Lamination thickness

The thickness of the iron lamination sheets varies between about 0.05 and 0.5 mm in most electrical machines. The choice of lamination thickness depends on a balance between performance and cost.


Since the eddy-current losses are approximately proportional to the square of the lamination thickness, it is a good idea to choose thin iron laminations. Especially for switching frequencies in the range of several hundred Herzt and above or when there is a requirement for low iron core losses, a thin lamination thickness is a requisite. What is mainly limiting the use of very thin lamination thicknesses are the cost and the technical feasibility:

As a consequence, the choice of lamination thickness is a compromise between performance and cost. Nowadays, electrical machines are more often bought considering their life-cycle cost and not just their purchase price, which results in a trend towards thinner and higher quality iron laminations.


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