MSE310 3.

Actuators: Motor Sizing Examples

Example 3-1
A load of moment of inertia JL = 0.5 kg m2 is ramped up from rest to a steady speed of 200 rpm
in 0.5 s using a DC motor and a gear unit of step down speed ratio r = 5. A schematic
representation of the system is shown in Fig. 3-E1(a) and the speed profile of the load is shown
in Fig. 3-E1(b). The load exerts a constant resistance of TR = 55 Nm throughout the operation.
The efficiency of the gear unit is e = 0.7. Check whether the commercial brushless DC motor and
its drive unit, whose characteristics are shown in Fig. 3-E2 is suitable for this application. The
moment of inertia of the motor rotor is given as Jm = 0.002 kg m2.

Figure 3-E1 (a) A load driven by a DC motor through a gear transmission

(b) Speed profile of the load

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Figure 3-E2 Speed-torque characteristics of a commercial brushless DC servomotor with a

matching amplifier (from Aerotech Inc.)

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Example 3-2: Positioning (X-Y) table

A common application of stepper motors is in position tables (see Fig. 3-E3). A two-axis (x-y)
table requires two stepper motors of equal capacity. The values of the following parameters are
assumed to be known:

Maximum positioning resolution (displacement/step): 0.01 in/step

Maximum operating velocity, to be attained in less than a specified time: 10 in/s, 0.1 s,
respectively
Mass of the x-y table: 1 lb
Maximum resistance force (primarily friction) against table motion: 0.5 lbf

Q: Select a stepper motor that satisfies these requirements.

Figure 3-E3 (a) A single axis of a positioning table, (b) an equivalent model

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Figure 3-E4 Speed-torque curve for a stepper motor

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Example 3-3: Industrial conveyor

A schematic diagram of an industrial conveyor unit is shown in Fig. 3-E5. In this application, the
conveyor moves intermittently at a fixed rate, thereby indexing the objects on the conveyor
through a fixed distance d in each time period T. A triangular speed profile is used for each
motion interval, having an acceleration and a deceleration that are equal in magnitude (Fig. 3-E6).
The conveyor is driven by a stepper motor. A gear unit with step-down speed ratio p:1, where p
> 1, may be used if necessary, as shown in Fig. 3-E5.

a) Explain why the equivalent moment of inertia Je at the motor shaft, for the overall system
is given by:
1 r2
J e J m J g1 ( J g2 J d J s ) ( mc m L )
p2 p2
where Jm, Jg1, Jg2, Jd, and Js are the moment of inertia of the motor rotor, drive gear,
driven gear, drive cylinder of the conveyor, and the driven cylinder of the conveyor,
respectively; mc and mL are the overall masses of the conveyor belt and the moved objects
(load), respectively; and r is the radius of each of the two conveyor cylinders.

b) Four models of stepping models are available for the application. Their specifications are
given in Fig. 3-E7 and the corresponding performance curves are given in Fig. 3-E8. The
following values are known for the system: d = 10 cm, T = 0.2 sec, r = 10 cm, mc = mL =5
kg, Jd = Js = 2.0 10-3 kg m2. Also two gear units with p = 2 and 3 are available, and for
each unit Jg1 = Jg2 = 200 10-6 kg m2. Indicating all calculations and procedures, select a
suitable motor unit for this application. You must not use a gear unit unless it is necessary
to have one with the available motors. What is the positioning resolution of the conveyor
(rectilinear) for the final system?

Note: Assume an overall system efficiency of 80% regardless of whether a gear unit is
used.

Figure 3-E5 Conveyor unit with intermittent motion

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Figure 3-E6 Speed profile for a motion period of the conveyor

Figure 3-E7 Stepper motor data (from Aerotech Inc.)

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Figure 3-E8 Stepper motor performance curves (from Aerotech Inc.)

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Example 3-4:
Consider a three-phase induction motor that has one pole pair per phase. The equivalent
resistance and leakage inductance in the rotor circuits are 8 and 0.06 H, respectively. The
motor supply voltage is 115 V in each phase, at a line frequency of 60 Hz. Compute the
torque-speed curve for the motor.

Figure 3-E9 (a) Three-phase induction motor that has one pole pair per phase
(b) Torque-speed curve of the induction motor in Ex. 3-4

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Example 3-5:
The steady-state slip-torque relationship of an induction motor is given by:
av 2f S
Tm
1 (S / Sb )2
with the parameter values a = 1 10-3 Nm/V2 and Sb = 0.25. If the line voltage vf = 241 V,
calculate the breakdown torque. If the motor has two pole pairs per phase and if the line
frequency is 60 Hz, what is the synchronous speed (in rpm)? What is the speed
corresponding to the breakdown torque? If the motor drives an external load, which is
modelled as a viscous damper of damping constant b = 0.03 Nm/rad/s, determine the
operating point of the system.

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Figure 3-E10 Speed-torque

characteristic curve of the induction
motor in Ex. 3-5.

Aside:
If we assume that the combined inertia or the rotor and load is J eq 5 kg m2, the speed-time
history of the motor is shown by Fig. 3-E11.

Figure 3-E11 Speed-time history of the induction motor in Ex. 3-5

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