General Electric Company

Lynn E Bradtmueller

Ronnie G Smitley

David Michael Pierre

Gustave F Wiedemann

James Pellegrino Alexander

Frederick J Armstrong

An operator sequentially inserts into an automated system for making armatures for electrodynamic machines loaded magazines containing a required number of hairpin conductors for an armature to be made, an armature core comprising a plurality of substantially aligned laminations preassembled to form the core and a commutator, and removes armatures completed by assembling these components. All the insertion and removal steps are performed from an operator's position such that operation of the system embodying the present invention is easily and conveniently performed even though the components and completed armatures can be of substantial weight. The use of a hairpin magazine, including the hairpin conductors required for an armature, permits simultaneous transfer of all the hairpin conductors into upper twist tooling wherein upper ends of the hairpin conductors adjacent end turn portions of the conductors are moved apart relative to one another. The frog leg conductors thus formed are removed from the upper twist tooling and inserted into slots of an armature core which has been earlier inserted into the system. The frog leg conductors are fully pressed through the armature core into lower twist tooling which then is operated to move the ends of the conductors extending beyond the armature core away from one another and into alignment with other conductors for insertion into a commutator for the armature, which commutator was earlier placed into the system. The commutator is properly positioned beneath the armature core which is then pressed onto the commutator. The completed armature is moved to the operator's position where the operator removes the completed armature and replaces it with a commutator for the next armature. The operator continues to insert components of armatures into the system and removes completed armatures made up by assembling the components so inserted.

Method for making armatures for electrodynamic machines

Apparatus for making armatures for electrodynamic machines

Motor for commercial and industrial applications such as golf carts and lift trucks. Features include a thin shell; stator; stator winding; and rotor. Rotor laminations have equally circumferentially spaced semi-closed slots having area for receiving conductors, and the ratio of the number of rotor lamination slots to the rotor outer diameter (measured in inches) is greater than 14.0. In one construction, this ratio is about 15.75; the ratio of the outer diameter to the rotor slot length is from about 9.04 to about 9.16; and the ratio of rotor slot depth or length to rotor slot opening width is from about 10.8 to about 12.5. Cylindrical stator lamination has a given outer diameter and a certain bore diameter determined by the distance between opposing poles. Through-bolt holes are located in the yoke, proximate the outer periphery thereof, and centered with respect to each pole. The ratio of stator pole neck minimum width to two times the yoke thickness or width is from about 0.809 to about 1.009. Methods of assembling motor components are also revealed.

Electric motor with optimum core dimensions

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Fort Wayne, IN, United States of America

Lynn E Bradtmueller