motor, the field coils are connected in parallel, or "shunted" to the armature coils. In a separately excited (sepex) motor the field coils are supplied from an independent source, such as a motor-generator and the field current is unaffected by changes in the armature current. The sepex system was sometimes used in DC traction motors to facilitate control of wheelslip. Permanent-magnet motors Permanent-magnet types have some performance advantages over direct-current, excited, synchronous types, and have become predominant in fractional horsepower applications. They are smaller, lighter, more efficient and reliable than other singly-fed electric machines. Originally all large industrial DC motors used wound field or rotor magnets. Permanent magnets have traditionally only been useful on small motors because it was difficult to find a material capable of retaining a high-strength field. Only recently have advances in materials technology allowed the creation of high-intensity permanent magnets, such as neodymium magnets, allowing the development of compact, high-power motors without the extra volume of field coils and excitation means. But as these high performance permanent magnets become more applied in electric motor or generator systems, other problems are realized (see Permanent magnet synchronous generator). Axial field motors Traditionally, the field has been applied radially—in and away from the rotation axis of the motor. However some designs have the field flowing along the axis of the motor, with the rotor cutting the field lines as it rotates. This allows for much stronger magnetic fields, particularly if halbach arrays are employed. This, in turn, gives power to the motor at lower speeds. However, the focused flux density cannot rise about the limited residual flux density of the permanent magnet despite high coercivity and like all electric machines, the flux density of magnetic core saturation is the design constraint. Speed control Generally, the rotational speed of a DC motor is proportional to the EMF in its coil (= the voltage applied to it minus voltage lost on its resistance), and the torque is proportional to the current. Speed control can be achieved by variable battery tappings, variable supply voltage, resistors or electronic controls. A simulation example can be found here and. The direction of a wound field DC motor can be changed by reversing either the field or armature connections but not both. This is commonly done with a special set of contactors (direction contactors). The effective voltage can be varied by inserting a series resistor or