Unlock the Potential of Electrical Machines: A Guide to Motors for Makers

Kevin Gray: I'm halfway through the book. I ordered this because I have an interest in how these things work; I may convert my manual Bridgeport table to a powered table. The text is technical and in-depth no doubt. I don't think the author skipped anything; however, it's not 'Motors for Dummies.' You will get much more from this book if you already have a basic knowledge or understanding of how these things work.

United States on Sep 05, 2023

MrsSC: Bought this for my husband who is a mad keen model engineer. He was delighted with it, full of useful information. Said it was better than he expected it to be.

United Kingdom on Dec 31, 2022

Pablo Cafiso: Great for hobbyists as well as for anyone interested on getting a first look at how motors work. Just enough math and physics to make for good quality knowledge but not so much as to make your head spin and your brain hurt lol.
And it comes with some really cool projects too- most interesting of which; in mu humble opinion; detailed instructions for building a quad-copter.

Canada on Dec 24, 2022

marco mariani: L'ho acquistato per approfondire l'utilizzo dei motori stepper e devo dire che questi vengono trattati molto bene.
Gli esempi di utilizzo con Arduino sono interessanti, anche se avrei preferito qualche citazione pratica in più.

Italy on Nov 28, 2022

Javier Sabate: És realment molt instructiu i m'ha servit

Spain on Oct 15, 2021

Lawrence K.: This book is perfect for promoting a hobbyist to a maker. It goes into just the right amount of detail for each type of motor and controller system to empower the maker to choose the right parts for a project. Chapter 12 was my favorite, where the author builds from scratch a controller for a brushless motor, including the electronics, PCB, theory, math, and code. Most makers won't make one of these, but they still benefit from knowing what's going on under the hood. Definitely recommended.

United States on Jun 05, 2018

William L. Waters: It was an easy read and helped to better define a few things about motors that I did not understand. If you are new to motors as a hobbyist, this would be a good starting book to read. I would of liked a bit more technical 'stuff' in the book and that is why I gave it a 4. Still the the money and time to read.

United States on Jan 02, 2018

Karim SultanKarim Sultan: What a great book. And that's really my whole review. It's just one of those books you buy and don't expect to rely so much on, and it reads front-to-back quite well (even when Scarpino branches into different dev-boards). So that's my summary: what a great book.

Scarpino worried me at the start of the book when he said he was going to be light on theory and focus on practical - I'm a math guy and I like the foundation hand-in-hand with application - but surprisingly, he covers the theory and the math - and does it in a concise manner that makes it digestible, usable and non-erudite. That's what Scarpino is surprisingly good at; in the manner of legends like Paul Horowitz and Simon Monk, Scarpino can take the uber-complex and present the core essence with a brevity and focus that astounds, leaving me often thinking, "that's all there is to that?" He even provides his email address for comments.

The first half of the book covers all major motor topics (DC / AC, brush / brushless, phased, permanent magnets, etc...) and details each of the major classifications (DC/AC motors, steppers, servos, gearmotors, linear actuators, etc...). The no-nonsense illustrations are...

Canada on Jun 20, 2017

htfly: Mathew scarpino.
I cannot explain in words how great the knowledge is in your writing. Your passion to express this knowledge is extremely deep. You are a maestro. This book is an encyclopedia of not only motors, but electronic controls. It's taken me through the mental footnotes from general science in the 8th grade to PhD level motion control. There is a multitude of computer code, analysis, and theory. You've made it a point to keep me interested. You are a Renaissance man, and allowed your knowledge to be passed down. You are a professor, and an enabler. Thank you for sharing this wealth of knowledge.
You've made me feel limitless.

United States on Sep 03, 2016

Renaud: From the description I was expecting a more thorough reference, but it's probably my own fault for expecting something that the book was not really.
However, this little book contains a lot of very useful and practical information about motors and how to interface and control them from your projects.
Because the book refers to some current-day equipment like Raspberry Pi, Arduino, etc some chapters may get obsolete in a few years, so I hope the author and editors will continue to make updates.
Basically, I didn't know a lot about motors and found the book very clear, without undue theory, and very pragmatic.
Recommended!

United States on Apr 24, 2016