10 preventative maintenance tips to keep your DC motors running.

10 Preventative Maintenance Tips to Keep Your DC Motors Running CALL 01782 411021ASK FOR OUR HELPDC motors need preventative maintenance! they are not fit-and-forget electric motors. Unlike their AC motor counterparts, DC motors have wearing components that need to be checked regularly. By carrying out regular simple preventative maintenance tasks you can reduce the chance of an in-service failure massively....

Is this possibly the cheapest reliability invention ever created?

Is this possibly the cheapest reliability invention ever created? Yes, I’m serious, the humble grease nipple cap. It costs pence but can save you thousands…… Think about it and what it does, it protects contaminants from getting into the lubricant. Next time you walk around your plant, take a look at your equipment. How many grease nipples can you see...

Signs that your HMI or touchscreen control will soon fail.

My Touchscreen Needs Repair! HMIs and touchscreen control panels are common on modern-day factory equipment, they are the interface between the machine and the operator. Hence Human Machine Interface – HMIBut did you know they are constantly giving us feedback about their own health status? Well if you know the subtle signs to look for, HMIs in our opinion, give...

So why do you replace all those capacitors?

Why Replace All Those Capacitors? This question came about during a discussion with a guy who looks after the engineering stores of a food production company. We were discussing a repair that we had recently carried out for him on a sizeable VSD. I was showing him photos of the power PCBs and driver PCBs. He admitted to me that...

Is electric motor rewinding good for the environment?

Is electric motor rewinding good for the environment? Matt Fletcher, Managing Director of Fletcher Moorland, explains how the motor repair sector is supporting the drive towards protecting natural resources and the environment. It’s a pretty simple scenario; let’s say you have a 160kW motor that’s failed. You are either going to send it for repair or replace it. Does the...

A LinkedIn Post Resulted in a Stepper Motor Repair

This is a LinkedIn success story where a referral enabled us to help a new customer. We were tagged into a post after a LinkedIn member posted a picture and a simple request for a motor repair. We replied to the post, along with many others initially offering help, we saw many recommendations for several companies which are where LinkedIn...

A motor repair with some interesting UK engineering history

Recently, there was a great deal of interest in an article I wrote about the resurrection of a DC motor. This reminded me of a much more interesting recovery and refurbishment of a DC motor. Let me start with a bit of history In the 19th century a French engineer and eccentric, Thomé de Gamond spent nearly 40 years and...

Before and after of a DC Motor Repair

Investigating a Failed DC Motor A few week ago I posted a photo of a failed DC motor where the commutator has failed and taken out the brush gear. The failure was quite spectacular and the photo prompted many, many comments. I promised to post an ‘after’ photo when the repair had been completed but instead of just a photo,...

Have you ever seen one of these motors before?

On first viewing you can see the rotor lamination pack on the left-hand side, then the cage extended to a length greater than the lamination pack, there are air agitation fins on the extended cage and what looks to be another alloy cladding the extended cage. I’ve had 35 years in and around the motor repair business and this was...

Overspeed on a series wound DC machine, a lesson learnt

Speeding is a real problem! Well, it seems we generated a great deal of interest with our post on Linkedin regarding an accidental over speed of a DC motor we had repaired back in 2017. Just last week, I posted a photo of a DC motor armature after it had been accidentally overspend, after we had rewound it. Here’s the...

Everyone knows the importance of core loss testing, but why do so many rewinders dismiss it?

Everyone Knows The Importance Of Core Loss Testing, But Why Do So Many Rewinders Dismiss It? “One of the most important quality assurance tools in the motor rewinding trade is the core loss tester Websites and promotional material from electric motor rewind companies from around the world tend to push one message “Quality Electric Motor Rewinds”, after all, nobody is...

A small UK engineering company, an ABB inverter and a redesigned control system

How over £500,000 was saved when an already obsolete unit became……more obsolete! Obsolescence is an issue in industries there’s no getting away from it, however, there are many ways to tackle it. One of the things I see all too often is the willingness to strip out systems where there’s another, usually more cost effective solution. There are many great...