VisualSizer Motor Selection

We have finally come to the most important feature of the program: The actual selection of motors that will match the requirements. The program will calculate all speed, inertia, and torque requirements and compare them to each single motor in the database.

The screen has three major areas as shown in the picture below.

The Motor Data Overview shows the required speed, inertia, and torque and how the motor, as selected from the Motor List, matches the requirements. The Motor List displays all motors that match the requirements, where the first motor in the list represents the optimum solution.

There is only one little action necessary to initiate the selection process: Clicking on the 'Auto Select' command button.

In our example the program found a total of 279 motors that will be able to drive the application as we had it set up. There are means to narrow the result down to a lower number of motors, which we will explain later in this chapter. Let's first of all have a look at the motor on top of the list, which represents the optimum solution out of all motors in the database. Note that the user is able to overwrite the program's decision, by double-clicking on any other motor in the list. This may apply, for instance, due to availability of the various motors.

The Motor Data Overview table shows the data as required from the motor, data as available from the motor and how the motor meets the requirements. The table also indicates that the motor's continuous & peak performances (torque over speed profile) are sufficient.

You can browse through the entire motor list and observe how each motor matches the requirements.

In the above picture you may notice that several motors show the remark 'Gearbox?' in the result column of the table. This simply means, that the ratio of load inertia to motor inertia exceeds a reasonable value, which may result in system instabilities. The motor still does fit the requirements, but in this case the use of a gearbox is strongly recommended. In our current example we are actually using a gearbox already. In that case it is recommended to use a gearbox with a higher ratio, however, only when the user decides to use one of these particular motors.

As previously mentioned, the program found a total of 279 motors matching the application requirements. In the current search mode the program looked at more than a thousand motor/drive combinations and that also means at each motor regardless of motor type. For instance, there are certain applications, where a stepper motor would really be the only solution, while a DC servo motor would not be an option. Naturally, it could also be vice versa.

In order to narrow the search parameters down the program provides so called 'Access Methods', i.e. methods on how the program should access the various motor databases. The user has a choice to select motor type, motors with or without brakes, and a choice of motor manufacturers (preferred vendors).

After the selection of the optimum motor is being accomplished we need to create an application report.