13 November 2023

Motor-CAD Software Tutorial:

Electromagnetic Modelling of a Permanent Magnet

DC Motor using Motor-CAD
Contents
1. Description ..................................................................................................................... 2
2. Motor Setup ................................................................................................................... 2
i. Geometry ................................................................................................................ 3
ii. Winding ................................................................................................................... 7
iii. Materials ................................................................................................................. 9
iv. Calculation Settings............................................................................................... 10
3. Performance Tests....................................................................................................... 11
4. Graphs ......................................................................................................................... 15
i. Back EMF.............................................................................................................. 16
ii. Torque................................................................................................................... 16
iii. Torque Speed Curve ............................................................................................. 17
5. Output Data ................................................................................................................. 18
6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 18
1. Description
This document gives a brief description of how to simulate the electromagnetic performance
of a Permanent Magnet Direct Current (PMDC) machine using Motor-CAD. A model of a
PMDC motor is configured and characterised.

2. Motor Setup
Motor-CAD has both electromagnetic and thermal models. These models can be used
separately or as a combined electromagnetic + thermal model. In this tutorial we will create
an electromagnetic model by selecting the option Model -> E-Magnetic. (Tip: a blue
background on the active tab indicates E-Magnetic context).

Next, set the motor type to PMDC by selecting Motor Type -> PMDC.

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 i. Geometry
Motor-CAD should now be showing a cross-sectional representation of a permanent magnet
brush commutated machine on the Geometry -> Radial tab. Note that only the components
included in the electromagnetic model are shown.

We will now set the radial geometry parameters of the motor that will be simulated, in the
dropdowns and tables on the left.

First, specify the rotor slot type and whether to model the brush holder or not. Ducting may be
specified as it can affect the electromagnetic performance if the laminations are modified.

Parameter Value
Slot Type Parallel Tooth
Brush Holder None
Stator Ducts None
Rotor Ducts None

Then, set the radial dimensions of the machine and parameters such as the number of slots
and stator poles. This motor will be of a 4-pole, 60-slot configuration.

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 Stator Dimensions Value Units Rotor Dimensions Value Units
Pole Number 4 Slot Number 60
Back Iron Thickness 10 mm Armature Diameter 110 mm
Magnet Thickness 5 mm Tooth Width 2 mm
Magnet Arc 120 °Elec Slot Depth 20 mm
Magnet Segments 1 Slot Corner Radius 0 mm
Banding Thickness 0 mm Slot Opening 2 mm
Tooth Tip Depth 1 mm
Tooth Tip Angle 30 °
Airgap 0.5 mm
Sleeve Thickness 0 mm
Shaft Diameter 25 mm
Shaft Hole Diameter 0 mm
Commutator Diameter 50 mm
Commutator Copper Thickness 2 mm
Brush Width 8 mm
Brush Height 20 mm

Click the Redraw button or press Enter/Return after changing dimensions to ensure the
drawing is updated.

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Navigate to the Geometry -> Axial tab. This is where dimensions such as motor and
lamination lengths are defined, as well as settings for shaft type and radial ducts, if any. The
default settings in the dropdown boxes should be correct for this design.

Now, set the axial geometry dimensions as in the table below.

Axial Dimensions Value Units

Motor Length 200 mm
Stator Laminations Length 120 mm
Magnet Length 120 mm
Magnet Segments 1
Rotor Laminations Length 120 mm
Endwinding Overhang [Front] 10 mm
Endwinding Overhang [Rear] 10 mm
Winding Extension [Front] 2 mm
Winding Extension [Rear] 2 mm
Gap [Endcap-Commutator] 10 mm
Gap [Commutator-Winding] 5 mm
Commutator Length 15 mm
Brush Length 12 mm
Brush Width 8 mm

Again, click the Redraw button or press Enter/Return after changing dimensions to ensure
the drawing is updated.

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A 3D view is available in Motor-CAD under Geometry -> 3D to visualise the machine.
Transparency levels of components can be set by right-clicking them in the component list.
Components or groups of components can also be hidden by deselecting checkboxes in the
list.

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 ii. Winding
Navigate to Winding -> Pattern to see details of the winding pattern.

Motor-CAD will automatically set up the winding pattern for the slot / pole combination of this
machine. In this example our motor will have a winding with 10 turns per coil.

