In a world where fans are essential for high-pressure air supply and temperature control, one manufacturer faced a significant challenge: improving the lifespan, performance and efficiency of their fans.
The manufacturer experienced problems with its existing motors, including longevity and limited efficiency. This has prompted them to look for a new and innovative motor solution with direct drive.
The solution consisted of a custom-made Direct Drive Fan Motor (PMSM) from Magnetic Innovations and a new fan blade design developed by the customer. This has resulted in an innovative design and construction of the drive. The direct drive motor delivers the intended torque without the need for a gearbox and achieves a higher efficiency. In combination with the fan blades, this results in significantly higher overall efficiency. Moreover, the motor weighs only 15 kg.
High
Efficiency
Easy integration
by the customer
Compact &
Lightweight
Robust Mechanical
Design
Problem and approach
Fans play a crucial role. Especially for sectors such as the agricultural industry, process industry, data centers, food production, pharmaceutical industry and other sectors where air flow and temperature control are crucial for operational processes.
The customer, a leading manufacturer and supplier of fans, was faced with a challenge: to find a new generation of drive motors that can achieve the necessary torque and speed so that their new generation of fans can perform optimally. Without the need for a reduction gearbox, with a substantially longer lifespan and lower installation and transportation costs.
Their current motors showed shortcomings such as accelerated wear of motor bearings, maintenance costs for gear systems or belts, unwanted malfunctions in the built-in control electronics and low efficiency of asynchronous motors used. Resulting in a limited service life, high power consumption and excessive maintenance and installation costs.
The requirements for the new Direct Drive Fan motor were:
- Delivery of the required maximum torque of 32Nm.
- Achieving the desired maximum speed of 1200 RPM.
- Suitable for direct coupling with self-developed fan blades.
- Positioning in the inner diameter of the fan.
- Solving quality problems with the bearings of the existing drive.
- Fans must be suitable for both horizontal and vertical mounting.
- The drive must have a high IP rating in all positions.
Project approach
After discussions with the customer about the bottlenecks, we started a thorough investigation into the causes of the various problems. Based on the research results, we first examined the design of the bearing systems. In which we took into account both horizontal and vertical mounting.
The resulting bearing design has been carefully tailored to the properties of the fan load and operating conditions. Close collaboration with renowned bearing manufacturers has resulted in the current bearing design.
For motor performance we opted for a radial flux outrunner motor configuration. The engine is capable of delivering the desired torque of 32 Nm at the specified maximum speed of 1200 rpm, all in a compact form.
Functional models were used to verify that the design agreements and calculations corresponded to real-world conditions.
Control tests have been carried out, both internally at Magnetic Innovations on an engine test bench and at the customer in a test setup, which have provided confirmation that all design requirements have been met. Further field testing was carried out to validate performance of the direct drive Fan Motor, under various conditions including an endurance test in a controlled environment and a 6 month field test.
The functional electrical and mechanical requirements were verified, as well as use under various environmental conditions and resistance when using various chemicals.
Project results
A 4kW 1200RPM Direct Drive Fan Motor was developed that could deliver the required torque of 32 Nm and is also lightweight with a mass of 15kg. The motor design is optimized for high efficiency by matching the fan load characteristics and the available control voltage.
The development of the PMSM Fan Motor was aimed at solving the various problems that arose with the old motors used to drive the fans. The new custom-made motor, not only solved the problems they had with the previous motor, but also introduced several improvements and benefits.
- Compact and efficient:
With a compact size of just Ø261mm x 150mm, the custom-made motor is not only significantly smaller than its predecessors, but also offers increased efficiency. The compactness ensures that the motor no longer takes up unnecessary space on top of the fan, improving air flow and minimizing blockages. This results in higher efficiency of the fan blades. - Robust mechanical design:
The motor design is robust, resulting in an extended service life. By avoiding moving parts, the engine requires virtually no maintenance, increasing reliability and reducing maintenance costs. - Easy installation:
The simple mounting interface makes the motor easy to install. In addition, there is an integrated temperature sensor that enables active monitoring and control, allowing close monitoring of performance. - Higher energy efficiency class:
With an ouput of 4 kW, the motor delivers powerful performance with significant energy savings. The motor complies with the IE5 energy efficiency class (IEC60034-30-2).With a low carbon footprint, the new engine contributes to a more sustainable approach, which is becoming increasingly important in modern industries. This not only promotes operational efficiency, but also encourages environmental awareness. - Versatility:
The new engine has been designed with versatility in mind. It can be mounted horizontally or vertically and is compatible with industry standard sensorless 3-phase motor controllers. This makes the engine suitable for various applications in sectors such as agriculture, HVAC and HVLS systems.
Industry / applications
The direct drive fan motor is suitable for fan units in the agricultural and facility industry. It is also possible to use this drive as a generator in renewable energy applications.
Specifications Direct Drive Fan Motor
The custom-made Fan Motor from Magnetic Innovations has the following key figures:
- 32Nm torque from direct drive.
- 4kW power with 89.5% efficiency.
- 1200RPM adjustable direct drive.
- Light, compact housing.
- IP 65, making the motor suitable to operate in an outdoor environment, without additional protection equipment.
- Fast electrical installation in the end application through connector cable
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the support team
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