www.easa.

com May 2002

The Importance, Benefits Of Preheating

Motor Windings Prior To Impregnation
By Tom Bishop and enhances the curing
EASA Technical Support Specialist process.
How long, and at what
Did you ever wonder if the preheating instruc- temperature, should a
tions from solvent varnish and solventless resin winding be preheated?
(hereafter we’ll use the term “resin” when it ap- The typical range of pre-
plies to both) manufacturers were really all that heating temperatures is
important? The short answer is, yes, they are. 250ºF to 275ºF (120ºC to
Here we’ll expand on some of the reasons that 135ºC). The entire stator,
preheating is a key step in the winding process. rotor or armature should
One of the first benefits of preheating is that it be heated until the wind-
drives out moisture that may have settled on sur- ing reaches the preheat temperature, and then held
faces, or been absorbed by insulation material. A at that temperature for at least one hour. The en-
little known aspect of pre- tire unit should then be
heating is that it relieves the allowed to cool down to a
mechanical stress cracks, During the impregnation process surface temperature ap-
termed “crazing,” on the further benefits of preheating come propriate for the type of
magnet wire insulation coat- into play. The preheated winding resin being used.
ing that occur during coil and core, upon coming in contact The temperatures as-
winding and insertion. Epoxy with the cooler resin material, lower sociated with cool down
B-stage materials can be set the resin’s viscosity. This enhances when using solvent var-
by preheating, provided the penetration of the resin into the nishes differ from those
preheating time and tempera- winding, which is particularly for solventless resins.
ture meet the epoxy’s curing important in the slots, and it aids in With a solvent varnish
requirements. Random wind- draining the excess resin. the unit being preheated
ings typically don’t use many should be allowed to cool
B-stage materials; however, down to a surface tem-
many of the lacing products perature between 150ºF
for endturns are thermoset- and 175ºF (65ºC and
ting. Form coil windings 80ºC) prior to immersing
often have B-stage surge in the varnish. The cooler
ropes, and some felt packings temperature prevents deg-
used for endturn coil bracing radation of the varnish
are B-stage epoxy loaded. and aids in avoiding sol-
vent entrapment. The
Further Benefits cool down temperature
During the impregnation range for solventless res-
process further benefits of pre- ins should be between
heating come into play. The 120ºF and 140ºF (50ºC
preheated winding and core, and 60ºC).
upon coming in contact with
the cooler resin material, Process Critical In
lower the resin’s viscosity. It is also a good practice to allow the resin to Resin Curing
This enhances penetration of drain completely before moving the The preheating proce-
the resin into the winding, impregnated unit away from the dip tank. dure may seem like a
which is particularly important waste of time and energy,
in the slots, and it aids in drain- but it is a critical step in as-
ing the excess resin. An added benefit is that the suring an acceptable resin cure and in extending the
residual heat in the impregnated piece accelerates Continued On Page 2

1
EASA CURRENTS
Importance Of Preheating Motor Windings . . . Continued From Page 1
life of the resin. If the winding is too hot, in the
case of a solvent varnish the solvent will be evapo-
rated, thus increasing the viscosity. This will reduce
the capability of the varnish to penetrate into the
windings, and the cure time will increase. If you
are unaware that an overtemperature of the impreg-
nated unit has affected the varnish, you may not
realize that the winding has failed to cure during the
normal bake cycle. The worst-case scenario is an un-
cured winding that fails prematurely because the
weak bond strength allows the wires to vibrate until
the insulation quickly wears off, and a short circuit
occurs. Even if the lack of a full cure is detected
prior to assembling the com-
plete machine, there is the
lost time associated with
having to rebake, and for an
extended period. A similar
situation can occur with sol-
ventless resins. The resin
viscosity increases, making
penetration more difficult.
And gelling takes place in
the resin, forming gel par-
ticles that are like
microscopic “meatballs.”
Test Resin Periodically
Periodic testing of the
resin will reveal if it has
The resin beading seen here indicates that the
been affected by impregna-
wire bonding is incomplete.
tion of units that were too
hot. Solvent varnishes will
require more solvent, a rather simple cure. How-
ever, the solventless resins will require adding
compounds that try to break up the microscopic
meatballs. The gelled particles can be made
smaller and put in suspension, but they do not dis-
solve, so the negative impact on the resin, though
reduced, is there forever. Further, the additives for
the resins are relatively expensive, costing more
per unit of volume than the resin itself.
Another issue relating in part to preheating
came to light in the late 1990s. Some electrical
apparatus service centers experienced problems
with the inverter type magnet wire and solventless
resins containing diallyl phthalate (DAP). The
difficulties ranged from poor bonding of the wires
to no bonding at all. The NEMA Magnet Wire
Technical Committee conducted an investigation
and a testing program to determine the factors that
were contributing to the poor bonding results. The
committee found that most of the problems were
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related to compatibility of the DAP resins and the
magnet wire coating. The bonding problem oc-
curred with non-inverter and inverter type magnet
wire coatings.
Helps Alleviate Bonding Problems
A secondary factor was that certain lubricants
used on the magnet wire to facilitate manufacture
were contributing to a beading effect that resulted in
poor bonding. Preheating often helped to alleviate
the bonding problem in these cases, as the process
evaporated the topical (applied to the surface) lubri-
cant from the magnet wire insulation coating. Some
magnet wires are “internally
lubricated,” that is, the lubri-
cant is embedded in the
coating. Preheating does not
drive off internal lubricants,
but it does help to alleviate
the bonding issue associated
with the DAP resin even if
the magnet wire coating is
internally lubricated.
Since the bonding
problem was associated
with a number of vari-
ables, mainly the DAP
resins and the magnet
wire lubricants, it would
be wise to check the com-
patibility of your resin
with the different brand
magnet wires your service
center uses. Remember
that the bonding issue can apply to non-inverter
and inverter type magnet wire. A good way to
check for bond is to view the end turns of wind-
ings with a portable microscope, with a 30x
magnification or better.
If you detect a complete lack of bond, or
beading (like water drops on a waxy surface),
then there is a bonding problem. At that point
you will want to discuss the issue with your resin
manufacturer. And, if satisfactory bonding is
found, plan to re-check the wire bond from time
to time; manufacturers sometimes change their
processes, e.g., the types of lubricant and the
wire coatings themselves. In all cases you will be
well served to follow the preheating instructions
from your resin manufacturer and the guidelines
given here. As described earlier in this article,
the benefits of preheating extend well beyond
bonding and compatibility issues.