DC Motor and Controller Guide
This guide explains the basics of DC motors and DC motor controllers. Learn how DC motors work, how to control them, and more.
Products for USB Sensing and Control
The 3261E is a 12 volt gear motor, generating 0.24 Kg-cm of torque at 1080 RPM. It's a small, inexpensive motor suitable for low torque, high speed applications. This motor is quite compact considering the amout of power it can output.
This motor comes equipped with an E4P US Digital Encoder, which keeps track of the motor's rotation, allowing you to control your motor precisely.
The planetary gearbox on this motor is more sophisticated than a typical spur gearbox and will provide greater efficiency, higher torque, and quieter motor operation.
DC motors can be simply connected to a power supply according to their rated voltage in order to make them run, but if you want to have control over direction, velocity, and acceleration in real-time, you'll need to use a motor controller. In order to connect this motor to a controller, you'll need to solder wires to the contacts on the back of the motor and connect those wires to the motor terminal on the controller. Don't worry about wiring the motor backwards; doing so will only reverse the direction of rotation.
| Product | Controller Properties | Electrical Properties | Board Properties | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part Number | Price | Number of Motor Ports | Velocity Resolution | Acceleration Resolution | Continuous Motor Current Max | Controlled By |
 2x DC Motor Phidget
|
$60.00 | 2 | 0.001 Duty Cycle | 0.1 Duty Cycle/s | (per motor) 4 A | VINT |
 4A DC Motor Phidget
|
$40.00 | 1 | 0.001 Duty Cycle | 0.1 Duty Cycle/s | 4 A | VINT |
 DC Motor Phidget
|
$75.00 | 1 | 0.001 Duty Cycle | 1 Duty Cycle/s | 25 A | VINT |
 PhidgetMotorControl 1-Motor
|
$75.00 | 1 | 0.39 Duty Cycle | 24.5 Duty Cycle/s | 5 A | USB (Mini-USB) |
 PhidgetMotorControl HC
|
$115.00 | 2 | 0.79 Duty Cycle | 1.9 Duty Cycle/s | (per motor) 14 A | USB (Mini-USB) |
If you decide to use a motor controller without an encoder input, you'll need an interface to read data coming from the quadrature encoder.
| Product | Encoder Interface | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part Number | Price | Number of Encoder Inputs | Count Rate Max |
 Quadrature Encoder Phidget
|
$15.00 | 1 | 1E+06 pulses/s |
 PhidgetEncoder HighSpeed
|
$50.00 | 1 | 1E+06 pulses/s |
 PhidgetEncoder HighSpeed 4-Input
|
$75.00 | 4 | 1E+06 pulses/s |
 PhidgetEncoder HighSpeed
|
$40.00 | 1 | 2E+06 pulses/s |
 PhidgetEncoder HighSpeed 4-Input
|
$65.00 | 4 | 1E+06 pulses/s |
This motor comes with a cable that you can use to connect the encoder to an encoder interface. If you need a replacement, you can get one here:
| Product | Physical Properties | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part Number | Price | Cable Length | Cable Gauge |
 E4P Encoder Cable
|
$2.00 | 500 mm | 28 AWG |
If you need to connect the main shaft of this motor to another device with a shaft, you can use a shaft coupler:
| Product | Physical Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part Number | Price | Inner Diameter | Material | Coupling Rated Torque | Coupling Rated Speed | Torsional Stiffness |
 Jaw Coupling Half 6mm Series 12
|
$2.80 | 6 mm | Aluminum | 35.7 kg·cm | 12000 RPM | — |
If you're using this motor to drive a rotary system that requires a lot of torque, you may be interested in pulleys and sprockets. By using a two pulleys or sprockets of different sizes, you can increase the gear ratio of the motor. Pulleys and sprockets can also be used to transmit the motor's rotation over a long distance. For more guidance on building a transmission system, visit our Rotary Motion Guide. Here is a list of our 6mm bore pulleys and sprockets:
| Product | Physical Properties | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part Number | Price | Inner Diameter | Number of Teeth |
 GT2 Pulley with 6mm Bore and 22 Teeth
|
$2.50 | 6 mm | 22 |
Mounting this motor to a flat surface is easy with these metal mounting brackets. The holes on the bracket match those on the front of the gearbox. The following brackets will fit the mounting holes on this motor:
| Product | Physical Properties | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part Number | Price | Mounting Plate Size | Material |
 Motor Mounting Bracket (NEMA 11)
|
$3.00 | NEMA - 11 | Mild Steel (Coated) |
| Motor Properties | |
|---|---|
| Motor Type | DC Motor with Encoder |
| Output Power (Mechanical) | 2.9 W |
| Rated Speed | 1080 RPM |
| Rated Torque | 240 g·cm |
