synchronous motor – Experimental Engineering

Posted on February 8, 2011February 4, 2011 by The Engineer — Leave a comment

Hot Laminator

Here is a cheap no brand hot laminator. This pulls the paper, inside a plastic pouch through a pair of heated rollers to seal it.

Top removed, heater assembly visible. PCB attached to the top cover holds LEDs to indicate power & ready status.

Here is the thermostat & thermal fuse, the thermostat switching the indicator on the front panel to tell the user when the unit is up to temperature. This has a self regulating thermostat. Thermal fuse inside the heat resistant tubing is to protect against any failure of the heater.

5 RPM motor that turns the rollers through a simple gear system.

Posted on January 6, 2011January 4, 2011 by The Engineer — Leave a comment

Fluval 203 Canister Filter

Here is an old fish tank external filter & a few pics of the insides.

Label on the front of the pump head. Fittings on either side of the motor are water I/O.

Underside of the pump head, inlet is on the right, outlet from the pump is on the left. Pump intake in centre.

Pump disassembled. This pump requires no shaft seals as the impeller is driven magnetically with a synchronous motor.

Filter stack removed from the unit. From left: foam media, activated charcoal/gravel & ceramic pellets.

Posted on November 11, 2010December 10, 2010 by The Engineer — Leave a comment

Motorised Valve

This is the internals of a motorised valve for central heating systems. Here the top is removed showing the motor & microswitch.

Left side of the valve, showing the gearing under the motor, & the valve body under the powerhead.

Right side of the valve, showing the sprung mechanism of the valve quadrant.

Here the motor has been removed from the powerhead, showing the microswitch & the sprung quadrant gear. This spring keeps the valve closed until the motor is energized. The motor remains energized to hold the valve open.

Here the valve body has been opened showing the internal components. The rubber valve rotates on the shaft, blocking the lower port of the valve when in operation.

The motor’s protective cap has been removed here showing the rotor. This is a synchronous motor, of a special type for use in motorised valves. As the windings need to be continuously energized to hold the valve open, it is designed not to burn out under this load. 240v AC 50Hz, 5RPM.