Optimal selection of the motor-reducer unit in servo-controlled machinery: A continuous approach

This papers deals with the optimal selection of motors and reducers in servo-controlled machines. A model of an electromechanical servo-axis is developed, which allows electrical and mechanical losses to be evaluated. The model is based on data that can be extracted from commercial catalogs, thus requiring no experimental characterization. Then, a novel optimal selection procedure is presented, called continuous optimization, based on the extension of a discrete commercial catalog to a continuous one, by means of data fitting on the electromechanical parameters that influence the motor and reducer operation. A non-linear constrained optimization problem is solved in order to find the optimal motor-reducer unit with respect to a variety of objective functions, such as motor size, overall energetic efficiency, total mass, etc.