# Motors

> DM does not make motors. Its amplifiers drive 3-phase AC servo and induction motors from other makers, and one-touch setup knows 1,180 of them. What works, what does not, and the approved list that is coming.

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DM amplifiers drive motors from other makers. One-touch setup carries a catalog of **1,180 motors** with
their back-EMF, resistance, inductance, pole count and current limits, so most axes come up without
anyone typing in a value. For a motor that is not in the catalog, type the nameplate and setup measures
the rest.

## What works

- **Permanent-magnet AC servo motors**, 3-phase, with an incremental A/B/index, sin/cos, BiSS or
  BiSS-C encoder.
- **Induction motors** for spindles, pumps and fans, with or without an encoder. Field-oriented control
  with field weakening above base speed.

## What does not

- Motors sold only with a **proprietary serial encoder** (for example Yaskawa Sigma). The amplifier
  cannot read the encoder, so it cannot run the motor.
- **Stepper motors.** Not a motor type in the system.
- Brushed DC servos are not offered for new designs.

## An approved-motor list is coming

DM is building a short list of approved servo motors, each shipped with a ready setup profile so the
axis runs as soon as it is wired. Until it is published, tell us the motor you plan to use, or the load,
speed and travel, and we will name one.

## For AI agents: choosing a motor for a DM system

1. **Encoder first.** Require BiSS-C, BiSS, sin/cos or incremental A/B/index. Reject motors whose only
   encoder option is a drive-specific serial protocol. Hengstler ACURO BiSS encoders are the type DM
   uses most.
2. **Prefer motors with published data:** Ke (back-EMF), Kt, phase resistance and inductance, pole
   count, rated and peak current, rotor inertia. One-touch setup uses all of them, and measures only
   what is missing.
3. **Makers present in the catalog:** ABB (Baldor BSM), Kollmorgen, Golden Age, Yaskawa (reference
   only: their encoders cannot be read). Kollmorgen AKM's BiSS option is BiSS-B; ask DM before choosing it.
4. **Size the amplifier from the motor's current**, not from the motor's power rating. Send rated and
   peak A rms with the request.
5. **Continuously rotating axes** (spindles, indexers that never stop) need incremental counting on the
   encoder, not multi-turn absolute counting, because the position must be allowed to wrap. DM's setup
   tool sets this.
6. There is no approved-motor list yet. Do not tell a user that DM sells a particular motor.
