Common NEMA Motor Frame Sizes
This chart provides a quick reference for common NEMA motor frame sizes, shaft heights, and typical horsepower ranges. It is useful for conveyor drives, replacement motors, machine retrofits, and early mechanical layout work.
Shaft height is one of the key quick-reference dimensions when checking whether a new motor may physically align with an existing drive system, pulley arrangement, coupling, or base mount.
| Frame | Shaft Height (in) | Typical HP Range |
|---|---|---|
| 56 | 3.5 | 1/3 - 2 HP |
| 143T | 3.5 | 1 - 5 HP |
| 145T | 3.5 | 2 - 7.5 HP |
| 182T | 4.5 | 7.5 - 15 HP |
| 184T | 4.5 | 10 - 20 HP |
| 213T | 5.25 | 20 - 30 HP |
| 215T | 5.25 | 25 - 40 HP |
What this chart helps with
Quick motor replacement review, shaft height checks, early layout planning, and comparing common frame sizes during conveyor or machine design.
What it does not replace
Final confirmation of shaft diameter, bolt pattern, overall body dimensions, enclosure style, service factor, and manufacturer-specific drawing details.
Why it matters
A motor with the right horsepower but the wrong frame can still create mounting, alignment, coupling, and clearance problems on the machine.
Need to size the electrical side too?
Use the motor current and voltage drop tools to move from motor frame and horsepower into feeder, wire, and electrical design checks.
Open Motor Full Load Current CalculatorWhere this fits in a real workflow
This page is most useful early in the process when you are checking whether a replacement motor or proposed drive package is even in the right physical range. After that, you still need to confirm mechanical fit, electrical requirements, motor speed, torque, and the driven load.
For automation equipment, frame size usually works together with current, speed, gearbox selection, and conveyor loading. So this page works best as part of a larger motor and motion sizing cluster, not as a standalone decision point.
Horsepower ranges shown here are practical reference ranges only and can vary by manufacturer, enclosure, motor type, and application.