Leading gear drive specialist, Bauer Gear Motor, demonstrated its ability to deliver high levels of energy saving and reduced costs for industry at Hannover 2012, with its range of PMSM (permanent magnet synchronous motors). The PMSM motors already fulfill the requirements of the soon- to- be- implemented IE4 (Super Premium Efficiency) classification. This is evidenced by their potential to achieve energy savings of up to 40% compared to an IE2 inverter-driven squirrel cage motor.
The PMSM series is an environmentally friendly range of motors, employing a highly efficient design of rotor that integrates embedded permanent magnets made from the rare-earth material, instead of the squirrel-cage rotor found in induction motors. This design offers a number of key benefits. It reduces heat losses from the rotor by 100%, total losses by approximately 25%, and increases total efficiency by 10% or more. For the PMSM user, this improved performance translates into lower total cost of ownership, a reduction in CO2 emissions, and ongoing savings that buffer against future increases in energy costs.
PMSM synchronous motors offer considerably improved efficiency when compared to induction motors even under partial load conditions; and extremely high efficiency under rated operating conditions. They also have considerably higher power density, which, for geared motors, yields higher system efficiency with minimal installation volume – and also reduced weight. Importantly PMSM drives can produce higher torques for the same installation volume as conventional induction motors, a factor that allows cost saving, through the ability to specify a smaller motor size in some applications.
Bauer has invested a considerable amount of design and development time into ensuring that its PMSM motor and drive packages deliver high efficiency performance on partial loads, a criticism that has been leveled at other Permanent Magnet designs as the efficiency can drop-off sharply outside the ideal operating speed and load. Bauer’s PMSM motors maintain high efficiency levels within a wide partial load range, up to a load factor of 1:5.
Since the motors can deliver both efficiency and flexibly the combination of these features with a compact size and high torque rating means that they can be used to cut inventory significantly for large plants and third party stock facilities. Offering a replacement for a wide variety of different asynchronous geared motors in the field can result in a further reduction in costs for inventory, logistic and maintenance.
The synchronous design of the PMSM motors means that not only are they superior at converting electrical energy into mechanical power, but also offer the added benefit of maintaining constant speed independent of the load. This means that motor speed does not vary, despite overload variations, or cases of voltage drop, as long as the mains frequency is kept constant.
The PMSM motors are available in ventilated and non-ventilated configurations across the power range from 0.55kW to 15kW. They operate on 380V to 500 V power supplies, and are rated for inverter duty, offering an extended speed range with constant torque.
The low operating and maintenance costs of the PMSM motors allows them to provide the optimum energy saving drive for use on fans, pumps and compressors; and for constant torque applications such as elevators and conveyors.
Bauer Gear Motor is a member of the Altra Industrial Motion Group.
For more information, visit www.bauergears.com