aggregate energy needs are low to modest, even if their peak-power requirements are much greater than their electronics. The applications for low-power motors are diverse and range in use from fun to convenient to critical. They include wireless, smart-HVAC room vents; industrial process adjustments and process ne-tuning; scientic instrumentation with positioning stages; toys and amusement products; robotic actuators; and medical equipment such as positioning of probes, control of uid ow, and cycling of lab tests. 14 Bill Schweber is an electronics engineer who has written three textbooks on electronic communications systems, as well as hundreds of technical articles, opinion columns, and product features. He has worked at Analog Devices, Inc. in product marketing, and at Instron Corp., doing analog and power circuits materials-testing machine controls. He has an MSEE (Univ. of Mass) and BSEE (Columbia Univ.), is a Registered Professional Engineer, and holds an Advanced Class amateur radio license. Assessing Low-Power Brushless, Brushed, and Stepper Motors— and Their Drivers Understand the characteristics of these motors and their drivers to make the most appropriate choice. By Bill Schweber for Mouser Electronics