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MOTORS

DC MOTORS..........................................................A317
AC MOTORS ..........................................................A318
SERVOMOTORS ....................................................A321

M
ost rotary motion ated from adjustable volt-
applications today STEP MOTORS ......................................................A322 age power supplies, Figure
depend on motors. MINIATURE MOTORS ...........................................A322 1. A stabilizing winding (a
Electric motors are domi- GEARMOTORS ......................................................A323 small series field) helps
nant, though air and hy- MOTOR ENCLOSURES ..........................................A323 prevent speed increases as
draulic motors are pre- MOTOR PROTECTION ...........................................A325 load increases at weak field
ferred in some applications, MOTOR EFFICIENCIES...........................................A326 settings, Figure 2. This
and engines or turbines INDUCED BEARING CURRENTS............................A327 winding has drawbacks in
drive others. MOTORS ADVERTISING........................................A328 reversing applications,
Several types of electric however, because winding
motors turn shafts: dc, ac, servo, and or flange mount. Also, consider ways direction relative to the shunt wind-
step motors. Also, a motor may be just to protect the motor from overloads ing must be reversed when armature
a motor or it may be a gearmotor; that and line fluctuations. voltage is reversed. Here, reversing
is, it may have an integral geared The following discussion deals with contactors must be used. Where fast
speed reducer. Air motors are usually electric motors for rotary motion. For reversing is needed, the stabilizing
rotary vane or piston type; hydraulic electric motors for linear motion, see winding is omitted, and the motor is
motors are rotary vane, piston, or the Linear Motion Devices Product designed for stable operation.
gear type. Each has operating charac- Department in this handbook. Permanent-magnet motors —
teristics inherent to its basic design. Operating characteristics of perma-
Thus, motor selection is often a pro- nent-magnet motors are similar to
cess of matching application require-
DC MOTORS those of shunt-wound types. Field
ments to performance parameters of Direct current motors are used in flux, however, is provided by perma-
the various types, then selecting the many industrial applications that re- nent magnets instead of current in a
most compatible. quire adjustable speed. winding. Motor torque is directly pro-
Performance, however, is not the In uses requiring quick stops, a dc portional to armature current over
only criterion in motor selection. To motor can minimize the size of a me- the motor’s speed range. Compared
optimize selection, choose an enclo- chanical brake or make it unneces- with shunt-wound motors, perma-
sure that protects the inner workings sary. This is done by dynamic braking nent-magnet motors weigh less and
of the motor from the environment. (motor-generated energy fed to a re- are more economical to operate be-
Moreover, you must consider the best sistor grid), or by regenerative brak- cause no power is needed to support a
mounting arrangement, such as base ing (motor-generated energy returned field.
to the ac supply). Series-wound motors — As its
DC motor speed can be con- name implies, this motor has a field
trolled smoothly down to zero, fol- that is in series with the armature,
lowed immediately by acceleration
in the opposite direction (without
power circuit switching). Also, due
to high torque-to-inertia ratio, dc
motors respond quickly to control-
signal changes.

Motor types
DC motors in all but fractional
and low integral horsepower sizes
(generally below 15 hp), have
wound fields and are categorized
as shunt-wound, series-wound, or
compound-wound motors. In frac-
tional and low integral horse-
power sizes, permanent magnets
are used instead of wound fields in
many motor designs. Figure 2 — Typical speed-torque curve
Figure 1 — Typical speed-torque curve Shunt-wound motors — Stabi- and circuit for a shunt-wound dc motor
and circuit for shunt-wound dc motor. lized shunt-wound motors are oper- with various series stabilizer windings.

1998 PT Design A317


its entire speed range. Reversing — This operation af-
Horsepower varies directly with fects the power supply and control.
speed. As the speed of a self-venti- When the motor cannot be stopped for
lated motor is lowered, it loses venti- switching series fields before reverse
lation and cannot be loaded with quite operation, compound and stabilizing
as much armature current without windings should not be used if full
exceeding the rated temperature rise. load torque is needed in both direc-
Therefore, to obtain full load torque at tions. Bi-directional operation may
low speeds, motors are oversized or also affect brush adjustments.
auxiliary blowers are added for suffi- Duty rating — DC motors carry
cient cooling. one of three ratings:
Shunt-field control — By weak- • Continuous duty is applied to
ening shunt-field current, motor motors that will continuously dissi-
speed is altered, thus increasing pate all the heat generated by inter-
speed and reducing output torque for nal motor losses without exceeding
a given armature voltage. Field con- rated temperature rise.
Figure 3 — Typical speed-torque- trol is good only for obtaining speeds • Definite time, intermittent duty
horsepower characteristics and circuit for greater than base speed (the no-load motors will carry rated load for speci-
a series wound dc motor. speed with full field strength). Maxi- fied time without exceeding rated
mum speed range by field control is temperature rise. These motors must
Figure 3. These motors are often used about 5:1, and this occurs for only low be allowed to cool to ambient before
to drive high starting torque loads, base speed motors. load is repeated.
such as traction vehicles. Torque Because the rating of a dc motor is • Indefinite time, intermittent
varies approximately as the square of limited by heating, the maximum per- duty is usually associated with some
current. An increase in armature cur- missible armature current is nearly RMS load of a duty-cycle operation.
rent is accompanied by a like increase constant over the field-weakened Peak torque — The peak torque
in field current. At rest, the torque is speed range. This means that, at that a dc motor delivers is limited by
highest because no counter electromo- rated armature current, output that load at which damaging commu-
tive force (CEMF) is generated by the torque varies inversely with speed, tation begins. Brush and commutator
armature. As the armature gains and the motor has constant-horse- damage depends on sparking severity
speed, the CEMF rises, reducing the power capability over this speed and duration. Therefore, peak torque
effective voltage, current, and torque. range. depends on the duration and fre-
As the motor shaft load increases, the quency of occurrence of the overload.
armature slows to provide sufficient Peak torque is often limited by the
voltage and current to match the load
Selecting dc motors maximum current that the power
torque. If the load is removed, the mo- Choosing a dc motor type and asso- supply can deliver.
tor will race dangerously. ciated equipment for a given applica- Motors can commutate greater
Compound-wound motor — tion requires consideration of several loads at low speed without damage.
Both shunt and series field windings factors. NEMA standards specify that dc ma-
are used in compound motors. By ad- Speed range — The minimum chines must deliver at least 150%
justing strength and direction of the and maximum speeds for an applica- rated current for one minute at any
series winding relative to the shunt tion determine the motor base speed. speed within rated range, but most
winding, speed-torque characteristics Allowable speed variation — motors exceed this requirement.
can be made to approximate those of Applications requiring constant speed Heating — The temperature of a
series or shunt motors. at all torque values should use a dc motor is a function of ventilation
shunt-wound motor. If speed changes and losses in the machine. Some
with load and speed variation must be losses — core, shunt-field, and brush-
Controlling dc motors minimized to less than 2%, a regula- friction — are independent of load,
DC motor speed is controlled by ar- tor employing tachometer feedback and vary with speed and excitation.
mature-voltage control, shunt-field must be used. Several methods can predict oper-
control, or a combination of the two. Torque requirements — The ating temperature. The best method
Armature-voltage control — torque requirements at various oper- is to use thermal capability curves
The type of control varies the voltage ating speeds should be determined. available from the manufacturer.
applied to the armature, while field Many applications are essentially
current is maintained constant from a constant torque, such as conveyors.
separate source. Speed is proportional Others, such as centrifugal blowers,
AC MOTORS
to CEMF, which is equal to the ap- require torque to vary as the square of AC motors can be divided into two
plied voltage minus the armature cir- the speed. In contrast, machine tools major categories: asynchronous and
cuit IR drop. At rated current, the and center winders are constant synchronous.
torque remains constant regardless of horsepower, with torque decreasing The induction motor is the most
the speed (since the magnetic flux is as speed increases. Thus, the speed- common form of asynchronous motor
constant) and, therefore, the motor torque relationship determines the and is basically an ac transformer
has constant torque capability over most economical motor. with a rotating secondary. The pri-

