Ztrains: Inside A Marklin 3 Pole Motor

A Basic Parts Description
Since the 3 pole motor (and more recently the 5 pole motor) is at the heart of most of our locomotives, I thought describing some of the basic parts of these motors would be helpful. Although the 3 pole motor is pictured here, the same parts and operating principals apply to both versions.

This particular motor is from an electric locomotive as the axle extends through both sides of the rotor and has a gear on each end to drive each of the electric (or diesel) locomotive's two trucks.

Armature: A piece of steel, soft iron or a coil so placed as to be acted upon by an electromagnet or a permanent magnet; or that part of an electric generator in which electricity is generated, or that part of a motor which rotates.

Rotor: A rotor is the interior part of a motor. It is the rotating section. This is in contrast to the stator, which is the external section and is stationary.

Stator: The stationary member of the motor. In the case of these 3 pole motors, a permanent magnetic field is created in the stator by means of permanent magnets.

Commutator: A cylindrical ring or disk assembly of conducting members individually insulated in a supporting structure with an exposed surface for contact with current collecting brushes.

Commutation: Commutation is the act of converting DC to AC, or AC to DC. In motors that use this type of mechanism, the commutator consists of the array of contacts that are on the rotor. The brushes bring electrical current to the commutator contacts.

Brush: A piece of current conducting material (usually carbon or graphite) which rides directly on the commutator and conducts current from the power supply to the armature windings.

August 18, 2008

NTS 2008 Video: Steve Gibbs

Steve Gibbs has edited and published a 9 minute video from the recent 2008 National Train Show in Anaheim, California and it nicely highlights what's cooking these days in Z scale.

Sit back, relax and enjoy this look into Z scale at a major train show.

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