Motor Maintenance
A well carefully designed motor maintenance program, when correctly used, can be summed up as
1.Preventive maintenance
2.Predictive maintenance
3.Reactive maintenance
Inspection cycle depend upon the type of motor and the conditions under which it operates.
Motors need maintenance regularly in order to avoid failure and prolong their lifespan. Generally speaking, motors and motor parts should be maintained and tested at every 6 months.
1.Preventive maintenance
The objective of this kind of maintenance is to prevent operating problems and make sure that the motor continuously provides a reliable operation usually, preventive maintenance is a scheduled part of maintenance a whole system.
2.Predictive maintenance
The objective of this kind of motor maintenance is to ensure that the right kind of maintenance is carried out at the right time. In order to define these two parameters, it is necessary to monitor the motor operation regularly and thereby detect problems before they actually occur.
3.Reactive maintenance
The main objective of this kind of maintenance is to repair and replace the motor when a failure occurs. Reactive maintenance or breakdown maintenance as it is referred to as well, does not imply any regular service or tests.
What to know about Preventive Maintenance
Motor Ventilation
If the motor is installed and operates in an area with limited ventilation, the motor temperature may reach high temperatures that can damage the motor's insulation and bearing grease, and cause it to fail dust and dirt often block the ventilation passages.
Humidity and condensation
Water vapour condense and consequently reach the motor windings and the bearings. Therefore, in this kind of motor, the motor temperature must always be warmer than the surrounding temperature during stand still. This can be done by using another solution is to remove the drain plugs allowing condensed water to escape.
Loose Connections
All electrical connections must be kept tight and torqued according to the recommended values cold or creep flow during load cycles often cause joint failure. Fuses,cable connections, contractors and circuit breakers are often subject to loose connections and should thus be checked regularly as well.
Voltage and Current Imbalance
Voltage and current imbalance is certainly an area of concern and the values should be checked regularly in order to avoid problems with the motor. Voltage imbalance occurs when the voltage of 3 phases differs from one another. Voltage imbalance causes line currents to be unequal as well.
Bearings
When carrying out preventive maintenance on the motor, replacement and maintenance of bearings are indeed important factors.
