1) DC machines operate based on the principles that voltage is induced in a conductor moving through a magnetic field (generator action) and a force is induced on a conductor with current in a magnetic field (motor action).
2) The simplest DC machine is a single loop of wire rotating through magnetic poles, which induces a voltage that can be extracted using a commutator and brushes.
3) Real DC machines have more complex windings and commutation systems to produce a DC output and overcome issues like armature reaction.
4) The main types of DC generators - separately excited, shunt, and series - have different characteristics based on how their fields are connected that determine how voltage and current vary with load