The history of DC Motors can be traced back to the 1830's, when Michael Faraday set to devise an experiment to demonstrate whether or not a current carrying wire produced a circular magnetic field around it. Michael Faraday's experiment turned out to be a success; the current carrying wire did produce a circular magnetic field. While Michael Faraday is often credited for the invention of the electric Motors, his experiment is really just a lab demonstration; as you can't harness it for useful work. Several other scientists such as: Joseph Henry and William Sturgeon based their work on Faraday's experiment and theories and by the late nineteenth century the design of DC Motors had become well established. The demand for DC Motors has skyrocketed since than as a necessity in industrial applications.

The operation of all DC Motors is based on electromagnetism. DC Motors have two terminals, when voltage is applied across these two terminals of the DC Motors a proportional speed is outputted to the shaft of the DC Motors. Our DC Motors consists of two pieces; first we have the DC Motors stator which includes the housing, permanent magnets, and brushes and secondly we have the DC Motors rotor which consists of the output shaft, windings and commutator. The DC Motors stator is the stationary part of DC Motors and the DC Motors rotor rotates with respect to the DC Motors stator. When power is applied to the DC Motors rotor windings the polarity of the DC Motors windings and the DC Motors stator magnets are misaligned, and the DC Motors rotor will rotate until it is almost aligned with the stator magnets. As the DC Motors rotors reaches alignment, the brushes in the DC Motors move to the next commutator contacts and energize the next winding causing the current to reverse causing the winding and DC Motors stator magnets to misalign again, this process repeatedly is what keeps our DC Motors rotating.

In DC Motors a carbon brush is a device which conducts current between stationary wires and moving parts. For DC Motors to work, the coils of the DC Motors rotor must be connected to complete an actual circuit. To do this slip rings are affixed to the shaft of the DC Motors, and brushes attached to the rings which will be used to conduct the current. The carbon brush of DC Motors are a critical component of DC Motors but are considered the weak point in DC Motors as well because they are highly susceptible to wear especially when operating outside of operating parameters of the DC Motors. Although these carbon brushes of DC Motors are considered a weak point and can wear, they can also be easily replaced with new carbon brushes for the DC Motors. Although many people consider carbon brushes in DC Motors to be a "Black Art," they still serve a great purpose when subjected to the proper operating conditions. They tend to yield an excellent life and perform an amazing function for your DC Motors.

There are five basic DC motors; DC shunt mount motors, DC series wound motors, DC compound motors, DC permanent magnet motors, and DC separately excited motors. DC shunt wound motors will run at constant speed regardless of the load. With DC series wound motors the speed varies automatically with the load, increasing as the load decreases. This series wound motors are usually limited when heavy power demand is necessary. DC compound Motors are a combination of DC shunt and DC series wound motors by combining the characteristics of both. These DC compound motors are usually used when severe starting conditions are met and constant speed. DC Permanent magnet motors contain permanent magnets inside, hence the name, which eliminates the need for external field current. This design yields smaller, lighter, and energy efficient DC Motors. Lastly DC separately excited Motors are used for high torque capability at low speeds which is achieved by separately generating a high stator field current and enough armature voltage to produce the required rotor torque current.

Although DC Motors have been overshadowed by brushless motors, DC motors are still used in a wide range of applications. Just because we may not see DC motors very often, they really are everywhere ranging from toys to cellular phones to Jacuzzi pumps. Most automatic car windows and automatic seat adjustments are operated by DC motors. DC motors have been an automotive industry favorite because of their relatively low cost and simple design. DC motors come in all different sizes all with different torque and speed specifications; so whatever your application may be, there most likely are DC motors that will meet your demands.