How to Apply SMC Products on a Low Voltage Slip Ring or Wound Rotor Motor Application

31571 | Date Created: 04/07/2005 | Last Updated: 01/10/2018

Access Level: Everyone

Question
Can soft starters be used on Slip Ring or Wound Rotor Motors?

Is there a technical document or white paper available explaining how an SMC product can be used
in a low voltage Slip Ring Wound Rotor Motor application?

Answer

Wound rotor motors (Slip Ring) require careful consideration when implementing them with the SMC
controllers. A wound rotor motor depends on external resisters to develop a high starting torque. It
may be possible to develop enough starting torque using an SMC controller and a single step of
resistors. The resistors are placed in the rotor circuit until the motor reaches approximately 70% of
the synchronous speed. At this point, the resistors are removed from the secondary by a shorting
contactor. Resistor sizing will depend on the characteristics of the motor used.

Potentially, any SMC product including the SMC-50, SMC-Flex, SMC-3, Dialog Plus, etc. can be
used. However, before selecting an smc product for a wound rotor motor, the minimum starting
torque for the motor must be known (or determined). In addition, the user will need to obtain the
starting torque curves for each resistor (data is provided by the motor manufacturer.

The white paper attached to this technote describes wound rotor motors in detail and helps to
identify how the resistance can be determined. Note - the resistors used are determined by the
motor manufacturer.

Please note that it is not recommended to short the rotor slip rings during start-up, as starting torque
will be greatly reduced, even with full voltage applied at the motor. The starting torque will be even
further reduced with the SMC controller since the output voltage to the motor is reduced on start-up.

Attachments
 File Type pdfSMCWoundRotorMotor.pdf (2.81 MB)