A new architecture of design software for electric motors

Abstract

Designs of small electric motors vary widely and many would be designed as customised in special frame sizes. The nature and types of these motors are also many, and hence design procedures are also different for different motors. A single customised design procedure is not feasible for these motors. Conventional design procedures, both manual and computerised methods, are not perfectly suitable for these motors. Selection of materials and variations in their properties require rapid access to many data related information regarding characteristics, cost, availability, etc. We present a new approach to design of small electric motors in this paper. Our approach is to create a virtual design office where all data and information regarding materials, design process, design optimisation, performance indicators, cost, etc. would be instantly available. This is a fully interactive design package that can be used by any designer without leaving the desk. The brushless DC motor is selected as an example. This motor is very widely used in industry, especially in the fractional kilowatt range as a drive for low power, approximately constant speed apparatus. We discuss electric and magnetic designs of small permanent magnet brushless DC motors. A spindle motor design has been used to illustrate various aspects of this software.