Brushless dc

motor uses
slotless design
The brushless, slotless dc motors from
Xtreme Energy, St. Petersburg, have all the
advantages of slotless, brushless
technology combined with a proprietary
coil winding configuration that reduces
current losses. The motor is also
autoclavable, so it can be used in medical
equipment that needs sterilizing between
uses.
Being brushless, there are no mechanical
contacts between the voltage source and
the motor's rotating components, which reduces maintenance and
potential for failure. It also reduces the electromagnetic and radio
frequency interference (EMI and RFI). The slotless design uses a
basket winding inserted into a ring lamination with no teeth or slots.
Therefore, rotation is smooth with virtually no cogging. The motor
weighs less, has lower magnetic losses, and produces less heat.
Compared to slotted, brushless motors which are 30 to 70% efficient,
Xtreme's are up to 95% efficient. They do not need a cooling fan and
noise levels are low. They are also capable of speeds over 100,000
rpm, while other brushless, slotted dc motors can go no higher than
30,000 rpm. And while costs for other brushless, slotted motors range
from $200 to $2,500, Xtreme's are available for $85 to $850,
depending on size and quantities.

DC Motor Repair
With literally decades of experience, DC
equipment repair has become a specialty at
Jenkins Electric. We service a wide variety of
industrial customers and also provide services
other motor repair centers.
DC motors and generators introduce additional
complexity into the repair process. The additio
of (1) a commutator with brushes, and (2)
rotating armature coils subjected to centrifuga
force are factors not involved in typical AC
repair.
The following procedures and tests are used at Jenkins Electric to ensure top-quality DC machin
repair:

Conductive carbon dust left by worn brushes is cleaned from the armature;
then each commutator is checked for grounds and bar-to-bar shorts with
detailed electrical testing.
Technicians repair most commutator problems in-house. For severely
damaged or non-repairable commutators, we have several excellent
sources for fast delivery of custom manufactured replacements.
Coils are manufactured in-house to assure proper fit. This eliminates
constant bending and shaping during installation which can damage coil
insulation.
Proper banding is critical in DC repair. This ensures that windings are held
in position during high-speed operation.
Field coils are checked using voltage drop testing. Bad fields and interpoles
are rewound in our shop on custom-made forms.
TIG welding is available to eliminate soldered joints where design dictates.
All commutators at Jenkins Electric are turned, undercut, and chamfered
to provide the best possible surface for brush contact.
For corrosive or other severe duty environments, commutator platinum
plating is available to extend wear life.
Neutral setting adjustments are made during final machine testing to
insure proper operation.

Rebuilding DC armatures for critical applications

Elevator maintenance companies are very particular about who

services their elevator motors - and for good reason. Jenkins Electric
repairs a majority of these motors for all elevator companies in this
region.
_______________________

A technician installs form coils in the armature with coil leads fitted
to the commutator (left). Coil leads are then soldered or welded int
place.
After multiple dip and bake varnish cycles, the
commutator is turned in a lathe to remove worn
brush tracks and other surface irregularities

Mica insulation between each commutator

segment is undercut using a special, high-speed
saw

Each commutator segment is hand-chamfered as

"fine tuning" for smooth, trouble-free brush
contact

Miniature Dc Motor Achieves High Speeds

at Low
Temperatures
A 6-mm-diam brushless motor is reportedly
the world's smallest electronically
commutated dc motor with magnetic
sensors. The component turns at up to 100,000 rpm and weighs only 2.8 g.
Developed and manufactured by Maxon Motor AG (Sachseln, Switzerland), the unit
is suited for use in infusion pumps and endoscopy applications.
The motor has a power rating of 1.2 W and operates at a low temperature. At a no-
load speed of 80,000 rpm, the motor reaches a housing temperature of only 52°C.
Constant performance can be achieved up to a maximum temperature of 125°C.
Magnetic Hall sensors supply information on rotor position and help the drive
achieve precision and a good start-up response.
The nominal voltage is 9 V dc. As with other dc motors, the operating voltage
varies within a wide range. The maximum continuous current is 500 mA, and
maximum continuous torque is 0.260 mN•m. The company is currently working on
a range of 6-mm planetary gearheads for applications requiring higher torque at
lower speeds. Suitable electronics are also available.

