Metric motors adhere to IEC standards that are typically used outside the United States.
Major differences between the North American NEMA motor and the European metric models include:
- As the name indicates, metric motor dimensions are measured in metric units, not inches
- IEC uses kilowatts, NEMA uses horsepower
- Mounting is B3, B5 & B14, opposed to C-face and D-flange
- Metric motors commonly place conduit boxes (junction boxes) on the top of the motor
- NEMA motors use words to describe the enclosure (like "totally enclosed); metric motors use number codes. Same thing with cooling designations.
- Regarding duty cycles, NEMA has two (variable and constant) and IEC has ten
- Metric motors are designed to run on 50 hertz, which is fine in most of the world outside the 60hertz-running United States! You can still usually run a THREE PHASE 50hz metric motor on US power, however, you may have to increase the voltage by the same ratio as the frequency. But do not use 50hz single phase motors in a 60hz application - the starting speeds are sized differently.
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