Induction Motor Parts¶

Run the Induction Motor Parts MicroSim Fullscreen

About This MicroSim¶

This MicroSim puts ten numbered markers on FanPedia's exploded view of a typical electric induction motor (page 69). The motor is pulled apart along its shaft: at the left the cooling parts of a totally enclosed fan cooled (TEFC) motor, in the middle the frame with the stator windings inside it, and at the right the rotor assembly with its bearings and the front endplate.

The ten parts are the fan cover, endplates, nameplate, stator, rotor assembly, external fan, conduit box, frame, motor bearings and motor shaft. The stator, rotor assembly (with its motor shaft), motor bearings, endplates, conduit box and nameplate are the parts Chapter 3 names; the fan cover, external fan and the ribbed frame belong to the TEFC enclosure described in Chapter 14. On a wide screen the labels sit in two strips, above and below the drawing, with leader lines; on a narrow screen they move below it as a numbered list. The motor bearings and the motor shaft are small, so their markers sit in the white space below them with a short pointer to the part.

The quiz describes each part by its job ("Select where the power wiring connects.") instead of naming it, in a shuffled order. You get two attempts per prompt. The first wrong answer shows a hint about where to look; the second reveals the part and counts as missed. Mastery is 8 of 10 correct on the first attempt. Explore mode is never scored.

How to Use¶

Explore mode (the starting mode). Point at a numbered marker, or Tab to it, to see the part's name and description in the panel below the drawing. Click it (or press Enter) to open it; opened parts get a ✓ in the label list and the counter shows how many of the 10 you have visited. Clicking a name in the label list opens that part too.
Quiz mode. Press Quiz. The labels and leader lines disappear and a prompt describes one part:
- Correct: "✓ Correct:" with the part name and its description; the marker turns green with a ✓ badge and its label comes back.
- Wrong on the first attempt: "✗ Not quite.", the name of the part you picked, and a hint. The hint never names the answer.
- Wrong on the second attempt: the answer is marked "Answer" and named, and the prompt counts as missed.
Press Next prompt after each answer. The toolbar shows "Parts correct: n of 10".
After the tenth prompt, the summary shows your first-attempt score, whether you reached mastery (8 of 10), and each missed prompt with its answer. Retry missed practises only the misses (not scored), Start over reshuffles and resets the score, and Back to explore returns to the labels.

Keyboard: Tab moves through the markers in number order and then the buttons; Enter or Space selects a marker. After an answer, focus moves to Next prompt, so Enter goes on.

Data label: "Drawing: FanPedia, Twin City Fan, p. 69", shown under the drawing.

Iframe Embed Code¶

You can add this MicroSim to any web page by adding this to your HTML:

<iframe src="https://moroshek.github.io/FanTASTIC-textbook/sims/ch03-induction-motor-overlay/main.html"
        height="685px"
        width="100%"
        scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan¶

Learning Objective¶

The learner will identify the ten labeled parts of an electric induction motor on an exploded view, given each part's function (Bloom: Remember, verb: identify).

Audience¶

Adult professional development: new application engineers, sales staff, representatives and facilities staff.

Duration¶

10-15 minutes

Prerequisites¶

Chapter 3, section "The Fan Motor" (the induction motor and its parts).
Optional: Chapter 14, sections "Induction Motor", "The Motor Nameplate", "TEFC Motor" and "Conduit Box".

Activities¶

Explore (4 min): Open all ten parts. Sort them aloud into the parts that turn with the shaft (rotor assembly, motor shaft, external fan), the parts that hold and support them (stator, frame, endplates, motor bearings), and the parts you deal with on the outside (nameplate, conduit box, fan cover).
Trace the power (2 min): Starting at the conduit box, name the parts the electrical energy passes through until it leaves the motor as rotation at the shaft end.
Quiz (5 min): Switch to quiz mode and find all ten parts from their jobs without going back to explore mode.
Review (3 min): Read the missed list, open those parts in explore mode, then press Start over for a new order.

Common Misconceptions Addressed¶

The rotor is wired to the supply like the stator: in an induction motor the rotor current is induced by the stator's magnetic field, so there is no electrical connection to the rotor.
The external fan cools the windings directly: on a TEFC motor it blows air over the outside surface of the motor only; the ribs on the frame give that air more surface.
The motor bearings sit in the frame: they support the rotor at each end, inside the endplates.

Assessment¶

First-attempt score shown in the summary as "First-attempt score: n of 10"; mastery is 8 of 10 on the first attempt.
Pointing at markers and opening infoboxes in explore mode is exploration, not evidence.
Follow-up question: a motor arrives and the paperwork does not match the order. Which part on this drawing tells you what was actually shipped?

References¶

FanPedia: The Fan & Blower Encyclopedia (PDF) - Twin City Fan; p. 69 is the induction motor exploded view used here and names its parts, p. 68 defines the induction motor, and p. 73 describes the TEFC enclosure with its external fan and fan cover.
FanPedia online - Twin City Fan's online version of the encyclopedia.
Chapter 3: Basic Fan Anatomy - the section "The Fan Motor", where this MicroSim is embedded.
Chapter 14: Fan Motors and Enclosures - the sections "Induction Motor", "The Motor Nameplate", "TEFC Motor" and "Conduit Box".