Motors and Drives
|
Motor Build Inspection & Analysis Several Types of Motor Build Inspections may be beneficial or necessary to establish the condition, suitability or overall quality of a motor for an application. These inspections may be primarily visual and qualitative or extremely detailed and quantitative. They may be forensic as a result of a failure or comparative with other designs or incumbent designs. They may be destructive or strictly non-destructive. In all cases, however, a great amount of motor industry knowledge, and technical expertise needs to be called upon in order to receive meaningful results. If at all possible it is always best to conduct performance tests on the motor(s) of interest to verify consistency of the motor(s) performance vs. the name plate and or other published documentation or specifications related to the motor(s). This performance data in addition to a properly conducted Build Inspection and Analysis can be vital to making the right decision regarding your application. Build Inspection categories / checklist Name Plate information - compliance to Industry Standards and/or Practices Construction Quality - basic design, clearances, tolerances, materials, presence of contamination, etc. Stator - basic assembly and appearance, insulation system (including slot fill, top stacks, phase separation, coil connection), end turn lacing, varnish bond, frame integrity, core/frame attachment, mounting dimensions Winding - type, including # of groups and coils, craftsmanship Rotor - basic assembly, # of bars, skew, # & dimensions of end ring airfoils, magnitude of balance weight used, axial clearance, wave washer placement Start Mechanism - type and design including features that effect reliability Bearings and Seals - types, installation, condition, serviceability, suitability to application Leads/ Terminations - material, temperature class, termination integrity, routing, securing, safety, labeling clarity Cooling features - type, air flow rate/fan capacity Shouldifactor - Should I buy this motor or not Some of the typical performance tests that would be desirable in addition to the above are:
Additional tests that may prove beneficial and/or necessary are:
In some applications the impact of a failure is not that significant and in others failures must be kept to an absolute minimum, or avoided at all costs. Whenever the reliable performance of a motor needs to be seriously considered, Advanced Energy can provide a plan of action to give you the information you need to apply the most cost effective motor for your application. With the right plan, Advanced Energy can then assist in the effort to collect the data / information to make the right decision. For information about Advanced Energy and the right Build Inspection and Analysis, contact David Berkowitz at 1-800-869-8001 or dberkowitz@advancedenergy.org.
|