National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) is the association of

electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers, founded in 1926 and
headquartered in Rosslyn, Virginia. Nearly 400 members strong, its companies
manufacture a diverse set of products including power transmission and distribution
equipment, lighting systems, factory automation and control systems, and medical
diagnostic imaging systems. Total U.S. shipments for electroindustry products
exceed $100 billion annually.
Suffixes to NEMA Frames

Letter suffixes sometimes follow the NEMA frame size.

Some of these suffixes, according to NEMA standards,
have the following meanings:
Fractional Horsepower Motors
C. Face mounting
G. Gasoline pump motor
H. Indicates a frame having a larger f dimension
J. Jet pump motor
Y. Special mounting dimensions ( see
manufacturer)
Z. All mounting dimensions are standard except the

shaft extension
Dimensions for AC Machine

Mounting types
Mounting
NEMA Dimensions NEMA has standardized motor dimensions for a
range of frame sizes. Standardized dimensions include bolt hole size,
mounting base dimensions, shaft height, shaft diameter, and shaft
length. Use of standardized dimensions allows existing motors to be
replaced without reworking the mounting arrangement. In addition,
new installations are easier to design because the dimensions are
known. Standardized dimensions include letters to indicate the
dimensions relationship to the motor. For example, the letter C
indicates the overall length of the motor and the letter E represents
the distance from the center of the shaft to the center of the mounting
holes in the feet. Dimensions are found by referring to a table in the
motor data sheet and referencing the letter to find the desired
dimension.
Nema divides standard frame size into two categories
-Fractional horsepower
-Integral horsepower
Fractional Horsepower motors
-are motors having the sizes of 48,48,56
Integral Horsepower motors
-designated by the frame size of 143 and above
-a T in the motor frame size designation for integral horsepower motor
indicates that the motor is built to current NEMA frame standards.
-Motors that have a U in the motor frame size designation, are built
to NEMA standards that were in place between 1952 and 1964.

The Frame size designation is a code to help identify key frame

dimensions. The first two digits are used to determine the shaft height.

The third digit in the integral T frame size number is the NEMA code for
the distance between the center lines of the motor feet mounting bolt
holes. The distance is determined by matching this digit with a table in
NEMA publication MG-1.
For example, the distance between the center lines of the
mounting bolt holes in the feet of a 143T frame is 4.00 inches.

Mounting Position
The standard location of the conduit box is on the left-hand side of the
motor when viewed from the shaft end.

Mounting Types
o
o
o

Wall mounts
Wall mounting positions have the prefix W
Ceiling Mounts
Ceiling mounted positions have the prefix C
Mounting Faces
It is sometimes necessary to connect the motor directly to
the equipment it drives.
-example: gearbox
C-Face
has threaded bolt holes. Bolts to mount the motor pass
through mating holes in the equipment and into the face
of the motor.

Terminal Markings and connections

Terminal markings shall be placed on or directly adjacent to terminals
to which connections must be made from outside circuits or from
auxiliary devices which must be disconnected for shipment. Wherever
specified, color coding may be used instead of the usual letter and
numeral marking.

Electrical testing and maintenance

-Hipot is an abbreviation for high potential. Traditionally, hipot is a term given to
a class of electrical safety testing instruments used to verify electrical insulation in
finished appliances, cables or other wired assemblies, printed circuit boards, electric
motors, and transformers.
3 types
-Dielectric Breakdown Test. The test voltage is increased until the dielectric fails,
or breaks down, allowing too much current to flow.
-Dielectric Withstand Test. A standard test voltage is applied (below the
established Breakdown Voltage) and the resulting leakage current is monitored.
-Insulation Resistance Test. This test is used to provide a quantifiable resistance
value for all of a product's insulation.
Testing
-A hipot tester is an electronic device used to verify the electrical insulation in a
device or other wired assembly that could subject someone to a shock if it failed. It
generally consists of:
1. A source of high voltage,
2. A current meter,
3. A switching matrix used to connect the high voltage source and the current
meter to all of the contact points in a cable.
Hipot testers may also have a microcontroller and a display to automate the testing
process and display the testing results.
In a typical wired assembly a hipot test should connect all circuits in common to
ground. Then, one by one the tester will disconnect a given circuit from ground and
connect that circuit to high voltage . The current that flows is monitored to verify
that it is low enough.
Insulation test
Testing the integrity of insulation requires measuring its resistance to current flow
across it. A high level of resistance means that very little current is escaping
through the insulation.
Proof test
A proof test is often referred to as a go/no go test because it tests the system for
errors or incorrect installation. The test is accomplished by applying DC voltage
through the de-energized circuit using an insulation tester. If no failures occur
during the measurement, the test is a success.
Squirrel Cage Rotor

Inducing magnetism in the rotor

Difference between angular velocity of rotor and angular velocity of the field
magnetism causes squirrel cage bars to cut the field magnetic field inducing
current into squirrel cage bars.
This current in turn magnetizes the rotor
Dynanometer
A dynamometer or "dyno" for short, is a device for measuring force, torque,
or power.
For example, the power produced by an engine, motor or other rotating
prime mover can be calculated by simultaneously measuring torque
and rotational speed (RPM).
A dynamometer that is designed to be driven is called an absorption or
passive dynamometer. A dynamometer that can either drive or absorb is
called a universal or active dynamometer.
Electrical dynamometer setup showing engine, torque measurement
arrangement and tachometer
A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM
gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft
or disk, as in a motor or other machine.
The rotor is a moving component of an electromagnetic system
in the electric motor, electric generator, or alternator.
Trunnion- a pin or pivot forming one of a pair on which
something is supported.
Types of dynamometer systems
A 'brake' dynamometer
applies variable load on the Prime Mover (PM) and measures the PM's
ability to move or hold the RPM as related to the "braking force"
applied. It is usually connected to a computer that records applied
braking torque and calculates engine power output based on
information from a "load cell" or "strain gauge" and a speed sensor.
An 'inertia' dynamometer
provides a fixed inertial mass load, calculates the power required to
accelerate that fixed and known mass, and uses a computer to record
RPM and acceleration rate to calculate torque. The engine is generally
tested from somewhat above idle to its maximum RPM and the output
is measured and plotted on a graph.
A 'motoring' dynamometer
provides the features of a brake dyne system, but in addition, can
"power" (usually with an AC or DC motor) the Prime Mover (PM) and
allow testing of very small power outputs (for example, duplicating

speeds and loads that are experienced when operating a vehicle

traveling downhill or during on/off throttle operations).