Brushless DC Motor

&
Stepper Motor

Prepared by
Name : Md Toukir Shah
ID : 1802044
Section : A1
 Learning Outcomes
 Familiarization with Brushless DC Motor
and Stepper Motor.
 Construction, types, working principle,
advantages and disadvantages and
applications of both BLDC Motor and
Stepper Motor.
 Motor
What is a Motor?
 An electric motor is an electrical machine that
converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.

 Most electric motors operate through the

interaction between the motor's magnetic field and
electric current in a wire winding to generate force
in the form of torque applied on the motor's shaft.
 Brushless DC Motor

What is a Brushless DC Motor?

 A Brushless DC Motor is similar to a Brushed DC
Motor .
 A BLDC doesn’t use brushes for commutation but
rather they are electronically commutated.
 In conventional Brushed DC Motors, the brushes are
used to transmit the power to the rotor as they turn in
a fixed magnetic field.
 Brushless DC Motor

Construction of a BLDC Motor

A BLDC Motor consists of two main parts: A stator and a rotor.
 Brushless DC Motor

Construction of a BLDC Motor

 Stator
 The structure of the stator of a BLDC Motor is similar to
that of an induction motor.
 It is made up of stacked steel laminations with axially cut
slots for winding.
 The winding in BLDC are slightly different than that of the
traditional induction motor.
 Brushless DC Motor

 Rotor Construction of a BLDC Motor

The above image shows three different arrangements of the poles.

 Surface-Mounted: The magnets are placed on the outer periphery of the
rotor.
 Magnetic-embedded: Rectangular permanent magnets are embedded into
the core of the rotor.
 Inserted: The magnets are inserted into the iron core of the rotor.
 Brushless DC Motor

Construction of a BLDC Motor

 Position Sensors (Hall Sensors)
 A Position Sensor, which is usually a Hall
Sensor (that works on the principle of Hall
Effect) is generally used to detect the
position of the rotor and transform it into an
electrical signal.
 Most BLDC Motors use three Hall Sensors
that are embedded into the stator to sense
the rotor’s position.
 Brushless DC Motor

Types of BLDC Motors

 There are two types of BLDC motors based on
their construction/design:
1.Inner rotor design (inrunner): This is a conventional
design, where the rotor is located at the core (center) and
stator winding surrounds it.

2.Outer rotor design (outrunner): In this

configuration, the rotor is external. i.e. stator windings
are located at the core while the rotor, carrying
permanent magnets, surrounds the stator.
 Brushless DC Motor
Working principle of BLDC Motor
 By applying DC power to the coil the coil will energize and become
an electromagnet.
 The operation of a BLDC is based on the simple force interaction
between the permanent magnet and the electromagnet.

 When the coil A is energized the opposite poles of the rotor

and stator are attracted to each other.
 As the rotor nears coil A coil B is energized as the rotor
nears coil B coil C is energized. After that coil A is
energized with the opposite polarity. This process is
repeated and the rotor continues to rotate.
 Brushless DC Motor
Working principle of BLDC Motor
 It has one drawback that at any instant only one coil is
energized the two dead coils greatly reduced the power output
of the motor.
 To overcome this problem when the rotor is in this position
along with the first coil which pulls the rotor we can energize
the coil behind it in such a way that it will push the rotor for
this instant the same polarity current is passed through the
second coil the combined effect produces more torque and
power output from the motor.
 Brushless DC Motor

Working principle of BLDC Motor

 With previous configuration two coils need to be
energized separately.
 By making a small modification to the stator coil we can
simplify this process.
 We can connect one free end of the coils together when
the power is applied between coils A and B, the current
flow through the coils it's just like the separately
energized state.
 Brushless DC Motor
Advantages of BLDC Motor
 No wear and tear (due to absence of brushes).
 High efficiency.
 Better speed vs torque characteristics.
 Long life.
 Less noise or noiseless operation.
 Significantly higher RPM.
Disadvantages
 Requires Complex Drive Circuitry.
 Requires additional Sensors.
 Higher Cost.
 Some designs require manual labor (Hand wound Stator
Coils).
 Brushless DC Motor

Applications
 Some of the areas of applications of BLDC Motors are
mentioned below:
 Single speed applications
 Adjustable speed applications
 Position control
 Low noise applications
 High speed applications
 Stepper Motor

What is a Stepper Motor?

