Commutator Construction and Working

The construction and working of a commutator are, a commutator can be built with a set of contact bars that are set toward the revolving shaft of a DC machine, and allied to the armature windings. When the shaft turns, the commutator will reverse the current flow within a winding. For a particular armature winding, once the shaft has completed the one-half turn, then the winding will be connected so that current supplies through it in the reverse of the first direction.

In a DC motor, the armature current causes the set magnetic field to use a rotating force, otherwise a torque over the winding for making it revolve.

In a DC generator, the mechanical torque can be applied in the direction of the shaft to maintain the armature winding motion via the stationary magnetic field, stimulating a current within the winding. In these two cases, Sometimes, the commutators will reverse the direction of current flow throughout the winding so that the flow of current within the circuit which is external to the machine maintains in only one direction.