Occasionally an end user wants to take a motor designed for horizontal mounting and use it in a vertical position. This article addresses some of the key mechanical factors that should be considered when applying a horizontal ball-bearing motor in a vertical mounting position.
These key factors include:
Axial thrust load capacity of bearing supporting rotor weight
Rotor weight
Weight of output shaft attachments
Axial thrust from direct-connected driven equipment
Bearing lubrication paths
Bearing lubricant retention
Shaft up or shaft down orientation
Ingress protection
Locking axial thrust bearing
Axial thrust load capacity
The first four factors above are inter-related because the weight of the rotor and any shaft attachments result in axial load on the fixed (thrust) bearing. Direct-connected driven equipment such as impellers or fan/blower blades can also impart axial thrust load on the fixed bearing.
