Brushless types now lead China DC motor production

Lighter, smaller but more powerful brushless motors have overtaken brushed kinds, with output share reaching nearly 60 percent.

Brushless motors have sped past their conventional brushed counterparts in China's DC motor line, taking over the mainstream with about 60 percent share of output midway through the year. Upgrades in various applications are driving this development, creating a bigger market for such motors that are distinctly more lightweight, compact, robust, low-noise, efficient and reliable than their traditional rivals. Wide speed range and maintenance-free operation are the type's other advantages.

Along with boosting turnout for the segment, local makers are working to lower prices to improve competitiveness. A number have adopted fractional instead of integral slot winding technique to reduce the materials used and consequently product weight and pricing.

Suppliers emphasize high reliability and stability as well. Dongguan Dihui Electronics Co. Ltd offers an impedance-protected unit with 5V rated voltage, 0.12A rated current and 0.6W rated input power. The 2,000rpm model has a built-in safety feature against overcurrent and can be made water-resistant, depending on buyers' requirement. Its life span is between 20,000 and 50,000 hours.

With performance and physical enhancements, the brushless motor category is expected to replace its peers, initially in home appliances and medical equipment. It will displace single-phase asynchronous motors in vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, blenders and electric fans, and single-phase universal motors in medical applications in the next several years.

Shenzhen Edge Smart Drive Co. Ltd's brushless units account for 80 percent of shipments of its DC motors, and this will increase by 10 percent in the months ahead. In the case of Ningbo Jirun Electric Machine Co. Ltd, the portion is 33 percent and with Autom Tech. Industry Co. Ltd 20 percent.

Besides home appliances and medical equipment, BLDC motors are broadly used in the industrial and automotive sectors. The last includes electric vehicles.

Demand from these markets is projected to keep climbing and will ensure annual growth of sales value above 10 percent for mainland China's brushless motor industry. Deliveries of units for electric vehicles and drones, in particular, are anticipated to increase by more than 15 percent in the next two to three years.

The mainland is an important manufacturing hub for the line, responsible for over 40 percent of global shipments. The key markets include Europe, North America, and East and Southeast Asia, while the Middle East, Russia and South America are emerging destinations. Shipments to the last three are projected to rise by 10 to 15 percent.

More than 400 companies there turn out brushless motors and at least 70 percent are domestic enterprises led by large makers such as Moons, Wolong, Topband and Zhejiang Special Electric Motor. The rest of the pool is dominated by makers from Japan and Taiwan. The major foreign players include Misumi, Oriental Motor and Nidec. All suppliers are also engaged in the production of other types of motors. BLDC units have between 30 and 80 percent share of their shipments.

The main production hubs for the line are in Ningbo city in Zhejiang province, and Shenzhen and Dongguan in Guangdong province.