A332 1997 Power Transmission Design


mary winding (stator) is connected to 120 f acceleration from rest to the speed
the power source, and the shorted sec- Ns = that breakdown torque occurs.
P
ondary (rotor) carries the induced sec- Figure 4 illustrates typical speed-
ondary current. Torque is produced Where: torque curves for NEMA Design A, B,
by the action of the rotor (secondary) Ns = synchronous speed C, and D motors.
currents on the air gap flux. f = frequency • Design A motors have a higher
The synchronous motor resembles P = number of poles breakdown torque than Design B mo-
a dc motor turned inside out, with the tors and are usually designed for a
permanent magnets mounted on the Synchronous speed is the absolute specific use. Slip is 5%, or less.
rotor. As an alternative, some are con- upper limit of motor speed. At syn- • Design B motors account for
structed using a wound rotor excited chronous speed, there is no difference most of the induction motors sold. Of-
by a dc voltage through slip rings. The between rotor speed and rotating field ten referred to as general purpose mo-
flux created by the current-carrying speed, so no voltage is induced in the tors, slip is 5% or less.
conductors in the stator rotates rotor bars, hence no torque is devel- • Design C motors have high start-
around the inside of the stator in or- oped. Therefore, when running, the ing torque with normal starting cur-
der to achieve motor action. rotor must rotate slower than the rent and low slip. This design is nor-
magnetic field. The rotor speed is just mally used where breakaway loads
slow enough to cause the proper are high at starting, but normally run
Induction motors amount of rotor current to flow, so at rated full load, and are not subject
These motors are probably the sim- that the resulting torque is sufficient to high overload demands after run-
plest and most rugged of all electric to overcome windage and friction ning speed has been reached. Slip is
motors. They consist of two basic elec- losses, and drive the load. This speed 5% or less.
trical assemblies: the wound stator difference between the rotor and mag- • Design D motors exhibit high slip
and the rotor assembly. netic field, called slip, is normally re- (5 to 13%), very high starting torque,
The rotor consists of laminated, cy- ferred to as a percentage of syn- low starting current, and low full load
lindrical iron cores with slots for re- chronous speed: speed. Because of high slip, speed can
ceiving the conductors. On early mo- drop when fluctuating loads are en-

( )
tors, the conductors were copper bars countered. This design is subdivided
with ends welded to copper rings 100 N s − N a into several groups that vary accord-
s=
known as end rings. Viewed from the Ns ing to slip or the shape of the speed-
end, the rotor assembly resembles a torque curve. These motors are usu-
squirrel cage, hence the name “squir- Where: ally available only on a special order
rel-cage” motor is used to refer to in- s = slip basis.
duction motors. In modern induction Ns = synchronous speed Wound-rotor motors — Although
motors, the most common type of ro- Na = actual speed the squirrel-cage induction motor is
tor has cast-aluminum conductors relatively inflexible with regard to
and short-circuiting end rings. The ro- Polyphase motors — NEMA clas- speed and torque characteristics, a
tor turns when the moving magnetic sifies polyphase induction motors ac- special wound-rotor version has con-
field induces a current in the shorted cording to locked rotor torque and trollable speed and torque. Applica-
conductors. The speed at which the current, breakdown torque, pull up tion of wound-rotor motors is
magnetic field rotates is the syn- torque, and percent slip. markedly different from squirrel-cage
chronous speed of the motor and is de- • Locked rotor torque is the mini- motors because of the accessibility of
termined by the number of poles in mum torque that the motor develops the rotor circuit. Various performance
the stator and the frequency of the at rest for all angular positions of the characteristics can be obtained by in-
power supply. rotor at rated voltage and frequency. serting different values of resistance
• Locked rotor in the rotor circuit.
Design A current is the Wound rotor motors are generally
300 steady state cur- started with secondary resistance in
Design C rent from the line the rotor circuit. This resistance is se-
Torque (% of rated)

