Why are motors so rare in pinballs?

[cap]

I have 5 machines with over 100 coils in them but only 3 motors total.
Granted, I don't expect a motor to drive a slingshot,
but even if the coils remain the majority, why don't we see more motors with cool effects?

[HPR Pinball]

I have 5 machines with over 100 coils in them but only 3 motors total.
Granted, I don't expect a motor to drive a slingshot,
but even if the coils remain the majority, why don't we see more motors with cool effects?

I assume a motor is more complex to drive and they cannot be use for fast action

[Sparky]

Atari used motors for their flippers early on. It sucked bigtime, and not really repairable.

Also, I find that regardless what people say, no one really wants change in pinball. Case in point, the lower third of a playfield has rarely changed in ages.

And I agree 100% with Max here. Motors can be used to deflect, like the soccer ball in WCS, but cannot really be used for anything quick.

Other items I recall that were very quick on a playfield with a motor are the spinning bumpers in Orbitor1, and discs like in Whirlwhild and Fireball.

[cait001]

sell your solid state games and go for EMs! A motor in every machine.

[cap]

sell your solid state games and go for EMs! A motor in every machine.

Ha ha, but that would still be at most one per game.
I guess the magic squares in a bingo machines are motors, so that would be the machine with the most motors I can think of.

[cap]

I assume a motor is more complex to drive and they cannot be use for fast action

I don't see the issue with fast action. Sure motors suck for flippers, but you can get pretty cool effects with motors elsewhere.
Maybe someone with more electronic background can tell us how difficult it is to drive a motor compared to an actuator?

[Dave Astill]

they break a lot and are expensive.

[DrSmooth]

From my experience,
If not continually spinning, they are slow to react. They are not instant. They need to build up speed like you car. The electronics aren't that complicated, but if they get dirty or wear, it will certainly affect the speed and momentum.
The history of it in pinball ( to me) seems like the noise is a huge dealbreaker.
Certain motors are really expensive and some of the same size and complexity are not (supply and demand?). I'm not sure why that is.
Maintenance is more complex and can be dangerous, like Dr.Who.
Other than spinning wheels of doom, or black hole backgglass, what were you hoping to see?
That's my 2 cents