About Electric Motors and Electric Motor Manufacturers
Including: AC Motors, Brushless
Motors, DC
Motors, Servo Motors & Stepper
Motors.
Electric motors supply the speed and torque in a drive
system. Electric motors change electric energy into movement using magnetism
with most using only one type of current. This is not true for universal
motors, which operate using either alternating current or direct current.
Using the combination of electric energy and magnetic current means no
fuel is needed to run the motor, as found with many engines. Electric
motors are used in many applications and many industries instead of fuel
engines because they are cleaner and less expensive to run. Electric
motors are also a good alternative to fuel engines in many cases because
they release no exhaust or emission, which solves a health hazard.
The telecommunications, food, medical and manufacturing industries all
use electric motors for various purposes. Electric motor manufacturers
produce electric motors for fans, clocks, power locks and windows, electric
can openers and electric toys. Automobiles are an example of a machine
that utilizes several electric motors for proper function. The starter
motor gets the gas engine moving. Electric motors are used to move the
wiper blades and windows as well.
Electric motor manufacturers use enclosure, rotor, axle, coil and field
magnet as the main components for electric motors. Not all electric motors
contain brushes, which help conduct current. When electric motors are
brushless, an external power supply is used to get the current transferred.
Because of their lack of brushes, brushless electric motors are actually
more expensive. They tend to last longer due to lack of sparking issues
commonly associated with the existence of brushes.
The two main types of electric motors are AC and DC. While these are
very wide categories, the basic difference between the two is the direction
the current flows through the engine itself. They both use magnets to
create the motion necessary for power generation. The magnets react with
the current, which flows through specific points of the motor and causes
rotation. This rotational movement is the source of power which is transferred
into the equipment in need of the power. Examples of specific AC and
DC motor types are servo, induction and gear motors. The size range and
power capacity can differ tremendously depending on what specific types
of electric motors are used.
Since the uses for electric motors grow everyday, electric motor manufacturers
create a wide variety of choices and types of electric motors. Weight,
size, power source, torque and cost are all variables that are unique
to the type of electric motor desired. In many cases custom electric
motors can be designed to specification. When selecting electric motors,
take into consideration the size of the space where the electric motors
will have to fit, the requirements for power input and motion output,
the desired speed of the motion to be produced, the type of current to
be used and the overall cost limits. Most manufacturers of electric motors
have a wide range of capabilities to meet your needs.
Types of Electric Motors
- generate their magnetic field by an electromagnet
powered by the same AC voltage as the motor coil. It is dispersed
in
single or three-phase forms with the ability for direction changes
of its current cycles.
- have
built mechanical brushes that automatically commutate coils on the
rotor as the motor rotates. Brush-type motors are
more cost effective than brushless.
- allow
commutation of the coils on the stator by using an outside power drive
without brushes.
- have adjustable speed and torque applications.
In a DC electric motor, there would be adjustable speed and torque
along
with a rotor and a permanent magnetic field stator.
- are
motors that convert electric energy into motion using magnetism. Electric
motors contrast engines because engines use
fuel and electric motors do not.
- consist
of a gear head and motor. Together they can reduce the speed
of the motor to the preferred RPM's.
-
use electric current to generate rotation in the coils instead of delivering
the rotation directly. They acquire their torque from currents produced
in loops by a changing magnetic field in the field coils.
-
have motor magnets embedded into the rotor assembly. This design allows
them to align with the rotating magnetic field of the stator.
-
have shafts that do not rotate freely; the shafts move to a definite
angular location. They are often used for motion control in robots,
hard disc drives, etc.
-
are essentially electric motors without commutators. All of the commutation
handled externally by the motor controller can be stepped at audio
frequencies,
allowing them to spin quite quickly and be started and stopped precisely
at controlled orientations.
-
can operate at a constant speed up to full load. They have a series
of three windings in the stator section with a rotating area; there
is no slip.
|
Electric Motors Terms
- Current whose flow can be changed. Alternating current is commonly
available in single and three forms.
- The space between
the rotor and stationary stator member in an electric motor.
- The meter-kilogram-second
unit of electric current that is equivalent to the steady current produced
by one volt applied across a resistance of one ohm.
- A part of the magnetic
structure of a motor that rotates in a DC or universal motor.
- The end that holds
the coupling or driving pulley. Also referred to as the drive end.
- Current conducting material
that guides current from the power supply to the armature windings.
- Converting an
electric current from direct current to alternating current. Can go both
ways.
- The segment of the stator
and rotor, usually iron, which is made up of cylindrical laminated electric
steel.
-
One complete reverse of flow of alternating current per rate of time.
- The duration and
relationship of operating and non-operating times or repeatable operation
at different loads.
- The housing or
frame of a motor in which there are two wide classifications: open and
totally closed.
- The part of the
motor housing that supports the bearing and acts as a protective guard
to the electrical and rotating parts inside the motor. Often referred
to as an "end bracket" or "end bell."
- A motor usually built smaller than that having a continuous rating of
one horsepower. The frame size can categorize the motor as fractional
also.
- The end opposite
the coupling or driving pulley. Also referred to as the commutator end.
- A gearmotor part
that holds the gearing, which converts the basic motor speed to the rated
output speed.
- A function of torque
and rpm.
- A device used for
the positioning of a motor. These are adjustable screws fitted on the
base or motor frame.
- The burden forced on
a motor by the driven machine. Often stated as the torque required to
overcome the resistance of the machine it drives.
- A device that takes
electrical energy and converts it into mechanical energy to turn a shaft.
- A device that is effective
by a variation in the conditions of one electric circuit to affect the
operation of other devices in the same or another electric circuit.
- Made of stacked laminations,
it is the rotating component of an induction motor.
- Revolutions per minute.
The number of times per minute the shaft of the motor rotates.
- The rotating part of
the motor that protrudes past the bearings for attachment to the driven
equipment.
- In an AC induction
motor the stator is made of laminations with a large hole in the center
for rotor to turn and slots in the stator for the windings to be inserted.
- Force for turning provided
by a motor or gear motor shaft. Often described in pounds.
- The difference of possibility
between two points in a conducting wire with a constant current of one
ampere.
|