ABB e-book offers best motors maintenance tips 18 November 2014

ABB has published an e-book that reveals the most common causes of failure and offers tips on how to resolve them.

David Hawley, ABB UK's motors and generators business unit manager, says it's aimed at helping electric motor users to reduce downtime.

He says the five most common causes of motor failure relate to bearings (51%), stator windings (16%), external conditions (16%), and rotor bar and shaft couplings.

"If specified, installed and maintained correctly, there is no reason why a modern electric motor should fail," states Hawley.

"The engineering precision and technology that goes into today's motors makes them the most reliable ever."

That said, te e-book guides readers through each cause using infographics and navigation options to allow users to view sections of the e-book according to their areas of interest.

Looking at a little detail, the ebook suggests that the main sources of bearing problems are insufficient or incompatible greases, overheating, overloading, contamination or high ambient temperatures and humidity.

These all have a severe impact on an electric motor and, if not addressed, can lead to a 50% reduction in life expectancy.

The e-book offers tips to overcome these and other issues, including how often to check and re-lubricate motor bearings, the best way to avoid misalignment and how to deal with issues like soft foot.

"It is clear that there is still some confusion around how to make an electric motor run with minimum failure risk, so this is why ABB developed this e-book to give users a very simple way of spotting any potential failure causes early," states Hawley.

"It also offers advice on the things to look out for when looking to specify a new electric motor," he adds.

"Combining this element gives users a complete guide to electric motors, whether they are specifying a new motor, carrying out maintenance tasks or simply troubleshooting an installed motor and are looking for some guidance."

The e-book can be ordered by e-mailing energy@gb.abb.com with "e-book" as the subject-line.

Brian Tinham

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