A brushless DC motor is an electric motor that operates like a DC motor, but with the roles of the rotor and stator
reversed. The rotor consists of a set of permanent magnets and the stator consists of electromagnets. The motor
has no brushes and no commutator in the traditional sense, but the role of the commutator is played by an
electronic circuit, that switches the current to the different stator coils at the appropriate times. There exist
integrated circuits specially designed for this purpose. Many brushless DC motors contain Hall effect sensors, so
the electronic circuit knows the rotor position and can switch the current in the stator coils accordingly. Some
brushless DC drive circuits use the back EMF in the undriven coils to sense the rotor position, so they do not
need the Hall effect sensors.

The advantages of brushless DC motors over conventional DC motors are high reliability, no production of sparks
and no production of electromagnetic interference. The disadvantage is higher cost due to the complex
electronics.

Brushless DC Motors

Brushless DC motors are refered to by many aliases: brushless

permanent magnet, permanent magnet ac motors, permanent
magnet synchronous motors ect. The confusion arises because a
brushless dc motor does not directly operate off a dc voltage source.
However, as we shall see, the basic principle of operation is similar to
a dc motor.

A brushless dc motor has a rotor with permanent magnets and a

stator with windings. It is essentially a dc motor turned inside out. The
brushes and commutator have been eliminated and the windings are
connected to the control electronics. The control electronics replace
the function of the commutator and energize the proper winding.

As shown in the animation the winding are energized in a pattern

which rotates around the stator. The energized stator winding leads
the rotor magnet, and switches just as the rotor aligns with the stator.

There are no sparks, which is one advantage of the bldc motor. The
brushes of a dc motor have several limitations; brush life, brush
residue, maximum speed, and electrical noise. BLDC motors are
potentially cleaner, faster, more efficient, less noisy and more
reliable. However, BLDC motors require electronic control.
Full Step Stepper Motor

This animation demonstrates the principle for a stepper motor using

full step commutation. The rotor of a permanent magnet stepper
motor consists of permanent magnets and the stator has two pairs of
windings. Just as the rotor aligns with one of the stator poles, the
second phase is energized. The two phases alternate on and off and
also reverse polarity. There are four steps. One phase lags the other
phase by one step. This is eqivilent to one forth of an electical cycle
or 90°.

This stepper motor is very simplified. The rotor of a real stepper motor
usually has many poles. The animation has only ten poles, however a
real stepper motor might have a hundred. These are formed using a
single magnet mounted inline with the rotor axis and two pole peices
with many teeth. The teeth are stagered to produce many poles. The
stator poles of a real stepper motor also has many teeth. The teeth
are arranged so that the two phases are still 90° out of phase.

This stepper motor uses permanent magnets. Some stepper motors do not have magnets
and instead use the basic principles of a switched reluctance motor. The stator is similar
but the rotor is composed of a iron laminates.

Half Step Stepper Motor

This animation shows the stepping pattern for a half-step stepper

motor. The commutation sequence for a half-step stepper motor has
eight steps instead of four. The main difference is that the second
phase is turned on before the first phase is turned off. Thus,
sometimes both phases are energized at the same time. During the
half-steps the rotor is held in between the two full-step positions.

A half-step motor has twice the resolution of a full step motor. It is very popular for this
reason.

Switched Reluctance Motors

A switched reluctance or variable reluctance motor does not contain

any permanent magnets. The stator is similar to a brushless dc motor.
However, the rotor consists only of iron laminates. The iron rotor is
attracted to the energized stator pole. The polarity of the stator pole
does not matter. Torque is produced as a result of the attraction
between the electromagnet and the iron rotor.

The rotor forms a magnetic circuit with the energized stator pole. The
reluctance of a magnetic circuit is the magnetic equivilent to the
resistance of a electric circuit. The reluctance of the magnetic circuit
decreases as the rotor aligns with the stator pole. When the rotor is
inline with the stator the gap between the rotor and stator is very
small. At this point the reluctance is at a minimum. This is where the
name “Switched Reluctance” comes from.

The inductance of the energized winding also varies as the rotor

rotates. When the rotor is out of alignment, the inductance is very
low, and the current will increase rapidly. When the rotor is aligned
with the stator, the inductance will be very large and the slope
decreases. This is one of the difficulties in driving a switched
reluctance motor.