Why Choose Brushless Motor for Drones?

Nowadays, various types of drones and robots are being used more and more widely. Brushless motors are small in size, light in weight and fast in speed, and these features can be said to be very suitable for drones. In this article, we will introduce why brushless DC motors are more suitable for drones.

A brushless DC electric motor (BLDC motor or BL motor), also known as an electronically commutated motor (ECM or EC motor) or synchronous DC motor, is a synchronous motor that uses a direct current (DC) electric power supply. It also uses an electronic controller to switch DC currents to the motor windings producing magnetic fields which effectively rotate in space and which the permanent magnet rotor follows.

Why choose brushless motors for drones?

In contrast to brushed motors, which are simple and have been around for centuries, brushless motors feature a fixed wire and a rotating magnet. Brush motors have fixed magnets and rotating wires. One of the biggest advantages of brushless motors for drones is the lack of friction when the motor is running. Friction brings heat, degradation and frequent maintenance.

Brushless motors for drones have become the industry standard because they deliver better flight performance and durability, as well as lower maintenance issues than brushed motors.

Advantages of choosing brushless motors for drones

With the right combination of brushless motors for drones and electronic speed control, users can experience more performance than brushed motors.

• Reliability: Drones basically choose brushless motors. With brush motors, more than 90% of the failures are in the carbon brushes, which are determined by their design itself. Conditions such as dust ingress, rust, and vibration can lead to poor contact, which in turn can cause problems.
• Long life span: Brush motor's carbon brushes will wear out and need to be renewed regularly, which is obviously unrealistic for the civilian product industry; brushless motors have no such concerns and are almost maintenance-free.
• High efficiency: A Brushless motor has no contact resistance and no heat-generating element such as a carbon brush, so the utilization rate of electric energy is high, up to 90%; while brush motor can only reach 75%, so the brushless motor will have obvious advantages in running time.
• Heat dissipation: Brush motors have to be designed for heat dissipation because a large portion of the electrical energy is converted into heat. This affects the size and increases the weight of the product, which is not feasible for either drones or robots.
• Control accuracy: As a general concept, brushed DC motors have high control accuracy. But we have to look at things dynamically and dialectically. With the popularity of Hall sensors, the accuracy problem has been solved with the perfect match of brushless motors.

Due to their high output power ratios, brushless motors are often used in heavy lift operations for drones. From lifting Hollywood-quality cameras to transporting payloads from ship to shore, heavy-duty applications for drones require high performance and high output. Brushless motors offer many advantages in heavy-duty lifting applications.

Whether building or upgrading, take advantage of brushless motors for drones. ATO offers brushless motors for drones in a variety of sizes and strengths.