Design D at rated voltage quentially reduced to permit the mo-


200 and frequency tor to come up to speed. Thus the mo-
with the rotor tor can develop substantial torque
locked. while limiting locked rotor current.
100 • Breakdown The secondary resistance can be de-
Design B torque is the maxi- signed for continuous service to dissi-
mum torque that pate heat produced by continuous op-
0 the motor develops eration at reduced speed, frequent
0 20 40 60 80 100 at rated voltage acceleration, or acceleration with a
Speed (% of rated) and frequency, large inertia load. External resistance
without an abrupt gives the motor a characteristic that
Figure 4 — Typical speed-torque drop in speed. results in a large drop in rpm for a
characteristics for Design A, B, C, and D • Pull up torque is the minimum fairly small change in load. Reduced
motors. torque developed during the period of speed is provided down to about 50%,

1997 Power Transmission Design A333


rated speed, but efficiency is low. power factor than other capacitor
Single-phase motors — These designs. This makes them well
motors are commonly fractional- suited to variable speed applica-
horsepower types, though integral tions.
sizes are generally available to 10 hp.
The most common single phase motor
types are shaded pole, split phase,
Synchronous motors
capacitor-start, and permanent split Without complex electronic con-
capacitor. trol, synchronous motors are inher-
• Shaded pole motors have a con- ently constant-speed motors. They
tinuous copper loop wound around a operate in absolute synchronism
small portion of each pole, Figure 5. with line frequency. As with squir-
The loop causes the magnetic field rel-cage induction motors, speed is
through the ringed portion to lag be- Figure 6 —Split-phase windings in a two- determined by the number of pairs
hind the field in the unringed portion. pole motor. Starting winding and running of poles and the line frequency.
This produces a slightly rotating field winding are 90 deg apart. Synchronous motors are available
in each pole face sufficient to turn the in subfractional self-excited sizes to
rotor. As the rotor accelerates, its high-horsepower direct-current-
torque increases and rated speed is excited industrial sizes. In the
reached. Shaded pole motors have low fractional horsepower range, most
starting torque and are available only synchronous motors are used where
in fractional and subfractional horse- precise constant speed is required. In
power sizes. Slip is about 10%, or high-horsepower industrial sizes, the
more at rated load. synchronous motor provides two im-
• Split phase motors, Figure 6, use portant functions. First, it is a highly
both a starting and running winding. efficient means of converting ac en-
The starting winding is displaced 90 ergy to work. Second, it can operate at
leading or unity power factor and
thereby provide power-factor
correction.
Figure 7 — Split-phase start induction There are two major types of syn-
motor. chronous motors: nonexcited and di-
rect-current excited.
Nonexcited motors — Manufac-
tured in reluctance and hysteresis de-
signs, these motors employ a self-
starting circuit and require no
external excitation supply.
• Reluctance designs have ratings
that range from subfractional to
about 30 hp. Subfractional horse-
power motors have low torque, and
are generally used for instrumenta-
Figure 5 — Rings in shaded-pole motor tion applications. Moderate torque,
distort alternating field sufficiently to integral horsepower motors use squir-
cause rotation. Figure 8 — Capacitor-start motors are rel-cage construction with toothed ro-
similar to split-phase motors.
tors. When used with an adjustable
electrical degrees from the running frequency power supply, all motors in
winding. The running winding has ing torque motors and are limited to the drive system can be controlled at
many turns of large diameter wire about 1/3 hp. exactly the same speed. The power
wound in the bottom of the stator • Capacitor-start motors are simi- supply frequency determines motor
slots to get high reactance. Therefore, lar to split phase motors. The main operating speed.
the current in the starting winding difference is that a capacitor is placed • Hysteresis motors are manufac-
leads the current in the running in series with the auxiliary winding, tured in subfractional horsepower
winding, causing a rotating field. Figure 8. This type of motor produces ratings, primarily as servomotors and
During startup, both windings are greater locked rotor and accelerating timing motors. More expensive than
connected to the line, Figure 7. As the torque per ampere than does the split the reluctance type, hysteresis motors
motor comes up to speed (at about phase motor. Sizes range from frac- are used where precise constant
25% of full-load speed), a centrifugal tional to 10 hp at 900 to 3600 rpm. speed is required.
switch actuated by the rotor, or an • Split-capacitor motors also have DC-excited motors — Made in
electronic switch, disconnects the an auxiliary winding with a capacitor, sizes larger than 1 hp, these motors
starting winding. Split phase motors but they remain continuously ener- require direct current supplied
are considered low or moderate start- gized and aid in producing a higher through slip rings for excitation. The

