A 3 phase motor control circuit is an electrical circuit dedicated to operating a 3 phase motor. Turning the 3-phase motor on and off or speeding it up and slowing it down is all done by the various components and wiring within the circuit.
What’s In The Circuit
3 phase motor control circuits will generally have 2 distinct parts, a power circuit and a control circuit. The power circuit is responsible for switching the main power to the motor via high current devices such as contactors or soft starters. While the control side of the circuit is what gives the on and off signals to the contactors via smaller current handling devices such as push buttons and relays.
To Recap
Motor control installations have a power circuit and a control circuit, the power circuit is made up of wiring and components that send higher currents to the motor while the control circuit consists of smaller components and wiring that act as the controlling devices of the larger components. Think of it like when a person holding a traffic sign can direct a large truck on a road, the traffic sign is the control circuit and the large truck represents the power circuit.
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