Activity No.

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INTRODUCTION TO MOTOR CONTROL

I. Objectives:
At the end of the activity, students should be able to:

1. Appreciate the importance of a reliable motor control system.

2. Understand basic operating principles of various motor control components.
3. Familiarized themselves with motor control terminologies.

II. Technical Information:

Motor control systems control the electrical energy used to run a motor. Many of the components
used to control that energy are in the motor controller, protected by a motor control enclosure. Inside the
enclosure, at the heart of every motor controller, is the motor starter. The starter has two parts: the contactor
and the overload relay. It is easier to understand the motor control system if you think of them as divided into
two kinds of circuits: the power circuit and the control circuit.
The power circuit contains all the components that carry the full voltage and current to operate the
motor. Besides the contactor, these commonly include disconnects, fuses, breakers and overload heaters.
The control circuit is usually operated at a lower voltage and contains all the components necessary
to switch power to the motor on and off under the proper conditions and at the proper time. These commonly
include devices like relays, usually inside the enclosure; field devices like start and stop buttons, limit switches
and pressure switches; and indicating devices like lights and alarms to help monitor the operation of the
system.

Three-Wire Control: The Seal-In Circuit

All the components of motor control systems are linked together in circuits which determine what
function can be accomplished: starting, stopping, reversing, jogging and so on.
The seal-in circuit is one of the most common. It's also called the maintaining circuit or holding contact
because it maintains or holds-in the power to a component - like a contactor or a relay - even after a
pushbutton or other momentary switch no longer supplies power. The circuit is maintained until power is
interrupted.
Pushing the start button energizes M, the coil of the contactor. A normally open set of contacts on the
contactor are wired in parallel with the start button. When the armature on the contactor closes, these seal-
in contacts close, and remain closed until the stop button is pushed. This de-energizes the M coil and returns
the seal-in contacts to their normally open condition until the coil is energized again.
Motor starters may also be wired for two-wire control. This requires the use of a maintained-contact
switch to keep the coil of the contactor energized after the run button is released. However, if power is
restored following a shut-down, the motor starter will be re-energized automatically.
Three-wire control is often used because it provides protection for personnel from such unexpected
start-ups. The motor will not automatically re-start after it's stopped due to a no-voltage or low-voltage
condition.

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Holding Contact

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III. Evaluation:

1. What are the basic components of a motor starter?

The starter has three components: the magnetic contactor, thermal relay and control station. The
magnetic contactor is define as form of electrical relay that are found mostly on electrically powered
motors. The thermal relay is used for protection of a motor with a full load current. It also has a stop
button, a manual and auto-reset button and a test button. The control station has start-stop push buttons
that is located near or far from the starter.

2. How important is the ladder or schematic diagram of a motor control circuit?

As the control circuits become more complex, the reading of the wire or connection diagram also
becomes complicated. The ladder diagram is used to make it easy to read the connections, it is also used
to represent the function of the control circuits and the associative devices, but it doesn’t show the
components of the control circuit in their actual position.

3. What is the purpose of the disconnect switch?

The purpose of disconnect switch is to establish isolation points to enable equipment
maintenance. It also serves as disconnect means for a service entrance and a fault protection for motors
or heavy machinery. The disconnect switches are installed on both sides of the circuit breaker, high side
of the transformer and on the line exit.

4. What components provides short circuit protection for the motor?

The fuses and circuit breakers or MBC’s are used to protect the motor from short circuit. Fuses
and safety breakers are also called safety valves which protects the wiring against overheating due to
overload. Fuses and circuit breakers are also used in conjunction with overload relays to provide
protection against short circuits, earth faults or faults in the main wiring.

5. How does the overload relay protect the motor?

There are two types of overload device that used to protect the motor, the thermal overload relays
and magnetic overload relay. The thermal overload relay protects the motor with full load, it is designed
to cut the power whenever the motor uses too much current. The magnetic overload relay protects the
motor by detecting the magnetic field strength which is generated by the flow of current toward the
motor.

6. How does the auxiliary contact connect to a normally open pushbutton in a seal – in circuit?
The auxiliary contact is connected in parallel with the normally open pushbutton in a seal-in
circuit. The coil of the contactor will be energize when the start button is being push. The set of contacts
that is normally open on the contactor are wired in parallel with the start button. The seal-in contacts will
close when the armature on the contactor closes, it will remain closed until the stop button is pushed.

