5/1/2017 DCMotorsOpenElectrical

DCMotors
FromOpenElectrical

Contents
1 DCMotorApplicationConsiderations
1.1 ElectromagneticInterference(EI)
1.2 MotorServiceLife
2 Reference

DCMotorApplicationConsiderations

AudibleNoise:Audiblenoiseisaconcerninsometypesofmotorapplications.Inmanymedicalapplicationslike
infusionpumpsorprostheticdevices,thepatientcanbeverysensitivetothenoisedisturbance.Gooddesign
practicerequiresthatthenoisebelimitedasmuchaspossible.Inlargemachines,thecombinationofhundredsof
DCmotorsandgearsoperatingsimultaneouslycanbeveryloudanddistractingtotheemployeeswhohaveto
workincloseproximitytothemachine

QualityComponents:Probablythebestmethodofinsuringlowaudiblenoiseinmotorsistospecifyquality
components.Motorsusingcheaporpoorlyfittedbearingsaremorelikelytobenoisy.Poorlydesignedorloose
fittingbrushsetscancontributetoaudiblynoisycommutation.Manufacturersofinexpensive,highvolumemotors
cannotreasonablybeexpectedtoconcernthemselveswithquietoperationbeyondsomeminimumstandard,and
theuseofsuchmotorsinapplicationswherequietoperationisimportantshouldbeconsideredcarefully.The
designermustconsiderwhetherlowcosttakesprecedenceoverquietoperationintheprioritiesofthecustomer.

BearingChoice:Theuseofballbearingswithoutpreloadisapotentialsourceofaudiblenoise.Wherethespecific
applicationpermits,ballbearingsshouldbepreloaded.Thismeansthattheballswillnotbeabletomoveaxiallyin
theraceandcausetheminuteintermittentrattlingthatcansometimebeassociatedwithunpreloadedballbearings.
Smallerballbearingscanbesensitivetoheavyshaftloads.Theyareeasilydamagedduringpressfittingadded
componentsandbyshortradialoraxialoverloads.Careshouldbetakennottoexceedtheshaftloadingranges
specifiedinthedatasheets.Adamagedballbearingcanbeasignificantsourceofaudiblenoiseandcaneffect
motorlife.

Sinteredsleevebearingsareaverygoodchoicewhenlimitingaudiblenoiseiftheapplicationdoesnotrequirethe
motortoenduresignificantcontinuousorintermittentchangesintheshaftloadingcharacteristics.Theshaftofthe
motoractuallyridesonathermodynamicfilmoflubricationandthereducedfrictioncanlimitaudiblenoise.Ifthe
bearingisoverloadedradially,however,thisfilmbreaksdownandtheshaftwillgrindthebearingdowncausing
audiblenoiseandreducingtheoperationallifetimeofthemotor.

Vibration:Rotorvibrationcanbeasignificantsourceofaudiblenoise.Vibrationandnoiseincreaseswithspeed.
Evenaslightimbalanceintherotorcancausemajorvibrationsatspeedsof10,000rpm.

BrushOptions:Coppergraphitetypebrushestendtobebothaudiblyandelectricallynoisierthanpreciousmetal
systems.Graphitebasedbrushesarecapableofwithstandingconsiderablyhighercurrentdensities,however,and
theyareoftenrequiredinanapplicationforthatreason.Whereachoiceisavailableforaspecificapplicationand
audiblenoiseisimportant,preciousmetalbrushesarethebetterchoice.

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ElectromagneticInterference(EI)

DCmotorsareasourceofelectricalaswellasaudiblenoise.EMI(electromagneticinterference)canberadiated
bymotorterminalsandleadwiresandmaycauseproblemswithothercomponentsinthevicinityofthemotor.Itis
alsopossibleforspikestobecoupledontodatalinesoroutputlinesfromencoders.Theresultcanbefalsedataor
encoderinformation.ThereareanumberofmethodsthatcanbeusedtominimizeEMIinmotorapplications.Like
manyotherconsiderationsinDCmotorapplications,eachhasitsadvantagesanddisadvantagesandmustbe
evaluatedwithinthecontextoftheapplication.

