[kamocat]

Is there any more that should be said about insulation?

If not, lets move on to motor protection.

Is it reasonable to say "any motor that gets hot enough to smoke presents a safety hazard"?
Or is there a more stringent requirement, that we must stay within 135% of normal load to prevent abusing our motors?

What sort of electrical device should be used to prevent damage in an overload situation? Are we going to find a NEMA class 20 overload relay for low-voltage DC?