This document provides an overview of electrical DC drives. It defines a DC drive as a speed control system for a DC electric motor that supplies voltage to operate the motor at a desired speed. There are two main types of DC drives - non-regenerative drives that only rotate in one direction and regenerative drives that can control speed, direction, and torque in four quadrants. Speed in DC drives can be controlled through either armature voltage control or field flux control methods. DC drives have applications in industries like steel mills, textiles, and machine tools due to their reliability, simple control, and cost effectiveness.