commutator

A commutator is the moving part of a rotary electrical switch in certain types of electric motors or electrical generators that periodically reverses the current direction between the rotor and the external circuit. Commutators have two or more softer metallic brushes in contact with them to complete the other half of the switch. In a motor, it applies power to the best location on the rotor, and in a generator, picks off power similarly. As a switch, it has exceptionally long life, considering the number of circuit makes and breaks that occur in normal operation.

A commutator is a common feature of direct current rotating machines. By reversing the current direction in the moving coil of a motor's armature, a steady rotating force (torque) is produced. Similarly, in a generator, reversing of the coil's connection to the external circuit provides unidirectional (i.e. direct) current to the external circuit. The first commutator-type direct current machine was built by Hippolyte Pixii in 1832, based on a suggestion by André-Marie Ampère.