• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

Insulation In Motors (1 Viewer)

Sokc

New Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2016
Messages
19
Gender
Male
HSC
2018
I am currently doing a question that goes along the lines of ,"John notices his toy car stops working and on inspection of the DC motor that turned the wheels, he noticed that the insulation between the individual turns in the coils were worn out....". Why do we need to insulate each individual coil in a motor?
 

clementc

Awesome Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2011
Messages
146
Location
My couch
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
Uni Grad
2016
A current carrying conductor within a B field experiences a force (by the motor effect), which gives rise to the torque in a motor.
When you have many of these conductors (like the many coils in a motor), each of these conductors experiences that force, adding up to give a much larger force and torque. This is why a motor with say 100 coils, has approximately 100 times greater torque than a single loop of wire.

If insulation is damaged in some places, the coils (which are right next to each other) would just short out, so most of the current would just bypass the coil (it would simply travel directly between the two exposed parts), and you'd get a lower torque.

Say all the insulation is worn out: you would effectively just have a huge single loop of wire (not 100 coils). You would no longer have that adding up effect; rather you'd just have one big fat current carrying coil.

You'd also probably have a huge current, which would burn out your wires/connections.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top