Which type of DC motor has better commutation: brushed or brushless?

Operating Life:
One of the first questions to ask yourself is: What is your duty cycle and desired service life? If you are looking for a motor with a long life expectancy, consider a brushless motor. The life of a brushed motor is limited by the brush type and can attain 1,000 to 3,000 hours on average, while brushless motors can attain tens of thousands of hours on average, as there are no brushes to wear. The limiting factor is the wear on the bearings.

Efficiency:

When considering brushed and brushless motors, people generally believe that brushless motors have higher overall efficiency—however, with the coreless brushed motor design used by WKX, the opposite is actually true. Through this design, the stator magnetization is permanent, and there are no eddy current losses. However, our brushless motors suffer from eddy current losses, as the material's resistance causes it to heat up, thereby increasing losses. The magnitude of eddy currents is proportional to speed; Joule losses increase with the square of the induced current, so eddy current power losses increase with the square of speed. In summary, the higher the speed, the greater the eddy current losses in brushless motors.

This is just an overview of motor efficiency; we also recommend considering the efficiency of the entire drive system (e.g., gearbox and controller).

Drive:

Brushed DC motors can be driven simply by a DC power source—or even a battery. Brushless motors are slightly more complex, requiring electronic commutation through a controller, which adds components and cost to the overall system. Depending on the required precision, users can choose sensorless block commutation, block commutation using Hall sensors, or sinusoidal commutation with or without encoders using Hall sensors, all of which will provide the desired results.

These are just a few features to consider when selecting a commutation system. If you find yourself stuck in indecision, our experienced global sales engineers are waiting for your call. If you're unsure who to contact, please visit our website at www.wkxmotor.eu