Guide to Selecting The Right Hydraulic Motor

How To Pick the Right Hydraulic Motor for Your Application

Selecting the right hydraulic motor for your application may not be as straightforward as you wish it were, but getting it right is critical to the overall performance of your machine. While it is likely that more than one design will work, which is the best design for your application? With so many types of motors to choose from…axial piston, bent-axis piston, radial piston, gerotor style, geroller style, gear… it can be confusing.

While rules of thumb are always useful, if you want the best and most efficient motor for your application, start with the basics and gather the answers to the following questions:

  1. How much torque will the motor need to generate and will this be continuous or intermittent in nature?
  2. If applying the motor in an existing system, what is the operating pressure?
  3. If applying the motor in a new design, what will be the design pressure of the system?
  4. What flow is available to operate the motor?
  5. In the typical application of the motor, will it be starting under a load or when unloaded?
  6. What is the typical operating speed range of the motor?
  7. Does the motor experience “shock loads” during operation? (an example would be operation of a cutter blade on a bank mower)
  8. Is it important that the motor operate efficiently and smoothly at very low speeds? (less than 100 RPM)
  9. What level of contamination control is in the existing system or will be designed into the new system?
  10. What is the lifecycle expectation for the motor?
  11. How important is efficiency in your application? (For example, if a battery operated system then efficiency is paramount for battery life)
  12. What type of fluid will be used in the application?
  13. What is the design operating temperature for the system?
  14. Will there be excessive back pressure on the motor return port? (Greater than 40 PSI)
  15. Will the motor shaft seal be exposed to extreme environments that could impact the integrity of the shaft seal?
  16. Is axial length or diameter an issue?
  17. Will a side load be imposed on the motor shaft and if so, what is the amount of the load and how far will the load be centered from the face of the motor?

As you can see, there are quite a few things to consider when applying a hydraulic motor. Cross Company’s technical experts have many years of experience in applying the right components for maximum effectiveness and overall lower total cost of ownership, take a look at our hydraulic motor options and let us help you design a better machine.

Latest Cross Company Resources

roanoke va
Our customer is a specialized manufacturer of machinery for processing metal coils and grinding rolls based in Roanoke, Va. They needed to integrate a new inspection station into their existing production line. The challenges were to design a system that could accommodate their existing gantry, all while holding and inspecting
September 17, 2025
Cross Logo
An automotive manufacturer requiring a high level of alignment in their ring gears requested an easy to use 360 degree measuring tool that could quickly determine the total runout along the circumference of the gear. Prior to using the solution from Cross the part was manually rotated on a stand
September 11, 2025
Cross Logo
A munitions manufacturer wanted to improve their finished goods product packaging, ensuring the correct count of bullets were being packaged into their bulk boxes. Prior to adopting a small parts counting control system from Cross they manually counted bullets into the boxes, and to verify the counts were correct they
September 11, 2025
Cross Logo
A water treatment chemical manufacturer needing to blend high concentrate sulfuric acid into multiple blending stations requested a solution to measure and batch the acid introduced into the mixture. Holding the acid supply in a nearby isolated environment required a system to safely transport and batch the acid to the
September 11, 2025
Cross Logo
A small engine appliances manufacturer requested a solution to calibrate their engine safety testing system. The particular testing system utilizes a dynamometer, laser tachometer and timer all connected in a PLC to determine the time needed for a lawnmower blade to come to a complete stop after the emergency switch
September 11, 2025
Cross Logo
Founded in 1977, Tailored Chemical Products is a leading mid-sized manufacturer of adhesives based in Hickory, North Carolina. They specialize in manufacturing a full line of hot melts, water-based glues, emulsion polymers, mastics, urea and synthetic resins and other specialty chemicals for any industrial application.
September 11, 2025
Cross Logo

See how our team can help improve efficiency, reduce risk, and raise quality in your process.

Contact our Team

Hang Tight! We're Searching... Searching... Searching...

We’re looking through thousands of pages to find the most relevant information.

In the meantime, enjoy these fun facts…

Did you know… Cross Company is an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Our ESOP started in 1979 and as of 2006, we are 100% employee-owned! Learn more about our ESOP and how that benefits both team members and our customers.
Did you know... the precision measurement group at Cross was founded in 1939 by our current CEO's grandfather, Jim King. That's a whole lot of calibration!
Did you know... A fingerprint weighs about 50 micrograms. We know, we weighed it! The residue left from a finger can actually make a difference in weight results which is why we wear gloves when we calibrate weights. For reference, a sheet of paper is about 4.5 grams, that’s 4.5 million micrograms.
Did you know… Cross Company has grown significantly since our start in 1954. Over the years we've acquired 26 companies! Today, our five groups have expertise in everything from industrial automation to precision measurement, and industry knowledge going all the way back to 1939.