A334 1997 Power Transmission Design


direct current can be supplied from a coder and tachometer) are either in- DC servomotors
separate source or from a dc genera- corporated within the motor or are re-
tor directly connected to the motor motely mounted, often on the load it- DC servomotors are high perfor-
shaft. self. These provide position and mance motors normally used as prime
Synchronous motors, either single velocity feedback that the controller movers in numerically controlled ma-
or polyphase, cannot start without be- compares to its programmed motion chinery or other applications where
ing driven, or having their rotor con- profile and uses to alter its velocity starts and stops must be made
nected in the form of a self-starting signal. The motion profile is a set of quickly and accurately. They have
circuit. Since the field is rotating at instructions programmed into the lightweight, low inertia armatures
synchronous speed, the motor must controller that defines the operation that respond quickly to excitation
be accelerated before it can pull into in terms of time, position, and veloc- voltage changes. In addition, very low
synchronism. Accelerating from zero ity. The ability of the servomotor to armature inductance in these motors
rpm requires slip until synchronism adjust to differences between the mo- results in a low electrical time con-
is reached. Therefore, separate start- tion profile and feedback signals de- stant (typically 0.05 to 1.5 ms) that
ing means must be employed. pends greatly upon the type of con- further sharpens motor response to
In self-starting designs, fractional trols and motors used. See the command signals.
horsepower motors use methods com- Controls and Sensors Product Depart- DC servomotors are manufactured
mon to induction motors (split phase, ment. in permanent magnet, printed circuit,
capacitor-start, and shaded pole). The Three basic types of servomotors and moving coil (or shell) types. Each
electrical characteristics of these mo- are used in modern servosystems: ac, of these basic types has its own char-
tors cause them to automatically based on induction motor designs; dc, acteristics, such as physical shape,
switch to synchronous operation. based on dc motor designs; and ac costs, shaft resonance, shaft configu-
Although dc-excited motors have a brushless, based on synchronous mo- ration, speed, and weight. Although
squirrel-cage for starting, the inher- tor designs. these motors have similar torque rat-
ent low starting torque and the need ings, their physical and electrical con-
for a dc power source requires a start- stants vary considerably. The perfor-
ing system that provides full motor
AC servomotors mance of the servomotor is as
protection while starting, applies dc These are basically two-phase, re- dependent on the control scheme used
field excitation at the proper time, re- versible, induction motors modified as much as the inherent characteris-
moves field excitation at rotor pull- for servo operation. They are used in tics of the motors themselves.
out, and protects the squirrel-cage applications requiring rapid and ac-
windings against thermal damage un- curate response characteristics. To
der out-of-step conditions. achieve these characteristics, these
Brushless dc servomotors
induction motors have small diame- Brushless dc motors resemble a dc
ter, high resistance rotors. The small shunt motor turned inside out. Per-
SERVOMOTORS diameter provides low inertia for fast manent magnets, located on the rotor,
These motors are used in closed starts, stops, and reversals. High re- or a wound rotor excited by dc voltage
loop control systems in which work is sistance provides nearly linear speed- through slip rings, requires that the
the control variable, Figure 9. The torque characteristics for accurate flux created by the current carrying
digital controller directs operation of control. conductors in the stator rotate around
the motor by sending velocity com- An induction motor designed for the inside of the stator in order to
mand signals to the amplifier, which servo use is wound with two phases achieve motor action. The rotating
drives the motor. An integral feed- physically at right angles or in space field is obtained by placing three sta-
back device (resolver) or devices (en- quadrature. A fixed or reference tor windings around the interior of
winding is excited by a fixed voltage the stator punching. The windings
source, while the control winding is are then interconnected so that intro-
excited by an adjustable or variable ducing a three-phase excitation volt-
control voltage, usually from a ser- age to the three stator windings
voamplifier. The windings are often (which are separated by 120 electrical
designed with the same voltage/turns degrees) produces a rotating magnetic
ratio, so that power inputs at maxi- field. This construction speeds heat
mum fixed phase excitation, and at dissipation and reduces rotor inertia.
maximum control phase signal, are in The permanent magnet poles on
balance. the rotor are attracted to the rotating
The inherent damping of servomo- poles of the opposite magnetic polar-
tors decreases as ratings increase, ity in the stator creating torque. As in
and the motors are designed to have a the dc shunt motor, torque is propor-
reasonable efficiency at the sacrifice tional to the strength of the perma-
of speed-torque linearity. nent magnetic field and the field cre-
Figure 9 — Typical dc servosystem with Induction type servomotors are ated by the current carrying
either encoder or resolver feedback. Some available in fractional and integral conductors. The magnetic field in the
older servosystems use a tachometer and horsepower sizes. stator rotates at a speed proportional
encoder for feedback. to the frequency of the applied voltage

1997 Power Transmission Design A335


and the number of poles. There are many types of step-motor stator design, two, three, or four phase
The rotor rotates in synchronism construction. However, permanent windings may be used.
with the rotating field, thus the name magnet (PM) and variable reluctance
“synchronous motor” is often used to (VR) are the most common types.
designate motors of this design. More
Microstep motors
recently, this motor design has been Microstep motors are usually hy-
called an electrically commutated mo-
PM step motors brid motors. The rotor consists of an
tor (ECM) due to its similarity to the The permanent magnet step motor arbor, bearings, and one, two, or three
dc shunt motor. In the dc shunt mo- is also referred to as a synchronous in- sets, or stacks, of toothed cylindrical
tor, the flux generated by the current ductor motor. It moves in steps when magnets. The toothed stator is wound
carrying winding (rotor) is mechani- its windings are sequentially ener- so that alternate poles are driven by
cally commutated to stay in position gized, or it can operate as a low speed two separate phase currents. This re-
with respect to the field flux. In the synchronous motor when operated sults in a 200 step per rev motor that,
synchronous motor, the flux of the from a two-phase ac power source. when the two windings are energized
current carrying winding rotates with Figure 11 illustrates a permanent proportionately, enable the motor to
respect to the stator; but, like the dc magnet rotor surrounded by a two- make 125 intermediate steps between
motor, the current carrying flux stays phase stator. Two rotor sections (N each full step. Thus, using digital
in position with respect to the field and S) are offset by one half tooth logic control and bipolar pulse width
flux that rotates with the rotor. The pitch to each other. As energy is modulation, the motor makes 25,000
major difference is that the syn- switched from phase 2 to phase 1, a microsteps per rev.
chronous motor maintains position by set of rotor magnets will align with
electrical commutation, rather than phase 1, and the rotor will turn one
mechanical commutation. step. If both phases are energized si-
MINIATURE MOTORS
multaneously, the rotor will establish Filling the needs for a wider variety
its equilibrium midway between of power devices, new miniature mo-
STEP MOTORS steps. Thus, the motor is said to be tors are announced every day. Many
A step motor is a device that con- half-stepping. are less than 1/2-in. diam, even with a
verts electrical pulses into mechani- gearhead, Figure 12. Typical applica-
cal movements. Conventional motors tions include medical systems, semi-
rotate continuously, but a step motor,
VR step motors conductor manufacturing, laser
when pulsed, rotates (steps) in fixed The variable reluctance (also termed cutting systems, surface-mount as-
angular increments. “switched reluctance”) step motor is sembly systems, winding machines,
Step size, or step angle, is deter- also constructed with a toothed rotor robotic handling equipment, microm-
mined by the construction of the mo- and stator. There are not, however, any eter positioners, motorized poten-
tor and the type of drive scheme used magnets in the rotor. Depending on the tiometers, screwdrivers, scales,
to control it. Traditionally, step reso- aircraft actuators, computer pe-
lution has ranged from 90 degrees ripherals, bar code scanners, and
(four steps per rev) to a fraction of a many others.
degree, though 15 degrees (12 steps To maximize the power-to-
per rev), to 1.8 degrees (200 steps per weight ratio, many miniature mo-
rev) has been most common. More re- tors are built with more costly but
cently, however, microstep motors higher strength magnets. Also, for
have been introduced that are capable reduced susceptibility to electrical
of .0144 degree steps (25,000 steps per noise, some are designed with rela-
rev). Microstep motors are hybrid 200 tively low inductance.
step per rev motors that are electri- Manufacturers often indicate
cally controlled to produce 25,000 motor size with a Size designation
steps per rev. of the diameter in 1/10s of an inch.
Step motors are usually used in Thus, a Size 30 motor has an out-
open loop control systems, Figure 10, side diameter of 3 in.
though an encoder may be used to Figure 11 — Step motor with permanent For feedback, manufacturers offer
confirm positioning accuracy. magnet rotor. a range of miniature optical and mag-

