What type of ACgt;DC power supply should be used to drive a DC motor? I have seen switched and linear power supplies. Some are regulated and others non-regulated. I want to use this instead of the large car size battery the motor currently uses.
It depends on the power requirement, but if it is very large I would recommend a switching supply. Linear supplies are very inefficient.
Any kind of supply will work. But get one that has at least twice the current capacity the motor spec lists, as more current is needed for startup. Unregulated will work, but you will get small speed variations as the line voltage varies.