 A stepper motor, also known as step motor or stepping motor, is
a brushless DC electric motor.
 It divides a full rotation into a number of equal steps.
 The motor's position can be commanded to move and hold at
one of these steps without any position sensor for feedback (an
open-loop controller), as long as the motor is carefully sized to
the application in respect to torque and speed.
 Stepper Motor
Construction of Stepper Motor
 There are different rotor and stator configurations.
 Rotors
1. Permanent magnet rotor: The rotor is a permanent magnet
that aligns with the magnetic field generated by the stator circuit.
This solution guarantees a good torque. The drawbacks of this
solution is that it has a lower speed and a lower resolution
compared to the other types.
2. Variable reluctance rotor: The rotor is made of an iron core,
and has a specific shape that allows it to align with the magnetic
field. With this solution it is easier to reach a higher speed and
resolution, but the torque it develops is often lower and it has no
 Stepper Motor

Construction of Stepper Motor

3. Hybrid rotor: This kind of rotor has a specific construction,
and is a hybrid between permanent magnet and variable
reluctance versions. The rotor has two caps with alternating
teeth, and is magnetized axially. This configuration allows the
motor to have the advantages of both permanent magnet and
variable reluctance versions, specifically high resolution,
speed, and torque. When coil A is energized, a tooth of the N-
magnetized cap aligns with the S-magnetized tooth of the
stator. At the same time, due to the rotor structure, the S-
magnetized tooth aligns with the N-magnetized tooth of the
stator.
 Stepper Motor
Construction of Stepper Motor
 Stator
 The main characteristics of the stator circuit include its
number of phases and pole pairs, as well as the wire
configuration.
 The number of phases is the number of independent coils,
while the number of pole pairs indicates how main pairs of
 teeth are occupied by each phase
Two-Phase, Single-Pole Pair Stator (Left) and Two-
Phase, Dipole Pair Stator (Right).
 The Letters Show the Magnetic Field Generated when
Positive Voltage is applied between A+ and A-.
 Stepper Motor
Types of Stepper Motor
There are three main types of stepper motors
1. Permanent Magnet Stepper: PM steppers have rotors
that are constructed with permanent magnets
2. Variable Reluctance Stepper: VR stepper rotors are not
built with permanent magnets. Rather, they are
constructed with plain iron and resemble a gear, with
protrusions or “teeth” around the circumference of the
rotor
3. Hybrid Synchronous Stepper: HS stepper rotors use
the best features of both PM and VR steppers. The rotor in
an HS motor has a permanent magnet core, while the
circumference is built from plain iron and has teeth
 Stepper Motor

Working Principle of Stepper Motor

 If we activate the windings step by step in a particular order and
let current flow through them, they will magnetize the stator and
make electromagnetic poles respectively that will cause
propulsion to the motor. That's the basic working principle of a
stepper motor.
 There are several different ways of driving the stepper motor.
1. Wave drive or single coil excitation
 In this mode, just one coil is activated at a time which means that
for this example of motor with 4 coils the rotor will make full
cycle in 4 steps.
 Stepper Motor
Working Principle of Stepper Motor
2. Full step drive mode
 It provides much higher torque output because always have 2
active coils at a given time.
 This doesn't approve the resolution of the stepper and again
the rotor will make a full cycle in 4 step.
3. Half step drive mode
 This mode is actually a combination of the previous two modes.
 Here we have one active coil followed by two active coils and
then again one active coil followed by two active and so on.
 So with this mode we get double the resolution with the same
construction. Now the rotor will make full cycle in 8 steps
 Stepper Motor

Working Principle of Stepper Motor

Controlling
 The most common method of controlling stepper motors
nowadays is the ‘Microstepping’. In this mode we provide
variable controlled current to the coils in a form of sine
wave. This will provide smooth motion of the rotor
decrease the stress of the parts and increase the accuracy of
the stepper motor.
 Another way of increasing the resolution of the stepper
motor is by increasing the numbers of the poles of the rotor
or the members of the poles of the stator.
 Stepper Motor

Advantages of Stepper Motor

 The percentage step error does not accumulate as the motor rotates.
 It is able to run at wide range of speeds, including very slow
speeds without reduction gearing.
 Stepper motor provide excellent response during start, stop and
reverse mode.
 It is highly reliable since no brushes or commutators are used. Its
life time depend on life of the bearing.
 Stepper motor control circuit is simple and low cost. It is mainly
used for low power applications.
 Stepper Motor

Drawbacks or disadvantages
 Noise and vibration
 Resonance occurs if it is not properly controlled.
 Progressive loss of torque at high speeds. Hence it is not easy to
operate at extremely high speeds.

Applications
 3D printing equipment, Textile machines Printing presses Gaming machines,
Medical imaging machinery, Small robotics, CNC milling machines, Welding
equipment.
 References

For BLDC Motor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_motor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronous_motor
https://www.electronicshub.org/brushless-dc-motor-bldc-motor/#Working_Principle
https://www.electricaleasy.com/2015/05/brushless-dc-bldc-motor.html?m=1
https://youtu.be/bCEiOnuODac

For Stepper Motor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepper_motor#Unipolar_motors
https://www.monolithicpower.com/stepper-motors-basics-types-uses
https://
www.motioncontrolonline.org/blog-article.cfm/Understanding-Stepper-Motor-Types-Operating-Modes-for-Motion-Control/88
https://www.rfwireless-world.com/Terminology/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Stepper-Motor.html
https://youtu.be/TWMai3oirnM