7. Why is a two – wire control unsafe to be used in a motor control circuit?

The two – wire controls are not suitable for motor control circuit because it is designed to carry
only small amounts of current. It cannot sufficiently handle large amounts of control loads. Motor starters
may also be wired for two-wire control but it will requires the use of a maintained-contact switch which
keep the coil of the contactor energized after the run button is released. However, if power is restored
following a shut-down, the motor starter will be re-energized automatically.

8. Differentiate instantaneous, latching and timed delay relay.

The Instantaneous Relay does not have time delay provided intentionally thus called
instantaneous in other words there is no time required to operate this kind of relay. The Latching Relay

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are used to control large flow of electric current with smaller flow of current. Lastly the timed delay relay
is simply a control relays with a time delay built in. Its purpose is to control an event based on time.

9. Differentiate an ON-DELAY time relay from an OFF-DELAY time relay.

The On-Delay time relay or “Delay On Energize” (DOE) is observed when power is connected to
the coil of an on-delay timer, the contacts delay changing position for some period of time while the Off-
Delay timer “Delay On De-energize” (DODE) is completely opposite to the on-delay timer because the off-
delay timer turns off the supply or input after a pre-determined time delay has elapsed.

10. What is the role of limit switches in a motor control circuit? Explain your answer.
The role of limit switches in a motor control circuit is to define the limit or endpoint over which
an object could travel before being stopped. It regulates the electrical circuit that controls the machine
and its moving parts. These switches can be used as pilot devices for magnetic starter control circuits.

11. Enumerate the motor components being asked on each item:

a. Types of Control Switches (5)

- Pressure Switches – this are commonly used in industrial application. It depends on
the range of pressure to be measured.
- Temperature Switches – the switch contacts are operated when the temperature
causes strip to bend or wrap.
- Flow Switches – it is mainly used to detect the movement of liquid or air flow through
a pipe or duct.
- Limit Switch – it is operated by the presence or absence of an objects or by the motion
of machine.
- Float Switches – it is mainly used for controlling DC and AC motor pumps according
to the liquid or water in a tank or sump.

b. Functions of Motor Control (3)

- Control the speed – the main objective of a motor control is to control the speed
instead of using a simple mechanical switch, start/stop and rotation of the motor in
a more accurate way.
- It protects the Motor and Circuit - fuses and circuit breakers is suitable to protect the
circuit and for the motor, overload relays are used.
- Safety – protection from any hazards that a worker might experience is the most
important function of motor control. Motor control might include a manual or
automatic means for starting or stopping the motor to protect against any electrical
faults.

12. Write the meaning of the following acronym:

DODE – Delay On De-Energize – turns off the supply or input after a pre-determined time delay has elapsed.

DOE – Delay On Energize – the timed contacts will delay the changing position for some period of time when
the coil is energize.

NO – Normally Open - allow current when the relay or contactor is energized.

NC – Normally Close – allow current through when the relay or contactor is not energized.

CR – Circuit Relay – devices that is used to operate a pair of movable contacts from an open to closed position.

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TR – Timer Relay - is a combination of an electromechanical output relay and a control circuit. The contacts
will open or close before or after a pre-selected, timed interval.

EKTS – Electrical Control Techniques Simulator – is a motor control simulation software for designing
Electromechanical Systems.

NOTO – Normally Open Time Open – when the coil is energize this relay will close, and will open when the coil
is de-energize.

NOTC – Normally Open Time Closed - these relays open immediately upon coil de-energization and close only
if the coil is continuously energized for the time duration period.

OL – Overload – when there is an excess heat from the overload condition, the overload relay will protect the
motor and the motor branch circuit components.

IV. Conclusion:
Working in electrical field or environment needs an extra caution because a small mistake can lead to
a big trouble where anyone can be affected, it is important to have a reliable motor control system, the
reliability consists of many things, such as engineering, testing and inspection. It is important that the motor
is designed and repaired to perform the task. It is also important to know how to operate various motor
controls to avoid malfunctions and improper connections that may cause explosions. Familiarization to
different motor control terminologies is also needed to avoid confusions while working.