Custom Motor Manufacturer: Get the Right Motor for Your Equipment

When a standard motor cannot fully match your equipment, choosing a custom motor manufacturer can help you solve problems that are difficult to address with an off-the-shelf motor. Instead of changing your equipment to fit a standard motor, you can work with the manufacturer to develop a motor around your actual mechanical, electrical, and operating requirements.

For B2B equipment manufacturers, motor customization is usually not limited to one parameter such as power or voltage. Shaft dimensions, lead wires, mounting holes, gearbox structure, noise, vibration, speed, protection level, and installation space can all influence whether the final motor works properly in your equipment.

This is why the right custom motor supplier should have both motor design capability and manufacturing capability. You need a supplier that can understand your application, develop a suitable motor structure, and then produce the same design consistently when your project moves from prototype to mass production.

1. Why Do You Need a Custom Motor?

A motor is only one part of your equipment, but its performance can have a direct effect on the entire machine. If the motor is too large, does not provide enough torque, produces too much noise, or cannot fit your existing mechanical structure, a standard motor may create additional design problems.

A customized motor gives you more freedom to match the motor with your equipment instead of making the equipment fit the motor.

Different industries also have very different priorities. A household appliance may focus on compact size and low noise, while an industrial machine may require high torque and long operating life. Medical equipment may place greater importance on stable speed and low vibration, whereas agricultural equipment may require stronger environmental protection.

Typical Custom Motor Applications

The important point is that customization should start with your application rather than with the motor itself. A professional manufacturer should first understand what your equipment needs to achieve and then determine which motor structure and configuration can meet those requirements.

2. What Should You Confirm When Customizing a Motor?

When you contact a custom motor manufacturer, providing only "24V, 100W motor" is usually not enough to develop an accurate solution.

Two motors can have the same voltage and power but perform very differently because of their shaft structure, speed, torque, winding design, gearbox, cooling conditions, or installation method.

The following specifications are therefore worth confirming before the motor design begins.

Shaft Diameter, Length and Shape

The output shaft needs to connect correctly with your mechanical components. Even a small difference in shaft dimensions can make the motor difficult or impossible to install.

You may need to confirm the shaft diameter, total length, output length, keyway, thread, flat section, and other special machining requirements. If you already have a mechanical drawing, providing the drawing is usually the clearest way to communicate these requirements.

BG Motor can machine the shaft according to customer drawings, including the required diameter, length, and shape.

Lead Wires and Connectors

The lead wire is another detail that is easy to overlook during the early design stage. However, when the motor is installed inside a compact machine, the position and direction of the cable can affect the entire assembly.

You may need to confirm:

• Lead wire length
• Number of wires
• Wire specification
• Connector type
• Cable exit position
• Cable direction

If your equipment has limited internal space, it is better to define these requirements before the motor enters production.

Voltage, Power, Speed and Torque

Electrical parameters should be considered together with the actual mechanical load.

For example, if your equipment requires high starting torque, selecting a motor only according to rated power may not give you the expected performance. You should also provide the required operating speed, load characteristics, working cycle, and torque requirements.

BG Motor's customized brushless DC motor solutions cover a power range of 5W–20KW and a rated speed range of 20–100,000 RPM, depending on the motor design. Its customized brushed DC motor solutions cover 1W–1000W and 1,500–6,000 RPM.

3. Gearbox Type and Gearbox Length Are Also Important

If your equipment requires high torque at a relatively low output speed, you may need to combine the motor with a gearbox.

However, choosing a gearbox is not simply a matter of selecting a reduction ratio. The gearbox must also fit your available installation space and match the required output torque.

For a custom geared motor, you may need to confirm the gearbox type, reduction ratio, total gearbox length, output shaft size, mounting structure, and required output torque.

BG Motor provides several geared motor solutions, including DC brushless planetary geared motors, brushless RV geared motors, DC brushed planetary gear motors, and DC brushed worm geared motors. Gearboxes can also be integrated with other components in a complete motor solution.

Common Gearbox Options

The gearbox length deserves special attention because a gearbox that is technically suitable may still be unusable if the complete motor assembly is longer than the available installation space.

4. Motor Size and Mounting Structure

Many equipment manufacturers have a fixed mechanical structure, so the motor must fit within a defined space.