MotorCommutation:ThemostcommonsourceofEMIproblemsisthecommutationofmotors.Ateach
commutationpoint,whenthebrushbreakscontactwithacommutatorsegment,theenergystoredinthemotor
windingasamagneticfieldcausesanarcorvoltagespikebetweenthebrushandthecommutatorsegment.This
occursnotonlyduringnormalcommutationbutalsoinsituationswherethebrushes"bounce"ontherotating
commutator.CorelessDCmotorsaretypicallylesselectricallynoisythanironcoreDCmotorsbecauseofthe
lowerarmatureinductancewhichinturnreducesthelevelofthearcenergy.Thisarcingcanbefurthermitigated
withtheadditionofacapacitorring,whichservestodissipatetheenergythroughacapacitorandresistorseries
backintothemotorcoil.

QualityComponents:Theimportanceofusingqualitycomponentsinanymotordesignisofacrucialimportance.
Aswasthecasewithaudiblenoise,theuseofcheap,poorlyconstructedmotorsaddstotheelectricalnoise
problem."Opencase"motorsdonoteffectivelyblockEMIradiatedfromthecoilwindings.Poorlyfittedbrush
holdersandinadequatebrushtensioncontributetoradiatedEMIaswell.

Corelessmotors:CorelessDCmotorshavemuchlowerarmatureinductancethanironcoremotorsofcomparable
size.SincearmatureinductanceistheprimarycauseofEMIproblems,minimizingitthroughselectionofcoreless
motorsisrecommendedwhereEMIisacriticalfactor.

LeadWiresandShielding:MotorleadwiresshouldbeplacedasclosetogetheraspossiblesothatEMIradiated
fromthetwoleadscancanceleachother.Thiscancelingeffectcanbeimprovedbyusingsocalled"twistedpairs"
wherethepositiveandnegativeleadwiresaretwistedtogether.Motorleadsshouldbephysicallyseparatedfrom
datalinesorencoderoutputstoreducethepossibilityofcouplingmotornoiseontothem.Thismeansthatwhen
usingshieldedpigtails,thefeedbacklinesshouldbeshieldedseparatelyfromthemotorleads.Ifnoiseisstill
causingproblemswiththeencodersignalsthanitmaybetimetoconsiderusingadifferentialencodertoeliminate
theeffectofinterferenceontheencoder.PWMswitchingnoiseisanothersourceofEMIproblems.Most
commonly,PWMswitchingresultsinradiatednoisefrommotorleadwires.Shieldingandleadwireplacementcan
alsohelpmitigatetheeffectofPWMgeneratedEMI.

Passivecomponents:EMIproblemscanoftenbesignificantlyreducedbythesimpleactofinstallingacapacitor
acrossthemotorterminals.Insometypesofapplications,thismethodmaynotbesuitablesincearesonantcircuit
iscreatedwhichcancause"ringing"problemsnearresonantfrequencies.Intheseinstances,anRCsnubber
networkacrossthemotorterminalsmaybemoreeffective.Componentvaluesarenotcriticalformotorsdriven
withDC,butcaremustbetakeninselectingcomponentsforPWMdrivensystems.

MotorServiceLife

OperatingPoint:Inmostapplications,thetorqueandspeeddemandsplaceduponaDCmotordetermineits
overalloperationallifetime.Asthetorquerequirementsonthemotorincrease,thecurrentthroughthearmature
increasesproportionally,thusincreasingthecurrentdensityatthebrushcommutatorinterface.Highcurrent
densitiespromoteelectroerosionofbrushandcommutatormaterials,alimitingfactorinmotorservicelife.In
addition,highrotationalspeedsshortenmotorservicelifebyacceleratingmechanicalwear.

