Why are motors not current limited?

How hard can it be to put some kind of electronic limiter on a power tool so if you over-stress it, it doesn't consume enough current to melt the coils?

I assume something like this must be done on electric cars, or instead of stalling the engine, you'd wreck the motor.

Reply to
James Wilkinson Sword
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How hard can it be to put some kind of electronic limiter on a power tool so if you over-stress it, it doesn't consume enough current to melt the coils?

I assume something like this must be done on electric cars, or instead of stalling the engine, you'd wreck the motor.

Reply to
James Wilkinson Sword

The motor is efficiently protected by voltage, current and temperature sensors to prevent overloading.  Stop buying junk and start buying Hiltis.

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Reply to
Al Borland

Not neccessary for drills.

I had a Yellow & black device once Worx or somesuch.

I stalled it "sort of"

One's wrist forms a perfect albeit painful mechanical fuse :-(

I suppose right handed people have a slight advantage, but drilling with the left hand on the grip ansures that the drill isn't pulled away, it's pushed into your hand.

AB

Reply to
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp

I'm not talking about little cordless drills, I mean mains powered tools of around a kilowatt. Even if they're cheap, surely these sensors are a fraction of the price of the whole tool, and you'd get so many less warranty returns.

Reply to
James Wilkinson Sword

Do you think you could handle a corded Hilti?

Reply to
Al Borland

Show me an example. I don't see why anyone (even a woman) couldn't use any power tool.

Reply to
James Wilkinson Sword

If you have the time and around £60-00, you could buy an overload and JB to keep it in. I think a standard 3 phase overload will work without a contactor and there is some adjustment for FLC.

It would want two of the channels wiring in series for single phase though.

Thermal fuses are fast acting and cheap, a none rewireable from ebay cost me around a pound for 20, they are good although you would have to dsimantle the tool to see if it could be placed in proximity to the field coils.

AB

Reply to
Archibald Tarquin Blenkinsopp

Drills aren't so bad. It's more things like saws that can get jammed. And if you don't turn them off within a quarter of a second, the motor dies.

Reply to
James Wilkinson Sword

Whatsa coil?

Reply to
Colonel Edmund J. Burke

Most motors that are to be used unattended do have thermal overloads in them. I guess hand tool manufacturers assume you will stop before you burn up the tool

Reply to
gfretwell

I did that with a hedge trimmer once.

Reply to
James Wilkinson Sword

But what if you're just slightly overloading it? The motor can't tell you it's working too hard.

Anyway, if the blade jams, even if you react in a third of a second (the average human reaction speed), you've put intense stress on the motor coils. They can draw many times more current when not moving.

Reply to
James Wilkinson Sword

P.S. one of my cats looks like she's having an orgasm rolling around in freshly cut concrete dust. That's gonna take her a while to clean out of her fur....

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife

P.S. one of my cats looks like she's having an orgasm rolling around in freshly cut concrete dust. That's gonna take her a while to clean out of her fur....

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife

The only observation I made was the trimmer stopped running. Of course I had a proper 3A fuse in the plug, not the 13A standard everyone seems to use. And no I don't have any form of circuit breaker, earth leakage or otherwise.

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife

Dullest knife in the drawer thinks all power tools are the same - no need to spend a few more quid on "quality" - it's all marketing BS.

He's a cheapscate scotsman who needs something to cry about so only buys junk.

Reply to
Clare Snyder

The point is even on cheap power tools, the cost of a bit of electronics would be nothing compared with the whole tool.

And expensive tools like Bosch also don't have limiters.

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife

Most line operated small motors are "impedence protected" - spec says nothing over 150c after running locked rotor for 15 days straight. Impossible to burn those motors out.

Most hand tools have a duty cycle. Excede the duty cycle at your peril. The good ones protect themselves. The cheaper ones let out all the magic smoke.

Reply to
Clare Snyder

North american stuff doesn't have fused plugs. We fuse the feed circuit.

Reply to
Clare Snyder

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