Brushed DC Motor

Electric machine · 1871

Year: 1871
Kind: Electric machine
Materials: Copper windings, iron laminations, ferrite or neodymium magnets, carbon brushes.
Efficiency: 70–85 %; brushes wear and spark.
Used In: Toys, power tools, car windows and wipers, anywhere cheap and small.
Power Density: Moderate.
Cycle: None

How It Works

Current through a coil in a magnetic field feels a sideways force and turns; a commutator — segments the brushes slide over — reverses the current every half turn so the push always goes the same way. Simple, cheap, and easy to control by voltage.

Inventors

Michael Faraday Zénobe Gramme

Equations

Ohm's Law Ampère–Maxwell Law Faraday's Law of Induction Lorentz Force Power Torque

Elements

Neodymium Carbon Copper Iron

Referenced by

element

Carbon Copper Iron Neodymium

equation

Ampère–Maxwell Law Faraday's Law of Induction Lorentz Force Ohm's Law Power Torque

researcher

Michael Faraday Zénobe Gramme

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From the Machines database in Notion, last edited 2026-08-18. This page is the row, rendered by the build; nothing on it is written by hand.