Advanced Drivetrain

Calculations
Goals for this Session
Foundation for Gearbox Design
Review principles in drivetrain design
Examine trade-offs
Formulas for modeling and design
Sample Calculation
 Prerequisites
Assume basic familiarity with:
Principles of Physics and
Calculus
Forces, Power, Torque,
Acceleration, Friction, Rotational
vs. Linear Motion
Principles of DC Motors
Principles of Gear Trains
Ken and Pauls seminar
 Gearbox Design Process
First, choose Motion Objective: Robot Speed 13 fps, full speed within 10 feet

Pick motor
(load vs amps) Motor running
Determine maximum
Pick wheel config. characteristics
drive train load from
no. of wheels Max torque per
wall push
material current limit
diameter

Calculate speed
Calculate required gear
& acceleration
ratio from motor and Iterate
Running characteristics
output torques
Current limits
Transmission Goal: Translate
Motor Motion and Power into
Robot Motivation
Motor
Speed (rpm)
Torque
Robot
Speed (fps)
Weight
First Analysis
Pushing against a wall
Objective: Determine maximum load limit
System must withstand max load
Run continuously under maximum load
Not overload motors
Not overload circuit breakers
(Not break shafts, gears, etc.)
Suboptimum ignore limit (risk failure)
Pushing against a wall
Known Factors:
Motor Usage
Motor Characteristics
Wheel Friction
Max Motor Load (at 40 amps)
Solve For:
Required Gear Ratio
Robot Weight
Speed
Motor specs Gear Ratio acceleration
Frictional coef.
Max Motor Load

TL = Torque from load

IM = Maximum current draw (motor limit)
Ts = Stall torque
IF = Motor free current
IS = Motor stall current
Calculate the Max Motor Load
Current Draw vs. Load Torque
1 Chiaphua Motor

120
stall
100
Motor Current Draw (Amp)

80

60

40

20

Free
0
speed
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Load Torque (N*m)
Calculate the Gearbox Load
Find Required Gearbox Ratio
Friction between wheel Weight
no. of wheels
and carpet acts as a
brake, and provides
gearbox load.
Find torque load per
gearbox. Frictional
Now Solve for Required force
Gear Ratio
Gearbox Load
Gear Ratio
Motor Max Load
Check Robot Speed
How fast will the robot go with this
required gear ratio?
Output RPM Motor RPM * Gear Ratio * Speed Loss

Robot Velocity Output RPM

* Wheel Circumfera nce * Unit Conversion

Remember Units!!!
Is this fast enough?
Major Design Compromise
Is this speed fast enough?
No?
Decrease Gearbox Load
Increase Gearbox Power
Live with the low speed
Design two speeds!
Low speed/high force
High speed/low force
Risk failure
Design is all about tradeoffs
Secondary Analysis
Plotting Acceleration
Calculate Motor Current Draw and Robot
Velocity over time (during robot
acceleration).
Time to top speed
Important to show how drivetrain will perform
(or NOT perform!)
If a robot takes 50 feet to accelerate to top
speed, it probably isnt practical!
Plotting Acceleration
Voltage to resting motor
Start at stall condition (speed = 0)
Stall torque initial acceleration
Robot accelerates
Motor leaves stall condition
Force decreases as speed increases.
Instantaneous Motor Torque

Stall Torque
Motor Torque - ( ) * Motor RPM Stall Torque
Free Speed

When Motor RPM = 0,

Output Torque = Stall Torque
When Motor RPM = free speed
Output Torque = 0 (in theory)
(.81)
 Gearbox Torque Output
Robot Accelerating Force

Gearbox Torque Motor Torque * Gear Ratio * Efficiency

Gearbox Torque
Accelerati on Force 2 * ( )
Wheel Radius
Instantaneous
Acceleration and Velocity
Accelerati on Force - Friction Resistance
Accelerati on
Robot Mass
Instantaneous Acceleration (dependant on
robot velocity, as seen in previous equations).
The instantaneous velocity can be numerically
calculated as follows:

V2 V1 1 * (t)
(thanks, Isaac)
Velocity vs. Time

The numerical results can be plotted, as

shown below (speed vs. time):
Robot Velocity vs. Time

6
Robot Velocity (ft/s)

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Tim e (s)
 Current Draw Modeling
The current drawn by a motor can be
modeled vs. time too.
Current is linearly proportional to torque
output (torque load) of the motor.

Stall Current - Free Current

Current Draw * Torque Load Free Current
Stall Torque
Current Draw vs. Time
The numerical results can be plotted, as
shown below:
Gearbox Current Draw vs. Time

250

200
Current Draw (Amp)

150

100

50

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Time (s)
What does this provide?

Based on these plots, one can see how

the drivetrain will perform.
Does current draw drop below danger
levels in a short time?
How long does it take robot to accelerate
to top speed?
Are things okay? NO?!?

How can performance be increased?

Increase Drivetrain Power
Use Stronger Motors
Use Multiple Motors
Increase Gear Ratio (Reduce top speed)
Is this acceptable?
 Adding Power Multiple
Motors
Combining Motors Together Not Voodoo!
2 Motors combine to become 1 super-motor
Match motors at free speed.
Sum all characteristics
Motor Load is distributed proportional to a ratio of free
speed.
2 of the same motor is easy!
4 Chiaphua Motors
Multiple Speed Drivetrains
Allows for one pushing gear, and one
cruising gear.
Shift on the fly allows for accelerating
through multiple gears to achieve high
speeds.
Shifting optimizes motor power for
application at hand.
The big picture

These calculations are used to design a

competition drivetrain.
Rather than do them by hand, most
designers use some kind of tool.
Excel Spreadsheet
Matlab Script
Etc
And then

This is a starting point

Iterate to optimize results
Test
Use your imagination
Infinite speeds
Multiple motors
Many gears
This isnt the end all method.
 Gearbox Design Process
Set Motion Objective: Robot Speed 13 fps, full speed within 10 feet

Pick motor
(load vs amps) Motor running
Determine maximum
Pick wheel config. characteristics
drive train load from
no. of wheels Max torque per
wall push
material current limit
diameter

Calculate speed
Calculate required gear
& acceleration
ratio from motor and Iterate
Running characteristics
output torques
Current limits
Demonstration

Here is an example of how to use a

spreadsheet to do drivetrain design.
www.team229.org
Everything is available (or soon will be) in
resources section of 229 web site
Calculation Demonstration
Peak Free Free
Stall Torque Stall Current Gearbox
Motor Name Power Speed Current
(N*m) (Amp) Ratio
(W) (RPM) (Amp)
Atwood Chiaphua
321 5500 2.22 107 2.3
Motor
Fisher Price -
Johnson (2005) 407 24000 .647 148 1.5
(No Gearbox)

FP w/Gearbox 407 193 80 148 1.5 124:1

Globe Motor
50 100 19 21 .82 117:1
(With Gearbox)
Van Door Motor 69 75 35 40 1.1
Nippon Window
22 92 9.2 24.8 3
Motor (2002)
Jideco Window
18.5 85 8.33 21 3
Motor (2005)