Industrial electric motors are big pieces of equipment that convert electrical energy into mechanical motion. They account for a substantial portion of businesses' power demand.

They must be controlled to improve their precision and protect them from large inrush currents on start up. This will prevent damage to conveyor belts and other machinery.

Stator

Stator is the stationary component of an industrial electric motors. It comprises of a static core and windings which are wound around it. When an AC is supplied to it, the polarity of the stator’s coils changes constantly which creates a magnetic field that rotates.

The stator is made from a thin as well as stacked laminations which are wounded using insulated wire. The resulting core is then encased in an enclosure that protects it from dust and dirt particles.

Rotor

The rotor is responsible for generating a magnetic field that interacts with the stator to produce rotation. This can be done using a copper winding, conductor bars, or in more recent designs – interior permanent magnets (IPM).

The most common buy electric motors rotor is known as a squirrel cage. It has a cylindrical core designed with steel lamination and slots that hold evenly spaced copper wires. These wires are then permanently shorted together at the ends by end rings. The rotor core can also be laser marked with data matrix codes or serial numbers to collect production process data and improve quality control. The rotor can also be balanced to ensure an efficient mechanical transfer of power from the rotor shaft to the motor’s wheels or other equipment. This is typically accomplished by placing the rotor on a test stand equipped with accelerometers, tachymeters and scales that measure acceleration, speed and weight as the rotor spins.

Commutator

A commutator is a rotating electrical switch that connects the external circuit to the machine’s rotor or armature. It features a series of copper segments fixed around its circumference. Carbon brushes rest on these segments and slide across them as the commutator rotates, maintaining contact to collect or supply current.

As the commutator rotates, it reverses current direction in the armature windings with each half turn, converting alternating current into direct current for the machine’s external circuit. This is necessary to ensure that the force driving the rotor through the magnetic field always acts in the same direction.

Small, disposable molded commutators are commonly used in toy and small motors and cannot be repaired when damaged. Large industrial equipment usually utilizes refillable dovetail commutators that can be unscrewed and replaced as needed. Surplusrecord & Industrial can provide these types of commutators in a variety of constructions to suit the application requirements of any DC motor.

Gears

Gears are a mechanical component that transmit rotation and power by pushing one shaft’s tooth surface into the space between teeth of another shaft. They are available in many different forms and serve a variety of functions. In order for two gears to maintain a given angular speed ratio while in contact at the tooth surfaces without running into each other or separating, the common normal components of their speeds must be equal. This is achieved by ensuring that the involute curve of their tooth profiles intersects at the pitch point.