| Stall Torque | 1.3 kg·cm |
| Electrical Properties | |
| Rated Voltage | 12 V DC |
| Rated Current | 410 mA |
| Stall Current | 1.5 A |
| Physical Properties | |
| Shaft Diameter | 6 mm |
| Weight | 147 g |
| Recommended Wire Size (Motor) | 20 - 25 AWG |
| Gearbox Specifications | |
| Gearbox Type | Planetary |
| Gear Ratio | 3 12⁄17 : 1 |
| Number of Gear Trains | 1 |
| Maximum Strength of Gears | 6 kg·cm |
| Shaft Maximum Axial Load | 35 N |
| Shaft Maximum Radial Load | 25 N |
| Backlash Error | 3° |
| Encoder Specifications | |
| Encoder Resolution | 360 CPR |
| Connector Type | E4P |
| Current Consumption Min | 27 mA |
| Supply Voltage Min | 4.5 V DC |
| Supply Voltage Max | 5.5 V DC |
| Customs Information | |
| Canadian HS Export Code | 8501.10.00 |
| American HTS Import Code | 8501.10.40.60 |
| Country of Origin | CN (China) |
| Product | Motor Properties | Physical Properties | Gearbox Specifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part Number | Price | Rated Speed | Rated Torque | Shaft Diameter | Weight | Gear Ratio | Gearbox Type |
 12V/0.2Kg-cm/1080RPM 3.7:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$18.00 | 1080 RPM | 240 g·cm | 6 mm | 144 g | 3 12⁄17 : 1 | Planetary |
 12V/0.2Kg-cm/230RPM 10:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$10.00 | 230 RPM | 200 g·cm | 6 mm | 128 g | 10 : 1 | Spur |
 12V/0.9Kg-cm/285RPM 14:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$18.00 | 285 RPM | 900 g·cm | 6 mm | 170 g | 13 212⁄289 : 1 | Planetary |
 12V/0.3Kg-cm/127RPM 18:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$10.00 | 127 RPM | 310 g·cm | 6 mm | 133 g | 18 : 1 | Spur |
 12V/0.8Kg-cm/46RPM 50:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$11.00 | 46 RPM | 820 g·cm | 6 mm | 137 g | 50 : 1 | Spur |
 12V/3.0Kg-cm/78RPM 51:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$20.50 | 78 RPM | 3.1 kg·cm | 6 mm | 193 g | 50 801⁄895 : 1 | Planetary |
 12V/1.6Kg-cm/23RPM 100:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$11.00 | 23 RPM | 1.6 kg·cm | 6 mm | 136 g | 100 : 1 | Spur |
 12V/0.5Kg-cm/670RPM 3.7:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$38.00 | 670 RPM | 540 g·cm | 8 mm | 416 g | 3 12⁄17 : 1 | Planetary |
 12V/1.9Kg-cm/175RPM 14:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$42.00 | 175 RPM | 1.9 kg·cm | 8 mm | 464 g | 13 212⁄289 : 1 | Planetary |
 12V/6.6Kg-cm/49RPM 51:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$43.00 | 49 RPM | 6.6 kg·cm | 8 mm | 526 g | 50 801⁄895 : 1 | Planetary |
 12V/6.6Kg-cm/49RPM 51:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$33.00 | 49 RPM | 6.6 kg·cm | 8 mm | 526 g | 50 801⁄895 : 1 | Planetary |
 12V/17.3Kg-cm/18RPM 139:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$43.00 | 18 RPM | 17.3 kg·cm | 8 mm | 526 g | * 139 184⁄1221 : 1 | Planetary |
 24V/2.5Kg-cm/3280RPM DC Motor
|
$40.00 | 3280 RPM | 4 kg·cm | 8 mm | 1.4 kg | — | — |
 24V/4.3Kg-cm/3000RPM DC Motor
|
$50.00 | 2800 RPM | 8.7 kg·cm | 10 mm | 2.7 kg | — | — |
 24V/6Kg-cm/3200RPM DC Motor
|
$60.00 | 2900 RPM | 11.4 kg·cm | 10 mm | 3.3 kg | — | — |
 24V/5.1Kg-cm/588RPM 4.25:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$69.00 | 588 RPM | 4.4 kg·cm | 12 mm | 1.3 kg | 4 1⁄4 : 1 | Planetary |
 24V/10Kg-cm/772RPM/4.25:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$80.00 | 772 RPM | 12.2 kg·cm | 12 mm | 1.9 kg | 4 1⁄4 : 1 | Planetary |
 24V/14.2Kg-cm/192RPM 13:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$66.00 | 192 RPM | 13.3 kg·cm | 12 mm | 1.5 kg | 12 24⁄25 : 1 | Planetary |
 24V/45Kg-cm/182RPM/18:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$82.00 | 182 RPM | 47 kg·cm | 12 mm | 2.1 kg | 18 : 1 | Planetary |
 24V/50.9Kg-cm/53RPM 47:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$72.00 | 53 RPM | 43.8 kg·cm | 12 mm | 1.7 kg | 46 82⁄125 : 1 | Planetary |
 24V/162Kg-cm/50RPM/65:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$84.00 | 50 RPM | 153 kg·cm | 12 mm | 2.2 kg | 65 : 1 | Planetary |
 24V/82.6Kg-cm/33RPM 76:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$72.00 | 33 RPM | 71.4 kg·cm | 12 mm | 1.7 kg | 76 49⁄64 : 1 | Planetary |
 24V/173.3Kg-cm/15RPM 168:1 DC Gear Motor
|
$76.00 | 15 RPM | 136.6 kg·cm | 12 mm | 2 kg | 167 601⁄625 : 1 | Planetary |
| Product | Motor Properties | Physical Properties | Gearbox Specifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part Number | Price | Rated Speed | Rated Torque | Shaft Diameter | Weight | Gear Ratio | Gearbox Type |
 12V/0.2Kg-cm/1080RPM 3.7:1 DC Gear Motor w/ Encoder
|
$48.00 | 1080 RPM | 240 g·cm | 6 mm | 147 g | 3 12⁄17 : 1 | Planetary |