Electric Motor Repair for Low Voltage Induction Motors in PWM Inverter Duty Environments

I still find it amazing that people are coming out with the same thing that we came out with in the 1990s when PWM drives made their dramatic push into industry – and presenting it all as somehow ‘new.’ In any case, here is another IEEE Electrical Insulation Conference paper published in 1997 from research…

Anatomy of an Energy Efficient Electric Motor Rewind

An IEEE article published in the IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine January/February 1997 during the period where we were developing US Department of Energy motor management programs (Motor Challenge). The information is as true today as it was in 1997.

Evaluation of the Impact of Harmonics on Electric Machine Reliability

Power, magnetic and ground harmonics have a negative impact on the reliability of your electric motors both electrically and mechanically.  We often focus just on the power harmonics when reviewing information on power quality, but rarely view the self-generated electric machine harmonics and the harmonic content present in grounds and neutrals.  Over the past several…

Stator Core Loss and Hot Spot Testing: An Overview

What is the importance and differences between core loss testing and hot spot testing in electric machines through the repair process?  How are they performed and what results do they provide?  In this short article we will discuss the basics of core and hot spot testing and their impact on electric machine reliability.  This white…

Impact of Electrical Reliability and Precision Maintenance Programs on Energy and Environment in Commercial and Industrial Facilities

What is the impact of an electrical reliability program?  Or even the application of a precision maintenance program Overall, the transition to a planned maintenance program from a reactive program has been identified by the US Department of Energy (US DOE) Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) as having at least 14% improvement of all energy consumption…

US Industrial and Commercial Motor System Market Assessment Volume 3 Released by US DOE

Volume 3 of the US Department of Energy’s “US industrial and Commercial Motor System Market Assessment” was released on July, 2022.  The study reviews the energy performance improvement opportunities for the installed base of commercial and industrial motor systems in the United States.  It is noted in the report that electric motors and related systems…

Tech Tip All We Need to Do is Lubricate an Electric Motor Right?

Media bias is not only found related to politics and public policy, but also how we perceive the reliability and maintenance community.  From advertising dollars and marketing being presented as technical articles and information to the idea that ‘digital transformation’ solves everything, or that infrared is a complete electrical reliability program.  As noted in my…

Reliability Engineering, Data Science, Machine Learning and Bias

When dealing with statistical analysis and probabilities its often the missing information that can be an issue.  This can result in bias when working in areas such as reliability, data science and machine learning that result in incorrect solutions.  We’ve seen that in such things as the percentage of type of motor failures, faulty IoT…

Concepts in Reliability Keeping it Simple and Random Thoughts

As I just mentioned to a friend – I seem to be waxing philosophical this past weekend as I complete reading “Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla, Biography of a Genius,” by Marc J Seifer. I would not have tripped over this and several other excellent texts had I not started returning to…