1.

Manual Motor Starters

Manual motor starters are electro-mechanical protection devices for the main
circuit. They are used mainly to switch motors manually ON/OFF and protect them
fuse less against short-circuit, overload and phase failures. Fuse less protection with
a manual motor starter saves costs, space and ensures a quick reaction under short-
circuit condition, by switching off the motor within milliseconds. Fuse less start
combinations are setup together with contactors (ECD Controls, 2019).

2. Contactors

When a relay is used to switch a large amount of electrical power through its
contacts, it is designated by a special name: contactor. Contactors typically have
multiple contacts, and those contacts are usually (but not always) normally-open, so
that power to the load is shut off when the coil is de-energized (EETech Media, 2019).
A contactor is installed to provide the same function as a switch or circuit
breaker, but has a completely different operating principle. When you move a switch
or a circuit breaker into the closed position and then stop, the switch or circuit breaker
will stay in that position. If the person who moves the switch isn’t present, or the
system that sends the open signal to the breaker stops working, the switch and circuit
breaker will stay closed until they either melt down or are opened by some other
means (Werstiuk, 2019).

A contactor is held closed by an energized coil. If something happens to the

power supply controlling a contactor, the contactor will immediately open. This is
called a fail-safe system because if something unexpected goes wrong with the control
circuit, the contactor will open and the system will be “safe”. If something happens to
the control circuit of a circuit breaker, it will stay in whatever position it was before the
problem, which may not be a “safe condition”. Contactors are typically used in motor
applications to protect the motor, or the process the motor is used to operate, when
something happens to the control system.

3. Thermal Overload Relays

Thermal overload relays are economic electromechanical protection devices

for the main circuit. They are usually connected directly to a motor contactor and they
offer reliable protection for motors in the event of overload or phase failure. They must
be coupled with an upstream magnetic circuit breaker for short circuit protection. The
thermal overload relay can make up a compact starting solution together with
contactors.

On the other hand, circuit breakers and fuses protect the circuit while overload
relays protect the motor. More specifically, circuit breakers and fuses are designed to
detect when there is too much current in the circuit, while overload relays are designed
to detect if a motor is overheating and will open the circuit if the motor gets too hot.
For example, an overload relay can trip without a circuit breaker tripping. One does
not replace the other (TEMCo Industrial, 2017).