MANUFACTURING MOTORS IN THE UNITED STATES

Harol Dewitt
Baldor Electric Company
Abstract: Baldor Electric Company is committed to automatic gauging, loading and unloading of cores. to
manufacturing motors and generators in United minimize the number of operators needed.
States. We believe this is in the hest interest of
customers, stockholders and employees. Tbis makes
selecting the correct machine options for each phase of
electric motor mannfacturing critically important.
That i why cycle time of a product b critical for
productivity at the most reasonable cwt. We are also
forced to take a hard look at each cost in our products.
This paper will focus on the appropriate options for
machine and tooling selection with considerations of
high and low volume production levels. We believe this
is the way to keep manufacturing in the United States.

I. INTRODUCTION

Modern motor manufacturing makes it possible to achieve

consistent quality in a high volume production environment.
This makes it important when evaluating tooling and
machine options for high volume production. Several
factors must be considered in order to select the most cost
effective solution. In order to meet production requirements
and reliability in the manufacture of electric motors. the
following basic things must be done.
11. DISCUSSION
A. Core making
There are five basic types of stator core assemblies.
Loose lamination type, with slot insulation holding the
lamination together. This type does not work well with
automatic systems. The other types are cleated, welded,
glued and interlocked cores.
Figure I . Stator Without Winding
C. Coil Winding
Modern high-speed coil winding can be done in many
ways depending on product size and production volume.
The method most preferred would be shed winding.
Consideration of automatically loading and unloading
winders should be given on high volume lines. This
technology is primarily employed when there are fewer
numbers of employees and higher volumes of production.
Servo adjustments should be used to minimize the change
over time required and maximize productivity.

The type of machine recommended for a specific

application will depend on the requirements for the
finished motor. With high volume production the welded
or interlocked lamination may be preferred.

B. Slot insulating

The type machine needed will vary with lamination type

and volume requirements. When lamination slots are all
equal, one die set machine is required. When lamination
designs have multiple slot sizes. one of two types of
machines could be used. The first would have multiple die
sets. The second would have a servo control die set to
operate between slot sizes. High volume lines may have Figure 2. Stator Winding Process

0-941783-23-5/03/$17.00 Q2003 EEE 185

D.Coil forms and winding tooling 4. The wire size range should be outside the locking
range for blade gap design. This will let the wire
The coil form shape is very important. This determines pass through the blade gap and into the stator slot
how the coils are sized and how they insert into the stator. without jamming or wire damage.
This can control the “S” shape of endturns and keep
phases from overlapping. This will be a plus by also
reducing copper cost and by shortening endturn lengths.

E. Coil Inserting

Three types of inserting machines are typically used in

high volume electric motor production.

1. Standalone machines will have the coils transfer

manually from the winder machine and this typically
is used on lower production volumes.
2. Turntable type machines, wind coils into the upper
inserter tooling then insert the coil before leaving the
machine. The turntable type can have the insulated
stator core loaded manually or automatically. The
auto load and unload can be added later.
3. Automated winding system, this type allows for the
maximum productivity with the least amount of
operators. These systems take a large capital
investment, and longer time to design and develop.
F. Insertion Tooling.
The tooling design can be one of the most important
things you choose in a new system. These things are
important to look for when choosing tooling.
1 . How the wedge design fits inside of the lamination
tooth. This can cause problems: if it does not fit the
wedge pocket, it will twist in the slot.
For W e
Figure 4. Typical Blade Gap
G . Endturn Preforming
The endturns should be. formed to the minimum to reduce
damage to wire. After winding is inserted into the stator
core it must be spiked to open the bore to preform. The
preform tooling should consist of OD shoes, cuff supports,
ID shoes, and compression ring. These are needed on both
upper and lower tooling to insure a quality winding with
less work. This becomes more important on automatic
systems that have auto load and unload.
H. Connecting
Connections between coils are made in a number of ways:
1. Welding is used when the product has a large number
of wires in parallel.

2. Joint splices are used in high production lines that use.

less magnet wire in parallel.