Figure 10—Typical step motor system. Precise step systems have feedback loop (dotted line) using encoders or resolvers.

A336 1997 Power Transmission Design


Slightly different
Several miniature motor manu-
facturers use motor designs that
differ from larger motors. For ex-
ample, one design uses a hollow,
ironless-core, rotor design, Figure
13, for low inertia and fast re-
sponse. The rotor fits over a sta-
tionary magnet system. Only the
Figure 12 — Typical of miniature motors, copper coil moves, unlike larger mo-
this dc motor is 0.511 in. in diam and 1.24 tors where the whole coil and magnet
in. long. It has an output power rating of system move. Such a design is 38 mm Figure 14 — Typical gearmotor in right-
2.5 W at 8,000 rpm. The construction in diameter and is rated for 100 W. angle configuration.
consists of Neodymium magnets, precious
metal brushes, and a moving-coil rotor by the gear train, both must stop in
that uses a Rhombic-wound winding for GEARMOTORS the same time. In severe cases, mo-
maximum winding density. A matching
A gearmotor, Figure 14, consists of mentary power failure may be all that
0.511-in. planetary gearhead offers five
ratios from 4:1 to 1,118:1 and torque a motor and speed reducer in an inte- is necessary for a high-inertia load to
capability to 0.35 Nm continuous and 0.53 gral assembly. The motor portion of destroy the gear train.
Nm intermittent. the assembly can be either dc or ac- Overhung loads are applied to the
powered. The speed reducer portion output shaft of the gearmotor when-
can use spur, helical, or worm gears. ever the gearmotor is connected to the
netic encoders, ac and dc tachome- Gearmotor sizes range from fractional application by belts, chains, or gear-
ters, and resolvers. Some companies to above 200 hp. ing. Applications requiring cams,
supply line-driver encoders for elec- The main advantage of a gearmotor hoisting drums, or switches at the
trically noisy environments and for is that the driving shaft can couple di- output shaft can also cause very high
installations with long distances be- rectly to the driven shaft, thus in many overhung loads on gearhead bearings.
tween the encoders and the motors. situations making belts, chains, or sep- It is inherent in gearmotors that
Other miniature components of- arate speed reducers unnecessary. overhung load capacity decreases as
fered for motion systems include Also, because the motor and speed re- delivered torque increases.
miniature brakes, controls, and servo ducer are aligned during manufacture,
systems with appropriate software. field installation is simpler.
Starting and running torque must
MOTOR ENCLOSURES
be considered separately because NEMA standards MG1-1.25, 1-
Size vs. capability starting characteristics of the motor 1.26, and 1-1.27 define more than 20
Some motors with diameters of less and gearing differ. Applications need- types of enclosures under the cate-
than 1 in. offer over 100 W. Other mo- ing high breakaway torque require gories of open machines, totally en-
tors, such as a 48 Vdc motor, offer careful selection of the motor—split- closed machines, and machines with
speeds to 100,000 rpm. phase polyphase, capacitor-start, and encapsulated or sealed windings.
Not all the miniature motors are brush types have high starting torque. Open machines — Very few open
rotary devices. Miniature linear step The gearmotor manufacturer machines are made today. Most stan-
motors are used in applications that should analyze any application with dard motors are drip-proof and
require precise linear positioning. For high inertia. This problem is espe- guarded, Figure 15, or at least semi-
some of these motors, resolution cially important with self-locking guarded. To improve the protection
ranges from 0.008 to 0.000125 in. per right-angle gearmotors. Because the offered by drip-proof enclosures, some
full step. rotor and load are rigidly connected manufacturers offer special processes
or treatments to protect the windings
and bearings.
Magnet Coreless rotor Housing Totally enclosed ma-
Shaft chines — Most totally en-
closed machines are fan-
cooled, Figure 16. However,
some models in fhp ratings
are totally enclosed and
nonventilated. Totally en-
closed motors are more ex-
pensive, but offer better
protection. Outside venti-
Figure 13 — Some miniature motors use a coreless motor design, also referred to as lating air and contaminants are ex-
ironless core or moving coil. The concept replaces a rotating iron armature wound with cluded from interior parts of a totally
copper wire with a light weight copper coil. This coil rotates around a stationary magnet enclosed motor. The motor is not air-
system. tight, but usual entrances to the inte-

1997 Power Transmission Design A337


Figure 15 — Typical drip-proof and
guarded enclosure.

Figure 17 — Washdown duty motors include white dc motor (left), three-phase motor
(right), single-phase motor (top) and the stainless steel motor in the foreground.

