Editor's Pick: Featured Article
4 Types of Motor Duty Cycles Every Engineer Should Know
What Are Motor Duty Cycles?
When selecting a motor, it is important to consider the required duty cycle to ensure the motor can meet the needs of the application. This blog post and the accompanying light board video will provide a basic introduction to motor duty cycles and a few of the most common types of duty cycles.
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) defines eight classifications for duty cycle which are grouped by continuous, short term, or periodic cycles. These cycles refer to the sequence and durations in time of all aspects of a typical operation, including starting, running with no load, running with full load, electric braking, and rest.
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Latest Articles
Motor Feature
4 Key Factors to Consider When Sizing Servo Motors
The ability to size servo motors correctly is imperative for motion-controlled applications, and it can be much more involved than sizing AC induction motors. Acceleration, deceleration, and running torque must still be taken into account, but the servo’s ability to dynamically control the load’s speed and position is also important. During acceleration and deceleration, peak and nominal running torque measurements must be calculated to ensure that the servo motor does not overheat during use. In addition, inertia matching between the motor and load is necessary to ensure optimum response and system performance.
Product News
Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. Releases FR-E800 Series Variable Frequency Drive
Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. recently released the newest addition to its lineup of variable frequency drives, the FR-E800 Series. The micro-drive features a built-in PLC, and will include safety functionality meeting IEC 61508 standards and support various networks, including Ethernet/IP, MODBUS/TCP, and the soon-to-be-released CC-Link IE TSN. The FR-E800 Series is designed for engineering, technology, and product managers in industries such as packaging, material handling, food and beverage, and water and pumping, as well as those who are adopting PM motors to improve their energy efficiency.
Latest News
Machine Safety
3 Ways to Protect a VFD Braking Resistor from Short-Circuit Failure
By Ryan Doxsey
Energy overload situations can cause braking resistor failure, but is easily prevented with the right equipment and system design. In this article we’ll explain the cause of overload conditions and present three methods that will help you address this common problem. After all, you want to protect your VFD and related equipment in order to prevent unhappy customers and co-workers that experience a system failure.
Power Transmission
Introduction to Power Quality
Introduction
More and more, electricity is being considered a product. Ideally, the AC voltage wave is a sine wave alternating from a positive peak to a negative peak 60 times per second (60 Hz) without any deformations, spikes or surges. In reality, different factors influence the quality of the wave. Certain disturbances come directly from the power source, such as lightning. Other disturbances come from loads; in particular, from electronic equipment which are non-linear loads that produce harmonics, mostly because of their switching power supply.