3. Insulation piercing connections work well on automatic

L lines with smaller size motors and windings with one or
Figure 3. Typical Lamination Tooth
2. Wedge guide length should contain all windings. If
windings are allowed to spring up out of the guides this
can cause wire damage or wire behind the insulation.
3. Stack range of the product line should cover the full
minimum to maximum with room to grow for future
product.
two wires in parallel.
I. End-turn lacing
By lacing the coil ends you achieve better endturn
forming, This help holds the leads in place and any loose
magnet wire. Machines can be designed for lacing one or
both ends depending upon the product and production
levels. On some high volume production lines a double

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end lacing machine could have auto load and unload
added to save labor.
Figure 5 . Winding with Lacing
J. End tum final forming
This must be done on some product lines to hold the wire
in place and provide the proper electrical clearances
needed for the winding specification.
K. Stator testing
These tests are done in a number of ways but the basis
should be done to insure the quality of the winding and
insulation. This point would he the last opportunity to do
any repair work needed on the winding. The basic test
would be.
I. The ground test is done between the winding and the
lamination to insure no break down in the slot insulation
bas occurred, or that wire is in contact with the
lamination.
2. This test is done to measure the resistance of the
winding, This to insure the proper coil turn count, wire
size and the length of coils will meet the specification.
3. A surge test is done to check for tum to tum, phase to
phase failure or a misconnected winding.
4. A rotation test is performed to make sure the motor
shaft will rotate in the correct direction for the motor
specification.
L. Endturn coating or wire bonding
The windings can be processed in many ways.
1. Trickle the coating on to the winding until it is
completely saturated in the slots.
2. Dipping the winding in a tank and draining off excess.
1a7
3. Bondable wire that has the bond coating on the outer
surface of the wire. All three need heat to start the
curing process. Numbers 2 and 3 are used most in high
volume production lines.
M. Shoving stator in band or housing
In most high production lines the steel band is the
preferred method. With the steel band, ease of automating
into a system and lower cost are some of the reasons it is
preferred. The band can be hot dropped, pressed to fit or
pressed with a loose fit and staked. The hand and all other
parts should be painted or primed before assembly to save
manufacturing time and labor cost.
N.Capacitors, Thermal protectors, Lead and Switch
Assemblies
These may be pre assembled off line or purchased from
an outside vendor to speed up production. It is very
important to take these parts into consideration when
automating a product. On large volume products you may
wish to combine these components into a molded
assembly. This type of molded part can make the final
assembly of the motors quicker and keep the quality more
consistent.
0. Shaft manufacturing
The type and size of bar stock will depend on the frame
size of the motor. The use of grooves and snap rings can
eliminate the need for machining shoulders on the shaft.
Keeping the shaft O.D. and machining to a minimum will
save material cost, cycle time and capital investment.
P. Endplate machining
Maximize the die casting process to minimize the cost by
adding all holes, mountings and cavities when designing
the mold. Things that should be considered are cost per
part, capital, capacity for present and future. Endplate
machines should have a robot or auto load and unload
built into the machining or die-casting operation
whenever possible to save labor.
Q.Rotor
The rotor should be designed to eliminate any machining
or balancing after the die casting process. Robots should
be used in rotor die-casting when the capital is available.
The shaft can be a press fit or hot dropped. After the rotor
is heated, the hot drop is probably the best process.
 111. PROJECT CONSIDERATIONS
New product line: Set up a group to finalize the product
design. The team members should consist of the
following:
Design Engineer: to prove out the design and make sure it
is the best for the product.
Manufacturing Engineer: to check the manufacturing
equipment and process needs.
Salesperson: for the product forecast and trends.
Financial person: to list out the cost in the product and see
if it will be profitable.
Project manager: to insure the time frame for the new
product stays on track.
Existing product: The existing product is as important as
the new. It must be looked at in the
same way for cost saving and quality
improvements on each item. A product
needs the maximum cost saving to
insure it will stay competitive in the
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world market. Companies need teams for existing
product with members like the new product team.
If we as Untied States based companies are to keep
jobs in our country we must do more for our
customers than ever before.
1V. CONCLUSION
United States companies have a higher cost content in
motor manufacturing. In comparison to off shore
companies, we have more money in labor, material and
overhead. With the technology that we have, the road is
clear. It costs money to move parts. We must automate
material handling in small ways and use robots to reduce
labor. By consolidating pari numbers and manufacturing
we have better control of cost and supplies.
Harol Dewitt in the electric motor and generator industry,
with Baldor Electric for 40 years. In his current position he
is Advance Manufacturing Engineer for Baldor Electric
Company Corporate Division in Fort Smith Arkansas. He is
responsible for assisting in the development of new
products and automating the winding process on new and
existing products.