Forward/Reverse with Push Buttons

Reverse a motor by swapping two legs. Built from two start/stop circuits and the interlocking you just learned.

Reversing a 3-phase motor

You reverse a three-phase motor by swapping any two of its three power legs. That is the whole secret. Two contactors do it: FORWARD wires the legs straight through; REVERSE swaps two of them. The control circuit decides which contactor pulls in.

It is two start/stop circuits plus interlocking

You already know every piece. It is two three-wire seal-in circuits side by side — one for coil F, one for coil R — sharing a single Stop button. The only new ingredient is the interlock: coil F runs through R’s NC contact and coil R runs through F’s NC contact, so only one direction can ever be active.

Walk through it

Press FORWARD: coil F energizes (R is off so its NC contact is closed), the F seal-in holds it, the forward contactor sends straight-through power — motor runs forward. F’s NC interlock opens, locking out Reverse. Press Stop to drop everything, then REVERSE: coil R energizes, swaps two legs, motor runs the other way.

What to take away

Forward/reverse = two seal-in start/stop circuits driving two contactors (one straight, one with two legs swapped), locked against each other. If you can build a start/stop and you understand interlocking, you can build this.