| paul1290 | 05-23-2005 06:40 PM |
This is yet another Dorothy theory I wrote. If you haven't seen the others then you can find them at this link: link
That thread should have links to my other theories.
Electric Motors
Since I’ve already written a theory about the whirring sound, I might as well try to explain the motors and servos in more detail. Any motor or servo built into Dorothy would have to meet the following requirements:
· It needs no maintenance that involves removing the motor or servo.
· It has to be able to operate in a sealed environment.
· It has to be able to survive being stuck to a powerful magnet.
· It can’t generate much heat when being used.
As you can probably tell, heat is a major issue in this case. Since the motor is in a sealed environment, there is no air-cooling here. The only thing that can transfer heat away from the motor is the oil. Although oil can be an effective coolant if it is kept circulating, it degrades quickly under extreme heat. The motor can’t generate too much heat even when acting against a powerful force.
There is also the issue of finding motor that requires no maintenance that involves removing it or taking it apart. This problem isn’t as hard to solve. The motors are probably brushless because conventional brushed motors have to have the brushes replaced every so often. Brushless motors don’t require much maintenance beyond remagnetizing the permanent magnets, which can be done automatically without taking the motor apart.
As with Dorothy’s other systems, the motors have to survive being stuck to a powerful magnet. Most electric motors can already survive that anyway so this isn’t really an issue. About the only negative effects would be that the magnet might weaken the permanent magnets in the motor, but that can be fixed automatically without having to take the motor apart.
Some words you might not know:
Brushes- The electrical contacts in a motor that allow the electromagnets on the armature to switch polarities rapidly to allow it to spin. Brushless motors do this electronically so they don't need brushes.
Servo- A motor that moves back and forth instead of a spinning motion.
Armature- The part of a motor that spins.
Tell me what you think of this one. If anyone has any suggestions or if you find something wrong with this theory then please let me know. I don't know a whole lot about motors so I was not quite sure of a lot of things when I was writing this.
That thread should have links to my other theories.
Electric Motors
Since I’ve already written a theory about the whirring sound, I might as well try to explain the motors and servos in more detail. Any motor or servo built into Dorothy would have to meet the following requirements:
· It needs no maintenance that involves removing the motor or servo.
· It has to be able to operate in a sealed environment.
· It has to be able to survive being stuck to a powerful magnet.
· It can’t generate much heat when being used.
As you can probably tell, heat is a major issue in this case. Since the motor is in a sealed environment, there is no air-cooling here. The only thing that can transfer heat away from the motor is the oil. Although oil can be an effective coolant if it is kept circulating, it degrades quickly under extreme heat. The motor can’t generate too much heat even when acting against a powerful force.
There is also the issue of finding motor that requires no maintenance that involves removing it or taking it apart. This problem isn’t as hard to solve. The motors are probably brushless because conventional brushed motors have to have the brushes replaced every so often. Brushless motors don’t require much maintenance beyond remagnetizing the permanent magnets, which can be done automatically without taking the motor apart.
As with Dorothy’s other systems, the motors have to survive being stuck to a powerful magnet. Most electric motors can already survive that anyway so this isn’t really an issue. About the only negative effects would be that the magnet might weaken the permanent magnets in the motor, but that can be fixed automatically without having to take the motor apart.
Some words you might not know:
Brushes- The electrical contacts in a motor that allow the electromagnets on the armature to switch polarities rapidly to allow it to spin. Brushless motors do this electronically so they don't need brushes.
Servo- A motor that moves back and forth instead of a spinning motion.
Armature- The part of a motor that spins.
Tell me what you think of this one. If anyone has any suggestions or if you find something wrong with this theory then please let me know. I don't know a whole lot about motors so I was not quite sure of a lot of things when I was writing this.