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Althougheachapplicationhasitsownspecificrequirementstobeaddressed,itisusuallyadvisabletooperatea
DCmotorwithpreciousmetalbrushesandcommutatorcontinuouslyatnomorethan1/3ofitsratedstalltorque.
Motorswithgraphiteoncoppercommutationsystemsshouldberuncontinuouslyatnomorethan1/2ofthe
motor'sratedstalltorque.Theserecommendationsattempttomaximizemotorservicelife.Someapplicationsmay
notrequirethemaximumlifetimethatthemotorhastooffer.

RotorInductance:Oneofthefactorslimitingbrushandcommutatorlifeistheinductanceofthemotorarmature.
Duringcommutation,whencurrentflowsthroughaparticularcoilwindingthereisstorageofenergyintheformof
amagneticfield.Whenthemotorcommutatesandthecurrentflowisswitchedtoanotherwinding,themagnetic
fieldcollapsesandtheresultingdischargeofenergycausesanarcbetweenthecommutatorandbrush.Thisarcing
accelerateselectroerosionanddecreasesmotorlife.Onecould,theoretically,reducethearmatureinductanceof
themotorwindingsbydecreasingthenumberofturnsineacharmaturesegment.Thislowersthetorqueconstant
ofthemotor,however,whichincreasesthemotorcurrentforagiventorqueand,therefore,increasesthecurrent
densityatthebrushcommutatorinterface.Thisisnotrecommended.Toreducetheaffectofinductanceandarcing
onmotorlifetimeacapacitorringisbeingmountedtothecommutator.Theringprovidestheequivalenteffectof
eachwindingconnectedinparallelwithasmallcapacitorandresistor.Thecollapseofthemagneticfieldduring
commutationthenservestochargethecapacitorratherthancreatinganarcbetweenbrushandcommutator.The
storedenergyisreleasedanddissipatedbackintothenextcoilphaseinthecommutationsequence.Thistechnique,
whileslightlyincreasingtheelectricaltimeconstantofthemotor,dramaticallyincreasesmotorservicelife.

DriveProfiles:Operatingconditionsotherthantorqueandspeedalsoaffectservicelife.Theapplicationmay
requirefrequentstartingandstoppingorreversalsofdirection.Bothsituationsresultinperiodsofhighcurrent
densityandaresultingshorteningofservicelife.Asimilareffectisseeninapplicationswherepulsewidth
modulated(PWM)drivesareused.IfthePWMfrequencyistoolow,themotorisconstantlyacceleratingand
deceleratingwithanaccompanyingincreaseincurrentdensity.Asageneralrule,PWMfrequenciesof20kHzor
higherarerecommendedforironlesscoremotors.

EnvironmentalConsiderations:Environmentalconditionscanhaveaprofoundeffectonmotorservicelife.One
goodexampleistherapiddryingandwearofgraphitebasedbrushesinavacuumorverydryenvironment.Very
warmanddryconditionsalsohastenthebreakdownofbearingandcommutatorlubricants.Theambient
temperaturehasacumulativeeffectonthemotor'soperationaltemperatureandcanlowerperformancebylimiting
theoperationaltemperaturerangeofthemotor.Externalcoolingbycontact,airorforcedaircanproduce
significantgainsinmotorperformance.Attheoppositeextreme,verycoldconditionsincreasetheviscosityof
lubricantsandcausethemotortorunatahighercurrent.

ShaftLoading:Shockloadsandvibrationcontributetothetendencyofthebrushesto"bounce"onthe
commutator,thuscausingarcingandacceleratedelectroerosion.Shockloadsandvibrationalsoacceleratebearing
wear.Excessiveaxialorradialshaftloadsdecreasethelifeofbearings,sometimessignificantly.Incontinuousduty
applicationswithlowradialshaftloads,sinteredbearingsaretheinexpensivechoice.Forincreasedradialloads,
ceramicbearingsareavailable.Ballbearingsaretypicallyspecifiedwhentheapplicationcallsforhigherradialand
axialshaftloads.

Reference

MICROMOrotaryandlinearcustommotionsolutions(http://www.micromo.com/)

Relatedtopics:

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