What are the typical applications of brushless DC motors?

Brushless DC motors perform many of the functions that were originally performed by brushed DC motors. However, it is difficult to completely replace the brush DC motor because it is still an expensive solution with a complex construction and control system. Nevertheless, brushless DC motors are widely used due to their high efficiency, long life, low noise and better speed-torque characteristics. The following are some typical applications of brushless DC motors.

Automobile

Due to the simple structure of DC brushless motor, stable operation and good speed regulation performance, DC brushless motors are increasingly applied in the automobile field. In addition to being the core component of automobile drive, the motor can also be used to drive automobile air conditioners, wipers, electric doors, airbags, electric seats, etc. The technology of motor drive for automobile air conditioner and home air conditioner compressor is similar. The air conditioner compressor driven by brushless DC motor will be developed in the direction of more energy-saving and more comfortable full DC inverter. Therefore, brushless DC motor will become a mainstream direction in the development of speed control technology, and be more and more widely used in all aspects of automobile motor drive.

Household appliances

The technology of applying brushless DC motors in household appliances such as VCDs, DVDs, CDs, electric bicycles, vacuum cleaners, mixers, hair dryers, video cameras, household fans, air conditioners and refrigerators is quite mature. Brushless DC motors can not only overcome some of the shortcomings of traditional household appliances and bring higher comfort to people's home life, but also reduce energy loss and better achieve energy sustainability.

Industrial field

Brushless DC motors in industry are mainly in the field of manufacturing engineering or industrial automation design. In manufacturing, brushless DC motors are mainly used in motion control, positioning or actuation systems.

The most common industrial uses of brushless DC motors are linear motors, servo motors, actuators for industrial robots, extruder drive motors and feed drives for CNC machine tools.

Medical devices

Orthopedic medical devices require their power systems to be able to continuously change speed in a wide range due to the needs of surgery, in order to adapt to the requirements of milling, drilling, sawing and other kinds of occasions. The existing drive motors for orthopedic medical devices are single-phase AC/DC series excitation motors and voltage regulators, which are very noisy.

Due to the existence of brushes and phase commutator, resulting in the inability to sterilize before the surgery, causing a certain impact on the results of the surgery and requiring regular brush replacement and motor maintenance. The DC brushless motor does not have the above hidden problems, as a drive system, its low noise, wide range of speed regulation, small size, light weight and other characteristics, is undoubtedly the best choice for medical devices.

Aerospace

Typical applications of BLDC motors in aerospace are robotic arm control, gyroscope and rudder drive, etc.. These applications generally require good high-speed high-accuracy control and dynamic response, so the corresponding systems are controlled by closed-loop speed feedback, and most of them use advanced process control algorithms.

Aeromodelling

Brushless DC motors have become a popular motor choice for model aircraft, with helicopters and drones included. Their advantageous power-to-weight ratio and wide range of available sizes have revolutionized the market for electric model flying, replacing virtually all brushed DC motors with the exception of low-powered, inexpensive toy-grade aircraft. They have also fostered the development of simple, lightweight electric model airplanes. The increased power-to-weight ratio of modern batteries and brushless DC motors allows models to rise vertically rather than climb gradually. The low noise and lack of mass compared to small glow-fueled internal combustion engines is another reason for their popularity.

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