One full day down, and MD&M West and the collocated ATX — also known as the Pacific Design & Manufacturing Show — are in full swing in Anaheim. New motion-control and power-transmission products and applications abound — with a lot of cross-pollination to other industries from the medical-device and semiconductor-manufacturing industries. Here’s just a smattering […]
AC Motors
AutomationDirect IronHorse MTR2 series general-purpose rolled-steel ac motors
New MTR2 series IronHorse general-purpose rolled-steel ac motors from AutomationDirect come in 1-phase and 3-phase versions and offer better performance specifications, improved cosmetic appearance and quieter operation. New single-phase MTR2 rolled-steel motors come in 1800 RPM, 115/230 Vac models. The motors are 56C frame, TEFC, and provide rigid base or C-face mounting. Nameplates include 60 […]
What is a wound rotor motor?
A wound rotor motor is a variation of the three-phase induction motor, designed to provide high starting torque for loads with high inertia, while requiring very low current. Wound rotor motors are also referred to as “slip ring motors.” The stator of a wound rotor motor is the same as a typical induction motor, but […]
Traction motors and steering motors and drives for electric vehicles — Custom ABM Drives designs
ABM traction drive systems for electric vehicles are available as bevel gearboxes, helical gearboxes and hub wheel drives. All drive types have outstanding efficiencies and quietness. High static wheel loads are possible with compact design gearboxes. Typical applications include forklifts, pallet trucks and sweeper-scrubbers that need sophisticated drive technology with high output at low energy consumption. ABM motor […]
Electric motor fluting: What is it and what causes it?
Variable frequency drives convert AC input voltage to DC, and then back to pulse-width-modulated AC voltage with variable frequency. These AC voltage pulses are controlled by insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). IGBTs have a fast switching time (also referred to as “rise time” or “dv/dt”—rate of change of voltage over time), which reduces energy losses […]
Custom SINOCHRON synchronous motors and drives can operate without an encoder
The SINOCHRON® Motor design offers advantages in continuous duty applications. The efficiency is also better in partially loaded duty cycles, when compared to standard asynchronous motors. Drive units are virtually loss-free in no-load operation. This motor design offers advantages in powering conveying equipment; escalators, spooling machines, compressors and traction drive units amongst others. By substituting existing line […]
Brother Gearmotors to showcase premium product line at PACKEX Toronto
Brother Gearmotors, a division of Brother International Corporation that offers a wide range of ultra-reliable, sub-fractional AC gearmotors and reducers for the food & beverage, packaging and material handling industries, will display samplings from its premium gearmotors portfolio at PACKEX Toronto May 16 to 18 at the Toronto Congress Centre. Located at Booth 1182, Brother Gearmotors […]
Lafert displays integrated industry and Automation 4.0 at Hannover Messe
Hannover Messe 2017 is currently running through 28 April in Germany — with more than 250,000 visitors and 6,500 exhibitors from numerous industrial sectors. “We’ll present the new generation of IE3 NEMA Premium and EISA Asynchronous Motors, intended for the North American market, with a new, exclusive design that allows for ever-increasing performance levels,” said Holger Klein, Country Sales […]
Trends in electric motors part one: Market shifts towards smart solutions
This year in motor design there’s been an uptick in three trends. Disposable medical devices, new consumer products, and the automation of humbler tasks are driving demand for affordable and miniature-motor options. (Read more about motor miniaturization in the second installment of this two-part Motion Trends series on electric motors here.) A related trend towards […]
FAQ: How are PID parameters configured for variable frequency drives?
Using proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control with variable frequency drives (VFDs) is common when a process set point—such as temperature, pressure, flow, or speed—needs to be precisely controlled. In fact, many VFDs are now supplied with an integrated PID controller. PID controller terms Configuring the PID parameters for fast response and minimum overshoot (referred to as tuning […]
