A computational study of a brushless DC motor is presented to determine the thermo-flow characteristics in the windings and bearings under the effects of heat generation. The rotation of the rotor blades drives an influx of ambient air into the rotor inlet. The predicted inflow rates were higher at the front inlet than at the rear inlet due to non-uniform pressure distribution. A recirculation zone appeared in the tiny interfaces between windings. The poor cooling performance was caused by flow separation near the groove threshold by the inclination angle of the bearing groove and by a relatively slow velocity near the bearing and between windings. Based on these results, design parameters for the inlet location and geometry, and for the bearing groove geometry, were determined and optimized to enhance the cooling performance up to 24%. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.