Parameter Value
Path Type Upper/Lower
Turns 10
Throw 15
Multiplicity 1

The radial pattern drawn shows the armature coils grouped according to which brushes they
provide a conductive path between. This grouping obviously changes as the rotor turns. Coils
whose commutators are short circuited by brushes are drawn in grey since they do not provide
a path between brushes or contribute to total back EMF during commutation.

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On the Winding -> Definition tab, a cross section of an individual rotor slot is shown. Here
we specify the details of the winding. From these details, values used in the performance
analysis are calculated, such as armature resistance.

Define the winding parameters as shown in the table below and press Enter/Return, or click
Redraw. Check that Wire Slot Fill is 51.47% of the winding area to be sure that the parameters
have been successfully set.

Dimension Value Units

Divider Type Overlapping
Winding Definition Wire Size
Wire Type Metric Table
Wire Gauge [0.543mm, 0.475mm]
Number of Strands in Hand 5
Liner Thickness 0.1 mm
Copper Depth [%] 100 %
Conductor Separation 0.06 mm

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iii. Materials
Motor-CAD has a materials database populated with commonly used materials. Other
materials can be added as required. For more information, refer to the Motor-CAD manual.

Navigate to the Input Data -> Materials page. This is where materials from the materials
database can be applied to different parts of the machine. This tab also provides the
calculated weight of each part.

Assign the steel material JFE_10JNEX900 to all laminations.

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 iv. Calculation Settings
Settings for the performance tests can be found under Input Data -> Settings -> Calculation.

Each performance test will be simulated over a given number of cycles, with the specified
number of points simulated in each cycle. One cycle is defined as rotation by the angle of one
slot pitch, as the machine performance will be periodic over this angle.

For accurate results, it is important to ensure that the airgap mesh is matched to the rotation
step of the machine during the simulation. The angle of each rotation step should be an exact
multiple of the angle spanned by each element of the airgap mesh.

With this model, the slot pitch is 6°, so setting the number of points per cycle to 10 gives each
rotation step as 0.6°. For each airgap mesh component to span 0.6°, 600 points are required.

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Set these values on the calculation settings page:
Parameter Value
Airgap internal points 600
Airgap surface points 600
Torque points per cycle 10
Torque number of cycles 1
Back EMF points per cycle 10
Back EMF number of cycles 1
Cogging Torque points per cycle 10
Cogging Torque number of cycles 1

3. Performance Tests
The Calculation page is where the machine operating point (speed, current, voltage and
temperature) is defined.

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The current for the operating point to be simulated can either be defined as total input
current, or current density in the armature conductors. Set the current to 15A.

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The Torque Speed Curve calculation calculates the torque envelope given the magnitude of
the DC bus voltage set on the Calculation page.

As this is an electromagnetic model, without the coupled thermal model, the operating point
temperatures are specified by the user. For now, use the default values.

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The performance test options section allows the user to select which calculations to run. The
options allow the speeding up the calculation time by deselecting performance tests not
required.

Make sure that Back EMF, Torque, Torque Speed Curve and Demagnetization are
selected.

The model is then solved by clicking on the Solve E-Magnetic Model button.

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The Motor-CAD electromagnetic module uses finite element analysis to calculate the
electromagnetic performance. The finite element model and results can be viewed during
and after solving by selecting the E-Magnetics tab.

4. Graphs
When the calculation is completed the result waveforms can be viewed on the Graphs tab.

For PMDC machines, all values are plotted against mechanical degrees for the number of
cycles specified on the Input Data -> Settings -> Graphs page. One cycle is defined as
rotation by the angle of one slot pitch, as the machine performance will be periodic over this
angle.

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 i. Back EMF
The Back EMF waveform shows the open circuit voltage of the machine at the shaft speed
specified on the Calculation tab.

ii. Torque
The Torque performance test calculates a torque waveform for the machine at the specified
motor current and shaft speed.

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The on load terminal voltage is also calculated, using the varying flux linkage of the winding,
as well as the electrical resistance and brush-commutator voltage drops.

iii. Torque Speed Curve

The Torque Speed Curve shows the operating range of the machine based on the limitation
of the DC bus voltage and the current setting.

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5. Output Data
Further numerical data is presented on the Output Data pages.

6. Conclusion
We have described how to create, solve and analyse an electromagnetic model of a
permanent magnet DC machine using Motor-CAD.

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