Technology progress in high speed motor design has led to ever-increasing rotating speeds for electric machines
Gerald Masson, engineer at Moving Magnet Technologies, will assess the latest in design, applications—and challenges—for high speed motors at North America’s largest coil winding, electric motor and transformer event in October in Chicago.
Technology progress in high speed motor design has led to ever-increasing rotating speeds for electric machines, enabling them to shrink in both volume and weight—ultimately leading to high power density and savings in energy consumption. But the surge in speed incurs in a number of design challenges, namely for mechanical rotors, bearings, and for thermal stability due to high frequency losses, among others.
According to Gerald Masson, business development, new technologies and licensing manager at Moving Magnet Technologies (MMT), high speed motor adoption has been a trend in Europe in the automotive industry and lately it has also been considered for applications in several other areas as well.
“We specialize in designing brushless DC motor technologies and we have developed a specific technology for high speeds—meaning speeds higher than 20,000 rpm,” he says. “In fact, we have some prototypes running at 100,000 to 200,000 rpm. Very, very high speeds. For such velocities, we need some very specific and fitting design, while keeping it simple to manufacture.”
Masson’s presentation at CWIEME Chicago is aimed at engineers and it will focus on these and other issues surrounding the subject, detailing some of the main constraints linked to high rotating speeds. Such technologies will be reviewed and a focus on the application of high speed motors in automotive air compressors will be presented.
“I’ll discuss MMT’s approach to high speed motor design—its cost-effectiveness and applications,” he says. “It can be very challenging when you have an electric motor running at such high speeds. There are some very specific features for such high speeds. The motor design is just one of the aspects taken into consideration. That’s why our main target are engineers. They are the ones who can see how they could develop this at their own organizations.”
Masson’ seminar, entitled “Ultra-high Speed Electric Machines – Technology Development and Applications,” will be held on Tuesday, October 4, at 1:30 p.m.
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