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Copper Motor Rotor Commercialized
According to Martin Doppelbauer, SEW manager of motor development and design, die-cast copper has replaced aluminum in the company's line of high-efficiency gear motors. In a recent interview with Update, he explained why the technology was especially attractive for this particular type of motor. “All the well-known technologies for improvement of energy efficiency of electric motors involve a significant enlargement of the motor. The motors grow longer and, in many cases, also increase in diameter,” he said. “For us this represented a major disadvantage because, with gear motors, the combination between a motor of certain power and a gearbox of certain torque is critical for the products to work.” He explained that since traditional high-efficiency motors are larger than standard motors, they would not be able to 'fit' with their corresponding gearboxes. “We were looking for a solution to increase efficiency substantially without having to enlarge the motors. Copper rotor technology gives us that advantage,” he said.
SEW trials consistently revealed an increase of efficiency of between 1 percent and 3 percent. “Although this might not sound like much at first, one should remember that electric motors are very mature products. For products with an age of over a hundred years, the improvements are certainly impressive,” Doppelbauer said. He attributed the increase to many different factors. He cited a total reduction of losses of 10-15 percent versus aluminum motor rotors. SEW trials also revealed a reduction in stray load losses of 20-50 percent. (Click here for detailed information on stray load losses.) MORE >> |
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