If you use an electric motor to produce power for running operations, you must ensure that it works efficiently to maintain productivity. Unfortunately, most business owners run their 3 phase motors inefficiently and never notice signs of failure. They only act when the motors fail, reducing the performance drastically. To prevent business downtime and keep your operations going as planned, here are five techniques to improve the performance of your electric motor.
Frequently Inspecting your Motor
Most motors fail because of low resistance due to degrading insulation of the windings. Other adverse conditions like corrosion, overheating, and physical damage cause inadequate isolation between windings, leakages, short circuits, and failure. Inspecting the motors regularly allows you to check the insulation conditions and act accordingly. Any signs of wear and tear can help you keep your electric 3-phase motor running efficiently while preventing low resistance from causing machine failure.
Protect against Electrical Overload
Over-current and electrical overload happens when the motor exceeds the current it can carry sufficiently. Overload is commonly caused by a low voltage supply that causes the motor to pull in the extra current while trying to maintain torque. However, short-circuiting conductors and excess voltage supply are also culprits. By installing over-current protection, you can prevent over-current before it becomes catastrophic. This ensures your motor operates efficiently while reducing the chances of a total breakdown.
Check and Replace Brushes
Electric motors have brushes that most operations neglect. Failure to replace these brushes on time results in poor performance due to dust build-up. Continued build-up can also damage vital components and result in motor failure. If the motor has excessive sparking or displays poor performance, inspect it and replace the brushes. Ensure that you are using the appropriate type of brush for optimum performance. Poor brush grade leads to premature wearing, sparking, and extra heating that damages the 3-phase motor.
Monitor Noise and Vibration
Closely monitor your motor to catch any abnormal noises and vibrations. Excessive noise or vibration signifies that your motor is not operating as required. This could either be a result of misalignment or loose motor parts. On the other hand, continued use with too much noise and vibration results in overheating, damaged components, brush damage or sparking and winding faults. This can cause your motor to fail and cost you more in replacements.
Prevent against Contamination
Electric motors work in environments with dirt, dust, and chemicals. However, contamination is mostly associated with causing motors to fail. Therefore, it would help if you protected your motors against contamination to prevent potential failures. Keep your areas, fixtures, and tools clean to reduce motor contamination. During installation, position your motor away from grinding tools and machinery that produce contaminants in large amounts. Doing this keeps your motor working efficiently to reduce the chances of a breakdown. These techniques are time-consuming because you must implement them on an ongoing basis. Luckily, they can save you time and money because you get to prevent costly damages. Do not wait for your motor to fail to start thinking about replacements from an electric motor company in India. Waiting only affects your profits because of downtime, hence the need to seek maintenance services for help if you need it.