Motor Mounts
Motor mounting plates, NEMA and IEC adapters, stepper and servo brackets, and the couplings that connect a motor shaft to a ball screw or gearbox input. The unglamorous end of a retrofit, and the part that most often decides whether the finished machine holds position.
A motor mount has two jobs: hold the motor rigidly, and hold its shaft concentric with what it drives. The first is easy. The second is where retrofits go wrong — a plate that is a millimetre off centre puts a side load on both bearings and, with a rigid coupling, transmits that misalignment into the ball screw as a bending load it was never designed to carry. Either machine the mount concentric, or use a coupling that tolerates the error.
Oldham and beam couplings absorb small misalignment with zero backlash, which is what a positioning axis needs. Jaw couplings absorb more but introduce a little lost motion. Rigid couplings assume the alignment is genuinely correct.
Sourced to order. Send the motor frame size and the driven shaft diameter.
Lines in this category
- NEMA 17, 23, 34 mounting plates
- IEC frame adapters
- Stepper and servo brackets
- Oldham couplings
- Beam couplings
- Jaw couplings
- Rigid couplings
- Belt-drive reduction kits
- Motor damping mounts
Products
We source this line to order
We do not hold this category in stock, and we would rather say so than list parts we cannot ship. Send a part list, a specification or a photograph and we will quote it with a lead time — this is a line we supply regularly to order.
How to choose
Match the plate to the motor frame — NEMA sizes are fixed, IEC frames are not always what the nameplate suggests, so measure the bolt pattern. Then choose the coupling by what the axis is for. A positioning axis needs zero backlash, so Oldham or beam. A conveyor or pump drive can use a jaw coupling and benefit from its damping. Only use a rigid coupling when both shafts are supported in bearings that were bored in the same setup. Then check the coupling's bore range covers both shafts.
Frequently asked
Which coupling for a ball screw axis?
An Oldham or beam coupling. Both absorb the small misalignment a fabricated mount leaves while adding no backlash, and backlash on a positioning axis shows up directly as dimensional error on the part.
Can I use a rigid coupling if I machine the mount carefully?
Only if both shafts are supported in bearings bored in the same setup. Otherwise the residual misalignment becomes a bending load on the ball screw and a side load on the motor bearing, and both fail early.
Do you supply NEMA-to-IEC adapter plates?
Available to order, machined to the two bolt patterns and the required shaft centre height. Send both frame designations and state whether the shaft heights must match.