Electric motors play a large role in keeping industrial operations running smoothly. Electric motors have several key parts that allow them to effectively turn electrical energy into mechanical energy, which then creates a shaft rotation to keep your plant operating. As the experts at Kurz Industrial can explain, an electric motor has six key parts that allow it to function correctly.

Rotor

The rotor is a part of the electric motor responsible for turning the shaft, which in turn delivers mechanical power to your plant. The rotor contains other components called conductors, which have currents that work with the magnetic field located in the stator, another part of the motor, to help operate the shaft.

Stator and Stator Core

Unlike the rotor, the stator is a fixed part in an electric motor that does not move. The stator and its related part called the stator core are both parts of the electromagnetic circuit in motors. The stator is made up of either permanent magnets or windings. The stator core is comprised of parts called laminations, which are thin metal sheets. Laminations are designed to minimize energy loss, which would otherwise result if the stator contained a solid core.

Bearings

Bearings are contained in the motor housing. They also support the rotor by allowing it to rotate on its axis. Bearings are connected to the motor shaft, which extends past the bearings to the motor’s outer shell.

Windings

Windings are other critical parts of motors. They are often found embedded in coils, and they are generally wrapped around an iron core so that they can create magnetic poles when they are charged with a current. There are two common magnetic pole designs in electric motors, which are salient and non-salient. Salient-pole motors have magnetic poles that are produced when a winding is wrapped around the pole under the pole face. With a non-salient-pole system, the winding is located in the pole face slots instead. Motors may also have a shaded-pole configuration that delays the magnetic field phase.

Air Gap

The air gap is also an important part of a motor. The air gap refers to the distance between the stator and a rotor. It is the term for the space in between the two components, although it is not technically a component itself. The air gap should ideally be small, as a larger air gap can negatively impact the motor’s performance. The air gap is also the motor’s primary source of low power factor.

Commutator

The commutator is the motor’s sixth important component. The commutator is used to change the input of some AC and DC motors. It contains slip-ring segments that are protected from the shaft and other segments with a layer of insulation. The revolving commutator provides power to the equipment used in your plant by allowing the rotor to rotate from one pole to the other. The commutator achieves this through the current reversal.

If you want to learn more about how electric motors work, don’t hesitate to contact the experts at Kurz Industrial today.