How to know if the motor phases or the power stage of the drive are damaged

How to know if the motor phases or the power stage of the drive are damaged

Problem

I have a motor connected to the drive and I want to check that it is fully capable of moving. I want to check that both the motor phases and the power stage of the drive are not damaged. What can I do to check this?

Steps

  • The first step is to check that the wiring of the motor is correct and exactly like it is shown in the Motor and shunt braking resistor. Ensure that there are no loose connections and that everything is making proper electric contact.
  • Once the wiring is verified, there is a quick test that can be done in MotionLab in order to see if everything is working fine. This test consists of using the Open-loop mode internally generating the commutation angle while plotting all the current that flows through the different phases. You would need to set a target voltage in the 2-15% range and a target frequency in the 250-1000 mHz range (approximately, it might vary depending on the system) while plotting the Current phase A/B/C, on the Scope. You should be able to see the same sinusoidal waveforms (outphased between each other) for all the phases while the motor moves. The successful results of this test for a brushless motor can be seen in the following picture:

  • If you get similar results like the one that we have just shown (but adapted to your particular motor), then you can conclude that both the motor and the power stage of the drive are working fine.

Possible problems encountered

When you do the test that we have just explained and don't get the same exact results, you might be experiencing one of the following cases:
  • Right after you enable the motor, you get a fault with the error code 0x2280 "Over-current has been detected in phase or DC-Bus line (HW system protection)". This is not good news, it either indicates that the power stage of the drive is damaged, the motor is damaged, or there is a short circuit in the connection of the phases of the motor. In order to see which could be the real cause of the fault, one could do one of the following procedures:
    • Disconnect the motor from the drive and proceed to enable the power stage again. If you get an over-current fault once again, then there is a problem with the power stage of the drive and an RMA process needs to be started in order to repair it. If no fault appears, then the problem is on the motor side.
    • Check all the wiring points with a tester to ensure that there are no possible short circuits and that there is proper electrical contact along the different phases. If after doing the checking the problem disappears, then both the motor and power stage are working properly.
    • Connect a different motor to the drive and enable the power stage again. Assuming that the motor does not have any problem, if the problem is solved then the problem was within the phases of the former motor. If the problem appears again, then it is a problem of the power stage of the drive and an RMA process needs to be started in order to repair it.

  • When enabling the motor, one of the phases remains at 0A all the time. This is not good news either, it indicates that either there is a motor phase disconnected from the drive or there is actually a phase that is damaged inside the motor. Revise the wiring properly in order to determine which one of the 2 is the reason of the problem.

  • When enabling the motor, you get a fault with error code 0x2290, 0x2291, 0x2292 or 0x2293. This is not good either, it means that one of the transistors of the power stage of the drive is damaged and is making a short circuit internally. Therefore, the only solution for this is to start an RMA process to analyze and repair the board.

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