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will compete on price with conventional DC and universal motors

claimed to be the only type of motor with no torque ripple

Competition (even if at times or war) has always been the mother of technical advance. Just like those who invented variable-valve timing engine designs to reduce fuel consumption, electric appliances companies are now competing against each other to make more and more efficient and powerful electric motors for hair dryers/washers.

According to Siemens, while electric motors represent over 65 per cent of the total industrial power demand, approximately 70 per cent of the installed motors today do not use optimal motor control - which is bad news for a greener world.

"A ship has a closed electrical system and so current peaks may cause disturbances elsewhere in the system. Therefore when high-powered motors are introduced into hydraulic systems, it is important that the starting process is carefully controlled," says Mika Åback, MacGregor Technical Manager, Control Systems. "For a heavy-duty electric motor the starting current peak can be up to ten times its operating current at its nominal running output power, and so it is important to reduce this demand peak on the ship's electrical supply."

Aluminium versus Kupfer

The stator, which forms the inner core of the motor, consists of around two kilometres of wound copper wire. Unlike other electric motors in the same power class, the motor of the BMW i3 is very small and compact due to the specially configured winding of the copper wiring. This results in further weight and space savings. Before the rotor is fitted in the interior housing, it receives a thin coating of resin.

The mains supply is coming under growing strain as industry regains momentum, so the chances of motor starting corrupting it are increasing.

The new 2-in-1 design allows the electric motor to be more efficient in powering the car’s wheels, while its integrated air-con compressor uses less power due to synergy between the engine and the compressor, which can also tap on energy regenerated directly from the car’s brakes.

A feature of ABB's latest SynRM2 motors is that they do not utilise rare earth permanent magnets. Instead they use ferrite magnets, which are more cost effective and easily available.

The new technology may significantly enhance the performance.