← Mechatronics Studio
Concept Explainer · Mechatronics

PWM Duty Cycle vs. Frequency

Two independent dials on the same signal. One sets how much power gets delivered. The other sets whether the switching is invisible or an audible whine.

Pulse-width modulation controls a motor, an LED, or a heater by switching a signal on and off very quickly rather than holding it at some intermediate voltage. Every PWM signal is described by two numbers: a duty cycle (what fraction of each cycle the signal spends HIGH) and a frequency(how many complete on/off cycles happen per second). It's tempting to think of these as one combined "PWM setting," but they control genuinely different things, and mixing them up is a common source of motor whine, flickering LEDs, and overheating drivers that otherwise look "correctly configured."