What is the most common type of industrial electric motor?
What is the most common type of industrial electric motor and what are some of the reasons for its great popularity?
Without a doubt, the standard induction motor which is the workhorse used in most industrial applications. These can be either three-phase or single-phase machines which operate on the same principle of induced currents in the rotor. Some of the reasons for it’s popularity: 1. very low maintenance and extremely reliable. This is especially true in the case of the squirrel-cage induction motor, as there are no brushes or slip-rings (dc motors and synchronous motors both require brushes, which wear out). 2. approximately constant speed (dependent on the motor slip) at no-load and full load. 3. relatively inexpensive to manufacture.