Evaluating the influence of manufacturing tolerances in permanent magnet synchronous machines

Purpose ‐ Manufacturing tolerances can result in an unwanted behavior of electrical machines. A quality control of machines subsequent to manufacturing is therefore required in order to test whether the machines comply with its specifications. This paper aims to describe the consideration of rotor tolerances due to non-ideal manufacturing processes. Design/methodology/approach ‐ Various fault scenarios are studied employing numerical field simulations focusing the influence of rotor tolerances on current and back-EMF of the studied machine. Findings ‐ This analysis shows that electrical quantities are applicable to realize tolerance diagnosis by evaluating the influence of non-ideal manufactured rotor components on the back-EMF and current characteristics of the studied machine. Practical implications ‐ This study provides an approach how to estimate the influence of the manufacturing tolerances for realization of a reliable quality control. This is useful to ensure a high reliability of the manufactured machines. Originality/value ‐ This paper gives a close insight on how to investigate non-ideal manufacturing and in particular its influence on the stator current.