In this situation, you should provide the maximum allowable motor diameter, total length, mounting hole position, mounting hole diameter, front and rear cover requirements, and installation direction.

BG Motor can customize mounting-hole locations within a reasonable range and can adapt the motor for horizontal or vertical installation according to the equipment requirements.

If you already have a 2D or 3D drawing, sharing it with the manufacturer can make the customization process much more accurate because the engineering team can review the actual installation space instead of working from a simple description.

5. Noise and Vibration Should Be Defined Early

For some industrial machines, a certain amount of motor noise may be acceptable. However, the situation is different when you are developing medical equipment, household appliances, HVAC systems, cleaning equipment, or other products that are used close to people.

In these applications, motor noise and vibration can affect the user experience as well as the performance of the final product.

Therefore, instead of simply asking for a "quiet motor," you should provide a specific noise or vibration target whenever possible.

BG Motor states that it provides customized solutions for noise, vibration, and speed, with a stated noise target of ≤40 dB and vibration specification of 6.1 mm/s². Actual performance depends on the motor design and test conditions.

6. Protection Level and Insulation Requirements

The operating environment should also be considered before the motor is designed.

If your equipment operates in a dusty, humid, outdoor, or otherwise demanding environment, the motor may need a suitable protection level. You should also consider operating temperature, insulation requirements, and continuous operating conditions.

BG Motor states that its customized brushless DC motors can reach up to IP68, depending on the requirements, while customized brushed DC motors can reach up to IP65.

These values should not be treated as universal specifications for every motor. The final protection level should be confirmed according to the specific motor structure and application.

7. BG Motor: More Than 30 Years of Motor Manufacturing Experience

For a custom motor project, engineering design is only the first step. Your supplier also needs to have enough manufacturing experience to turn the design into a stable product and maintain consistent quality during mass production.

Founded in 1994, BG Motor is a China-based motor manufacturer integrating R&D, production, and sales. According to the company's information, BG Motor has developed into a manufacturer with a 12,000 m² factory, automated production lines, and more than 30 years of experience in motor manufacturing.

BG Motor's manufacturing experience has been built over decades rather than through a short-term expansion. The company began with sewing machine motors in 1994, expanded its factory to 12,000 m² during 2000–2005, and subsequently introduced further automated production upgrades.

Experienced Manufacturing Workers

Advanced equipment is important, but motor manufacturing also depends heavily on the experience of the people who operate, inspect, assemble, and improve the production processes.

BG Motor has a group of experienced frontline workers who have stayed with the company through its long development. Their accumulated practical experience is an important part of the company's manufacturing capability, particularly when production requires close attention to component dimensions, assembly quality, and process consistency.

This combination of experienced workers, automated production equipment, engineering expertise, and quality control gives a custom motor manufacturer a stronger foundation for handling OEM projects.

Professional R&D Capability

BG Motor's engineering team includes power engineers, structural engineers, and mechanical engineers. The company states that its engineers have more than 20 years of motor-industry experience and use electromagnetic simulation software such as ANSYS, JMAG, Motor-CAD, and EasiMotor.

This allows the engineering team to consider both electromagnetic performance and mechanical requirements when developing a customized motor.

8. A Custom Motor Manufacturer Should Be Able to Provide an Integrated Solution

When you develop equipment, you may not want to communicate separately with a motor supplier, gearbox supplier, encoder supplier, brake supplier, and drive supplier.

A manufacturer that can integrate these components can reduce communication between different suppliers and make it easier for you to manage the complete motor system.

BG Motor can provide integrated solutions involving:

• Motor
• Gearbox
• Brake
• Encoder
• Drive
• Reducer
• Connector

This is especially useful when your equipment requires the motor, transmission, and control components to work together as one system.

9. What Should You Send to a Custom Motor Manufacturer?

You do not need to have every motor parameter finalized before contacting a manufacturer.

If you are still in the equipment development stage, you can provide the application and the main requirements first. The engineering team can then discuss which specifications need to be further confirmed.

If you have a 2D drawing, 3D CAD file, existing motor sample, or equipment specification, you can send it together with these requirements. The more clearly the application is defined, the easier it is for the manufacturer to evaluate the motor solution.