Small Electric Motor Naming
From Combat Robot
Usually, motors for sublightweight robots are referred to by a system of manufacturer's codes. Often, the motor size increases with increasing numbering, but the labels are non-intuitive and often proprietary to the manufacturer. Multiple numbers given to the same size motor often are a source of confusion for builders that are attempting to identify a particular motor.
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Manufacturers
In the world of small "can" motors for hobby and industry, there are three large manufacturers whose naming system is used to identify motors. They are:
Mabuchi Motors Co. Ltd. is the largest, having cornered over half the world's small can motor market. Much of the numbering comes from Mabuchi's system.
Johnson Electric S.A. is a manufacturer of a wide range of electric motors, and their miniature can motors form a part of the hobby motor codes.
Graupner Models AG, a German R/C hobby manufacturer and the vendor of the "SPEED" line of motors, which are often manufactured by Mabuchi. The "Speed" system uses a derivative of Johnson Electric and Mabuchi codes and are the most commonly seen in the hobby industry.
Motor sizes
These numbers are used in the R/C hobby industry to refer to motor sizes for airplanes, boats and cars. These are common brushed ferrite motors, though rare-earth magnet motors and brushless motors will also use the same system. Dimensions are a rough guide and are excluding shaft and pilot nub. Given manufacturer's codes are of the most common variation as most of these have different submodels.
Only motors that are commonly used in bots are included.
100
- 130: Commonly used for micro-scale R/C vehicles. These motors are found in Tamiya drive gearboxes and small motorized toys and novelties.
Mabuchi: FA-130RA
Graupner: Nonstandard
Johnson: NF-140G
Dimensions: 20.1mm W x 15.1mm H x 25.0mm L
- 180: Micro-scale R/C airplane motor. Also found in R/C servos in a low power version.
Mabuchi: RF-020TH
Graupner: Speed 180
Johnson: Nonstandard
Dimensions: 17.1mm D x 18.5mm L
200
- 260: Micro-scale R/C airplane and car motor. Found in Tamiya gearboxes, these are common insect-bot drive motors.
Mabuchi: RE/RC-260RA
Graupner: Speed 260
Johnson: Nonstandard
Dimensions: 23.7mm D x 27mm L
- 280: R/C airplane and car motor. High-powered small robot drives, R/C toys.
Mabuchi: RC-280RA
Graupner: Speed 280
Johnson:
Dimensions: 23.8mm D x 30.5mm L
300
Mabuchi: RK-370SD
Graupner: Speed 300
Johnson:
Dimensions: 24.4mm D x 30.8mm L
- 380: Common drive motor for Hobbyweight and below. Synonymous with the Speed 400, but usually lower power.
Mabuchi: RS-380SH
Graupner: Speed 380
Johnson:
Dimensions: 27.7mm D x 37.8mm L
400
- 400: The common "Speed 400" motor used for insect-class weapons and larger class drive motors.
Mabuchi: RS-380SH
Graupner: Speed 400
Johnson:
Dimensions: 27.7mm D x 37.8mm L
- 480: "400 Long Can" motor commonly used to modify drill motors for higher power operation.
Mabuchi: Nonstandard
Graupner: Speed 480
Johnson:
Dimensions: 27.7mm D x 47.3mm L
500
600
700
Larger
//Work in progress
