Customer Reviews

Electric Motors and Control Techniques

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Overall I found this to be an excellent book. I enjoyed every page, and in particular tracing out circuit operations of the various schematics. I thought the diversity of circuits was great.

Nowhere in the title did I see "Basics of" or Fundementals of". This is not a book for the novice. The reader must have a good understanding of AC and DC motors, and solid state theory, circiuts, and devices.

I found the concatenation of induction motors, and the Kramer speed control system very interesting. I have many old industrial control books, but none shows these systems.

There are several errors, and examples of such are: Page 44, Para 3 is completely wrong. The proper way to reverse direction of compound motors is to reverse A1 and A2. Page 57, para 2 relates to this proper method. Fig. 5-9 Q102 shows a JFET- should be a UJT. Fig. 5-13 Q1 same thing. Fig. 5-10 has negative 250 VDC lines to emitters of Q532-Q536 and Q552-Q556 missing. Eliminate lead from motor to bottom of C541. Fig. 6-11 motor will never reverse with this scheme. Turning dial in opposite direction FWD biasis Q2 turning on Q1 which energizes RY2. RY1 drops out turning system off. Motor never runs CCW.

I have a comprehensive technical library, and one of my books is by this author entitled "Design and Operation of Regulated Power Supplies". It's an old book, and it's full of solid state circuits. I am indebted to authors like Mr Gottlieb, for it's their writings that enabled me to learn solid state electronics.

I was disappointed with this book. While full of detailed figures and schematics, the book is hodge-podge of information with very little logical flow. It jumps from 100,000 feet into the treetops with no explanation. The author peppers the book with his insights but without any context and background leaving the reader confused. As well, the book is dated given recent advancements in motor control technology.

The information in this book is best suited to a physicist with a background in motors. If you don't already have a solid understanding about motors, servos and motor control already, then don't buy this book! The author covers far too much information at a very high level, makes too many assumptions about the reader's knowledge, and does not explain anything in easy-to-understand terms.

The book is good in giving a general (although a little dated) overview of motor types and control techniques. Unfortunately they are too special for a layman to understand and too general for a specialist to really do something with it. I have found the book a little disappointing, because it is assuming things without ever explaining them.

I had the impression, that the author had more interest in displaying the scope of his knowledge instead of helping someone else to get to the same level of understanding

The author begins with plausible thought experiments that build to explain how common motors work. The remainder of the book is a large compendium of common circuits (both old and modern) used to control various motor types. His analysis of some designs were a bit oddly explained (but my background is RF and microwave design, not power electronics). I get something new and revealing every time I open the pages.

Excellent orientation into the complex world of motors (types, efficiency, AC/DC, hybrids), batteries (Edison cell, lead-acid, exotics), technologies for generating electricity in general, electronic schematics, equations and lots of sidebars/insights into energy (gas vs. volts). I bought this book many years ago and was surprised by how slim it was. Regardless, it is packed with info and I found myself thinking of ways to create electricity and that meant many trips to the local auto junk yard. I wanted an overview on motors and batteries (dreaming of building an EV one day) and this book delivers. Some of the content teases at great things to explore (like germanium transistors). I think the author has a great writing style for the layman and is very readable. Book is a great resource that I turn to often. Buy it if you are an AC/DC motor enthusiast.

I took an electric motors and controls class and we used this book. It was useless, hard to follow, format was difficult to keep track of what was going on. Someone with a PhD might be able to klean something from it, but I could not. I bought "Electric Motors and Control Systems" by Frank D. Petruzella. I used this book in my class and was able to learn a ton more about motors and control systems. You can read my review on that book. Don't waste your money on this book.

This book does a convincing job of covering the basic mechanics of the different motor types. The physics are presented with a clarity that sufficed but did not impress me. I approached this book having taken undergraduate level EM physics and some EE courses at a US university.

The two topics that particularly interested me, Regenerative braking and Brushless DC motors, were not covered to my satisfaction. I felt that Regenerative braking could have been given more than the few paragraphs it received. I would have enjoyed a table summarizing all of the different motors' characteristics and applications.

The book has not been revised recently, and there are many instances in which it shows its age. It seems, and here I paraphrase, that there are frequent examples of "In the future, electronics will be developed that..." or "This technology shows promise, but is not yet mature enough for practical application..." The final chapter is embarrassing to read. It contains spelling errors (eg "taut" for "tout"), cut and pasted sentences, sentences lacking clauses, and giddy speculation about cold fusion. It cites an experiment conducted at the "Stanford engineering department", without any publication details, principal authors, years, etc. I do not understand its inclusion.

a book for the technically inclined person. Goes into hardcore electric engineering. I enjoy working with the book.

After taking two semesters of "Field and Wave Electromagnetics" I knew all the material but had trouble remembering the different types of motors and speed control techniques. this book has them explained simply and in detail.