A small electrical signal can control the position of a large motor using this approach.
For this reason they were widely used on larger electric motors and generators.
Small motors could even be put at the wheels themselves instead of having one large motor under a car's hood.
It is used for large motors, in which start by direct connection to the network is not possible.
However, such events can also be caused by normal operation, like the starting of a large electric motor.
Before the mid-20th century, a single large motor was often used to drive multiple wheels through connecting rods.
This is often used to allow the placement of a larger motor for an engine swap.
Current in the kiloampere range was applied for larger motors.
This design allows larger and more powerful motors to be used.
This is probably to house the large motor which powered the model.