Sanitation Standards Committee ponents — a rotor, stator and feed-


(BISSC) requirements. Every bend is back assembly, Figure 18, which are
filleted to prevent material build-up installed as an integral part of a ma-
Figure 16 — Typical totally enclosed, in a sharp bend, fold, or crack. Typi- chine, Figure 19.
fan-cooled enclosure. cally the same internal and external Frameless motors typically have
protection is provided as is supplied continuous torque ratings from 100
rior, such as the conduit box, are gas- with washdown motors, and the final lb-in. to 10,000 lb-in. and speeds from
keted. Clearances like those around finish is a glossy, smooth white. 300 to 20,000 rpm.
shafts are kept as small as possible. Information on washdown and Advantages include:
Explosion-proof machines — BISSC motors is excerpted from an ar- • Increased rigidity (stiffness).
Hazardous atmospheres require spe- ticle by Baldor in the March 1994 is- Overall machine stiffness is depen-
cial totally enclosed motors. Motors sue of PTD. dent on the cumulative stiffness of all
for these atmospheres are designed to Frameless motors — Frequently mechanical elements between the mo-
standards established by Underwrit- designed into machine tools to power tor rotor and load. These typically in-
ers Laboratories (UL). Only after a high-speed spindles, frameless ac mo- clude belts, pulleys, gear sets or gear-
motor has been examined and ap- tors are now finding acceptance in boxes, and couplings. In many
proved by UL can it be sold as an ex- other machines that have space con- applications, these can be eliminated
plosion-proof motor. straints or unusual mounting
Washdown — For those applica- requirements.
tions that are subjected to washdowns Recent technological advance-
with high-pressure liquid cleaners re- ments — new cooling techniques,
quire more features to protect the mo- more precise feedback devices,
tor from severe conditions. These are and expanding use of CAD —
typically encountered in such indus- are extending the popularity
tries as food processing plants and of frameless motors into
dairies. The motors are housed in a more registration-oriented
steel enclosure that is covered with an operations such as paper
FDA approved epoxy paint or in a converting and printing.
stainless-steel enclosure. Seals at ev- Construction of frameless
ery opening are selected to prevent flu- ac motors, electrically, is no
ids from entering the motor as well as different than conventional
out of the bearings. Inside, all parts permanent-magnet and induction
are covered with epoxy paint or other motors. The frameless designs can be Figure 18 — In a frameless motor, the
material to retard corrosion, Figure 17. controlled by the same drives as those casing around the stator windings provides
Bakery service — For the baking used to control frame-type motors. mechanical stability for the windings and a
industry, motors similar to the white Mechanically, however, frameless path for transmitting winding heat to the
washdown motors are rated for ser- motors are a horse of a different color. cooling medium — typically a liquid that
vice according to Baking Industry They are delivered as individual com- circulates through the finned structure.

A338 1997 Power Transmission Design


the motor and the general condi-
Motor Stator Rotor Winding Front tions surrounding the motor.
Housing Winding Support Bearings • Thermal overload relays,
and Figure 20, are the most fre-
Cooling
Jacket quently used method of indirect
protection. In operation, motor
current passes through the
heater in each overload relay
(three relays are used for three-
phase motors). An increase in
motor load increases current
both in the motor and in the re-
lay’s heater. If heater tempera-
ture reaches a predetermined
point, the overload contacts open,
turning off the motor.
• Magnetic overload relays
contain a fluid dashpot to retard
the trip time and approximate
the allowable motor heating
curve. However, magnetic units
are unaffected by cumulative mo-
Feedback Rear Coolant Coolant Shaft tor heating though thermal over-
Sensor Bearings Outlet Inlet load relays are. Also, magnetic
units are not ambient-tempera-
Figure 19 — A complete frameless motor assembly includes a rotor, stator, and ture compensated.
feedback sensor supplied by the motor manufacturer. The machine manufacturer • Differential current systems usu-
provides the bearings, shaft, housing, and cooling medium. ally serve motors of 500 hp or more,
and use three current transformers.
Each transformer senses the sum of
by direct coupling. less motors offer many benefits, they the currents flowing through two
Moreover, shaft stiffness is a func- are not the right solution for every ap- wires of the same phase. This sum is
tion of the cube of the shaft diameter. plication. For example, if you are zero during normal operation. If a
On frameless motors, the shaft diam- building one or two machines, it will fault occurs—such as shorted turns or
eter can be approximately three times probably be a waste of your time to de- voltage imbalance—the sum of the
greater than that of a conventional sign a frameless motor into a ma- currents through one or more current
motor, thus giving 27 times more chine. Generally, doing so takes 50 to transformers becomes significant.
stiffness. 100 machines to pay for the initial de- The control scheme senses this condi-
• Versatile motor cooling methods. sign investment. tion and turns off the motor or pro-
Among them, fluid cooling enables a Information on frameless motors is vides a warning signal.
compact motor to deliver high power. excerpted from an article by Indramat Direct method — Used for pro-
• Shafting options. Units can in- in the November 1995 issue of PTD. tecting small single-phase motors up
corporate a shaftless rotor with a bore to high-horsepower units, direct
through it or with a hollow shaft. This methods of motor protection sense the
design offers machine builders the
MOTOR PROTECTION temperature within the motor. Vari-
freedom to configure a variety of Motor longevity can often be im- ous methods offer different levels of
shafting options. For example, mate- proved by protecting the motor from protection. Almost all direct methods
rial or process fluids can pass directly overheating and from fluctuations in do a better job of protecting the stator
through a hollow shaft. the incoming power distribution than the rotor. That is the reason for
• Tailored bearing structure. Ma- system. sometimes using more than one
chine builders can tailor bearing method, as discussed previously.
structures to the precise needs of each
machine. High-speed applications,
Overheating
such as spindles, can use a structure Motors can be protected from over-
that minimizes bearing heat. Low- heating by two basic methods — indi-
speed applications, such as rotary ta- rect and direct. Each offers advan-
bles, can be designed to handle large tages. In some cases, both methods
radial or axial loads. should be used to assure maximum
• Compact design. Frameless mo- protection.
tors can be one-seventh the volume of Indirect method — the most com-
conventional framed motors with the mon method of three-phase motor Figure 20 — Typical control circuit with
same power rating, protection simulates the internal mo- NC overload relay contact in series with
Are they for you? Although frame- tor conditions by sensing current to motor starter coil.

