The Basics of Electric Motor Control

Most engineers and industrial technicians are quite familiar with electric motors – those devices that accept electrical input to generate mechanical (typically rotational) output. After all, much of the modern world is powered by them: Electric motors are found in everything from consumer-grade blenders to electric vehicles to heavy industrial equipment. But how are all these motors controlled? Understanding the differences between motor control definitions (which often depend on context) can help engineers and plant personnel alike make better component and system selections for a given application.