Fractional Horsepower Motors & The Wild West

August 27, 2013

Every fractional horsepower motor manufacturer has a catalog of standard “off the shelf” products. But, there really is no standard product when it comes to fractional hp motors.

Groschopp, your fractional hp motor supplierYou also may have noticed that there are no standards when it comes to motor specifications. Throughout the industry, you can find Watts, Horsepower, Newton Meters, Inch Pounds, and that doesn’t even cover all the available voltages for both AC motors and DC motors. How do you determine that a DC motor is a better fit for your purpose than the AC motor you originally spec’d out? And did you know that most of the rated specs are for continuous duty, while only a modest number of motor applications actually fall into that category, so you may be choosing an overpowered, more expensive motor than you actually need?

In many ways fractional hp motors are the “Wild West” of the motion industry.

Because there’s no true standard fractional hp motor it stands to reason that there’s no standard application. Yes, applications are similar, but every design requires something different from the motor. And while some will try to sell you “off the shelf” motors that are in stock with same day shipping, those most likely aren’t the best fit for your application. At Groschopp, we review your speed, torque and size requirements, but we also dig deeper. Our technical sales staff works alongside our full service engineering department to uncover the best motor for your application. Using a proprietary software, we can establish which of our 150,000+ possible motor/gear motor designs will be the most efficient and cost-effective for you.

At Groschopp, we know application design isn’t a one-size-fits-all industry, and we strive to provide custom motor solutions with standard advantages.

How to use the Motor Search Tool

Narrow your search by selecting motor type, gearbox, voltage, and phase options for your desired motor.

Select a dominant variable: choose one of the three parameters to narrow your search. The selected variable determines which slider bar you will be able to manually move.

Use the slider corresponding to your dominant variable to further narrow your motor selection. The other sliders will automatically move to show available ranges based on the range of your selected variable.

Results will upload as your search criteria changes. If you have any questions regarding your results or how to use the search tool, you can chat with us using the green tab on the left-hand side of your screen.


Note: Groschopp Universal motors are custom built to fit your application so no additional options are available to narrow the search. Selecting the Universal motor type will prompt a message taking you to the Universal product page.

Not sure what you need?

One of our team members would be happy to help. Contact us at 800-829-4135 or by email at sales@groschopp.com. You can also chat with us using the green tab on the left side of your screen.

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Universal Motors

Groschopp Universal motors are custom built to fit your application so no additional options are available to narrow the search. Standard frame sizes and motor features can be found on the Universal page.

go to Universal page