1997 Power Transmission Design A339


possibly causing insulation failure. With
Reflected wave produced by A-S drives capacitors installed, the rate of rise is re-
duced and the surge is more evenly dis-
Insulated gate bipolar transistors the cable and the motor contribute tributed across the entire winding.
(IGBTs) let adjustable-speed drives to the existance of this phenemenon.
turn voltage on and off 18,000 to In addition, the insulation process
20,000 times a second. To do this for motor windings may leave micro-
Programmable units
means the voltage rise time is short, scopic voids in the coating. These Programmable motor protection
usually less than a microsecond. holes can be insulation failure units are designed to protect large
These short rise times combined with points when voltage peaks are im- motors, generally of 500 hp or more,
long power lines between the drive pressed on the stator winding by a and motors that are essential in a sys-
and controller can produce voltage reflected wave, since as much as 60 tem or process.
reflections, also called reflected to 80% of the voltage can be dis- Typically, the operator or program-
waves that have high peak voltages. tributed across the first turn of the mer inputs specific motor data, such
If the voltages are large enough, they motor winding. as full-load and locked-rotor time, al-
will generate potentially destructive At this time, conclusive data is not lowable acceleration time, allowable
stresses in the motor insulation. This available to determine the exact number of starts in a specified time,
phenomenon is not widespread, but cause of insulation failure; motor and several other electrical parame-
users should be aware of it. manufacturers are split on what situ- ters, plus allowable winding and
Reflected wave phenomenon pri- ations result from the reflected wave bearing temperature.
marily affects 460-V and 575-V, phenomenon. But there are The programmer can also establish
IGBT-based drives. Generally, 230-V solutions. what action the unit will take in the
applications are unaffected because • Provide a motor with insulation event of a fault—indicate an alarm,
the reflected wave amplitudes are that can withstand the typical ampli- shut down the motor, or initiate an or-
low while the typical motor insula- tudes of reflected waves. derly process shutdown.
tion is the same as a 460 V-motor. • Keep cable length short. For efficient energy management,
The fast switching capabilities of • Install a filter at the drive output. some programmable units give in-
various drive switching devices, es- • Install a terminating device that strument outputs to indicate lapsed
pecially IGBTs; long cable lengths will keep the amplitude of the reflected running time, energy consumption,
between motors and drives; and mis- wave below potentially destructive power factor, and power.
matched surge impedance between levels.
MOTOR EFFICIENCIES
• Inherent is the simplest of the di- age a motor almost instantly. Light-
rect methods. Its device mounts in the ning can cause severe motor damage The Energy Act of 1992 defines new
motor end shield. Used in motors even if transformers and lightning ar- efficiency levels for several electrical
from fractional through 10 hp, an in- restors are installed on the incoming devices including motors. By 1997,
ternal bimetal strip responds to sur- distribution system. Power compa- however, motor manufacturers will no
rounding temperature — the result of nies frequently use power-factor cor- longer be able to offer standard-effi-
ambient temperature, internal motor recting capacitors in distribution sys- ciency motors. It is assumed that as
temperature, internal motor heating, tems. If these capacitors are switched, motors wear out, replacement motors
and the heat dissipated by a resistive large voltage transients can be gener- will be the high-efficiency offerings.
heater through which current passes. ated, especially if proper snubbers are High-efficiency motors are built to
The bimetal strip operates one or not installed. Insulation failures in reduce motor energy loss. Improve-
three contacts, depending on motor the electrical system other than in the ments in several areas, Figure 21, in-
requirements. motor can produce voltage spikes five crease motor service life:
• Thermostats are also made with times the normal line-to-ground crest • Larger-diameter wire, increasing
bimetal-operated, snap-action con- value. With these possibilities for the volume of copper by 34 to 40%.
tacts. One or more thermostats in- voltage spikes, it is imperative that This change reduces copper losses that
stalled on motor-winding end turns proper transient suppression net- result naturally from current passing
sense true winding temperature. works be installed on equipment es- through the copper-wire windings.
However, the unit is insulated from sential to an operation and on motors • Larger wire slots to accommodate
the winding and has significant mass operating at 2300 V or more. For more larger wire. This reduces the amount
to heat. This combination induces a on a specific type of voltage spike, re- of active steel in each steel lamination.
thermal lag that makes the device flected wave phenemenon, see the • Longer rotor and stator core to
suitable for sensing slowly changing box, “Reflected wave produced by A-S compensate for the loss of steel and the
temperatures. Thermostats are often drives.” Two types of protection are resultant need to add more laminations.
combined with thermal overload re- commonly used — lightning arrestors • High-grade silicon steel lamina-
lays, which offer better protection and surge capacitors. tions approximately 0.018 in. thick,
against locked rotor conditions. • Arrestors limit the maximum having an electrical loss of 1.5 W/lb.
voltage across the motor terminals. The chemical makeup and thinner
Voltage surge protection • Capacitors limit the rate of voltage gage of the laminations, plus a coating
rise. If this rate is not limited, the first of inorganic insulation on each piece,
A voltage spike, or surge, can dam- few motor windings must absorb a surge, reduce eddy current losses. Special an-

