Foundations
Foundations
Everything the course assumes you already know, from what a volt is to how a PID loop works. Start here if electricity, motors or feedback control are new to you.
9 lessons· 215 min
- 01Electricity in five ideasVoltage, current, resistance, power and efficiency: the five quantities every calculation in this course starts from.15 min
- 02AC and three-phase powerSine waves, RMS values, power factor, and how three phase currents make the rotating field that drives every induction motor.25 min
- 03The mechanics of drivesTorque, speed, power, gearboxes, inertia and the rule for efficiency: most calculations in this course are mechanics, not electricity.25 min
- 04How motors make torqueThe induction motor, its slip and torque-speed curve, and a first look at synchronous and DC motors.30 min
- 05Power electronics: the drive and its brakeHow a variable-frequency drive turns the grid into any voltage and frequency, and where regenerated energy goes.25 min
- 06Contactors, ladder logic and fail-safe designNormally open and closed contacts, the seal-in circuit, interlocks, and why safety chains are wired in series.25 min
- 07Feedback and PID controlOpen and closed loops, what the P, I and D terms each do, why loops go unstable, and how to tune one.35 min
- 08The four quadrantsMotoring and generating, forward and reverse: the plane every hoist, elevator and crane drive works in.15 min
- 09Simulating in PythonThe three patterns every lab uses: vectorised formulas, a time-stepping loop, and an ODE solver, plus the bugs to avoid.20 min