What are the applications of synchronous motors?
*Sometimes a synchronous motor is used, not to drive a load, but to improve the power factor on the local grid it’s connected to. It does this by providing reactive power to, or consuming reactive power from the grid. In this case the synchronous motor is called a Synchronous condenser. Electrical power plants almost always use synchronous generators because it’s very important to keep the frequency constant at which the generator is connected. Low power applications include positioning machines, where high precision is required, and robot actuators. *AC Synchronous Motors provide constant speeds and the ability to stop within a few degrees of rotation. Direction of rotation for AC Synchronous Motors using single-phase operation is easily achieved by the use of a phase shifting network and a single-pole, three-position switch. AC Synchronous Motors are stepper motors that are modified to run off of AC power. Thermal runaway under stall conditions is eliminated because the starting and
