Improving motor design and manufacturing with engineering thermoplastics

Engineering thermoplastics are important cost-reduction tools for motor designers. At first, designers simply replaced other materials including metals and stamped insulations with thermoplastics. As they gained experience with thermoplastics, they created multifunctional parts that reduce the number of parts required and thus lower assembly costs. They included molded-in features in pads to allow automated assembly. Today, most engineering thermoplastic parts incorporate several functions to simplify manufacturing or aid in assembly. This paper is a review for engineers who are looking for ways to apply engineering thermoplastics to more efficient designs for armatures, stators, end frames and auxiliary components. Selection criteria for thermoplastics are reviewed. Examples of successful designs are presented