Progress toward better insulations and better understanding of their characteristics

During the past decade new insulations have been developed at an unprecedented rate. In the fractional horsepower motor manufacturing field a number of special factors influence the kind of insulations which gain commercial acceptance. Fractional horsepower motors are highly competitive, and therefore cost, especially labor cost, becomes an important factor in the acceptance of insulations. It is therefore important to manufacturers of fractional horsepower motors that, in addition to good insulating qualities, insulations be suitable for automatic application in the motor. Many excellent insulations have been bypassed by our industry because they were not suitable for automatic application. Along with the development of better insulations, we have seen energetic development of new automatic processes and equipment for the application of these insulating materials to the motor. These two developments, in my opinion, have been instrumental in keeping the United States ahead of world-wide competition in the manufacture of fractional horsepower motors. In addition to these technological advances, we have made substantial progress in recognizing the difference between the insulating requirements in fractional horsepower motors and other equipment and devising better test methods for appraising new insulating materials for our particular needs.