A340 1997 Power Transmission Design


application, are considered the pri-
mary causes of bearing currents, es-
pecially in motors in the hundreds of
horsepower. These imbalances are
typically caused by some form of non-
uniform magnetic flux paths.
Harmonics in the voltage supplied
to the motor are becoming more com-
Figure 21 —High
mon because more facilities are gen-
efficiency motors
are built with erating their own power, more motors
larger-diameter are powered by adjustable-speed
wire, longer rotors, drives, and more drives now use IGBT
silicon steel rather than SCR and GTO technolo-
laminations and gies in the drive inverter section. As
other features. harmonic content in an adjustable-
speed motor-drive system increases,
motors that previously had no prob-
lem with shaft currents may begin to
develop rapid bearing failures.
This shaft voltage seeks a complete
circuit through its two bearings to
ground, or through its outboard bear-
ing and the connected machinery. Un-
less prevented from reaching high
levels, over 0.5 V, it can cause chemi-
cal changes in the insulating grease,
breaking it down and thereby making
the grease act like an electrolytic in a
capacitor.
nealing and plating of rotor and stator tor nameplate. A recent efficiency la- When a motor operates on sinu-
components and use of high-purity beling standard requires that pre- soidal power, a safe low level for volt-
cast aluminum rotor bars reduce hys- mium-efficiency motors carry the age along the length of the shaft is
teresis losses. NEMA nominal efficiency rating on less than 0.1 V. If a motor operates off
• Higher-grade bearings reduces the label. an adjustable-speed power, high-fre-
friction loss. quency transient-voltage spikes can
• Smaller, more efficient designs re- INDUCED BEARING CURRENTS
cause this voltage to measure appre-
duce windage losses in fan-cooled motors. ciably higher.
• Tighter tolerances and more Problems produced by electric cur-
stringent manufacturing-process con- rents passing through the bearings in
trol reduce losses from unplanned an ac motor (expecially motors rated
Determining the problem
conducting paths and stray load in the hundreds of horsepower) has There are two methods to deter-
phenomena. been recognized since the 1920s. To- mine if bearing currents are the cause
These design changes also result in day, however, adjustable-speed (A-S) of unexpected motor bearing failure:
cooler running motors. Cooler opera- drives and plants generating their measure the shaft voltage or examine
tion lengthens a motor’s service life in own power are putting a modern twist the bearings.
two ways. For every 10 C reduction in to this problem that significantly All motors have some level of shaft
temperature, motor insulation life shortens bearing life. voltage. Above a certain level, shaft
doubles; high-efficiency motors tend to voltage is a failure indicator. Gener-
operate 10 to 20 C cooler than stan- ally end-to-end shaft voltage should
dard-efficiency motors.
Causes of induced be less than 0.5 V. Normally, voltage
The motors that must meet the new shaft voltages levels below this will not cause harm-
efficiency levels include: All motors ful bearing currents. Engineers can
made in or exported to the U.S., includ- Magnetic imbalances and harmon- measure the shaft voltage with any
ing all motors sold as part of a piece of ics in the power line are the primary voltmeter that has an impedance of
equipment; general purpose motors; causes of induced shaft voltages that, 10,000 ohms per volt or more.
motors rated from 1 - 250-hp; T- in turn, produce damaging bearing When examining the bearings, look
Frame; single speed; foot mounted; currents. Other causes include im- for specific types of damage. Bearing
polyphase; NEMA designs A & B; con- properly grounded electric arc weld- damage results when current is bro-
tinuous rated; 230/460 volts; constant ing and static electricity from manu- ken at the contact surfaces between
60-Hz frequency. facturing processes, such as pumping rolling elements and raceways, Figure
Exceptions include special purpose or compressing applications. 22. The size of the damage points de-
and definite purpose motors. Magnetic imbalances, which are pends on the magnitude of the induced
Efficiency ratings will be on the mo- produced by the motor design or its voltage, the impedance of the current

1997 Power Transmission Design A341


Solutions

There are three ways of solving bear-


ing current in any size motor: mechani-
cal shaft grounding, harmonic suppres-
sion, and insulating the bearings.
Some third party vendors have at-
tached devices to the shaft with con-
tacting elements that ground it. This
is a workable solution, but not the
only one or necessarily the best, ex-
cept for field retrofits.
To control the harmonic content in
the power systems, several manufac-
turers offer line-to-line and line-to-
Figure 22 — When current is broken at the contact surface between the rolling elements
ground sine-wave output and com-
and the raceways, it produces arcing damage.
mon-mode filters for their
adjustable-speed drives These filters
reduce harmonics, audible noise, mo-
tor temperature, and vibration, and
they increase the life of the motor and
its windings. The cost of the filters as
well as their tendency to reduce mo-
tor-drive efficiency because of extra
heat generation determine whether
this solution is workable.
Figure 23 — Electrical pits are another indication of bearing currents. If left unchecked, Most standard motors in 440
this will eventually result in fluting. frames and smaller do not have insu-
lated bearings. If bearing currents
cause a problem, your motor manu-
facturer can provide motors with in-
sulated bearings. That is, place an in-
sulating material between the
bearing mounting ring and the frame
of the motor, or between the shaft and
the bearing. Any object in contact
with the bearing ring — pipes, tubes,
washers, and the bolts used to mount
the bearing ring to the frame — must
also be insulated.
Insulated bearings are a common
option on motors of 580 frame and
larger. And it is generally accepted, in
the U.S. at least, that adjustable-
speed drives and motors above NEMA
440 frames should have insulated
bearings to prevent the flow of shaft
currents.
It is only necessary to insulate one
Figure 24 — Fluting, an accumulation of pits, is a sure indicator of bearing currents. outboard bearing to open the circuit.
Once started, fluting is self-perpetuating until the bearing fails. Special provisions are necessary in
certain cases to maintain an open cir-
path, and the bearing type. The early is fluting, Figure 24. Fluting in anti- cuit to the load or another motor, such
observable effects of this damage on friction bearing races specifically in- as insulted drive couplings in large
the bearings is pitting and fluting. dicates the problem is bearing cur- tandem motor arrangements.
Figure 23 shows a series of electri- rents. Fluting can occur in ball or Insulating the bearing will not
cal pits in a roller and in a raceway of roller bearings and develop consider- eliminate voltage on the shaft, but it
a spherical roller bearing. able depth, producing noise and vi- will prevent that voltage from using
More serious electrical damage oc- bration and eventual fatigue from lo- the bearings as a current path.
curs when current passes during pro- cal overstressing. Once fluting is Excerpted from an article by
longed periods and the number of in- started, it is self-perpetuating until Siemens in the May 1996 issue of
dividual pits accumulates. The result the bearing fails. PTD. ■

A342 1997 Power Transmission Design

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