SERVOsoft is for drive systems suppliers,
machine manufacturers and systems integrators for machines, robots, product
handling equipment and other servo based machinery.
Who are dissatisfied with basic single axis sizing tools and
custom spreadsheets, which are incapable of sizing complete systems.
SERVOsoft is an engineering software tool that sizes complete
servo systems including all electrical and mechanical components,
with up to 20 axes and 14 mechanisms.
Unlike many other sizing tools in the industry, which are typically
focused on a single axis motor and/or drive, or gearbox or coupling,
using simplified models and calculations, and therefore are incomplete.
SERVOsoft is the only complete tool for sizing servo systems,
using detailed models and calculations with no assumptions, creating
better performing, reliable, efficient and cost effective designs
with up to 80% time savings - every time.
If you downloaded the Trial
version, no USB dongle is required. Simply run the installation.
After 30 days, SERVOsoft will stop working and a message box will
appear each time it is run.
Once you have purchased a
license, a CD and USB dongle key will be shipped to you within a
few days.
1024x768
resolution
16bits – 16.8 M colors
32MB memory
USB
port2
v1.1
v2.0
Notes: 1. One move contains 4 segments –
Acceleration, Constant Velocity, Deceleration and Dwell 2.The USB port is required for a license
dongle depending on the program version. If the dongle is required,
the program will not function when the dongle is not connected to
a USB port.
An undersized design will
fail to meet performance requirements, and in extreme cases, can
overheat and damage components. In many cases it is safe to use
an oversized motor, and this is what occurs quite often since the
many calculations can be complex and time consuming. However, an
oversized motor is not a cost-effective solution. Larger motors
require larger drives, and most often lead to larger infeed modules,
filters, bleeders, cables, etc., which in turn require a larger
cabinet enclosure to house the components. Over sizing has a ripple
effect throughout the entire design. Usually larger components,
be they motors, drives, gearboxes, etc., are higher priced than
smaller units. Finally, an over sized design increases the long
term operating costs as the design is inherently less energy efficient.
In summary, most engineers
will over size because it is the easier and safer approach. However,
over sizing increases
the initial system cost
as well as the ongoing operating cost
of a servo system.
See our Technical
Articles for more details on how SERVOsoft solves complex sizing
problems that other tools do not.
As with any model, the outputs
are only as valid as the inputs are accurate. With todays 3D CAD
models, inertia and mass values tend to be very accurate. However,
usually the unknowns involve stiffness, friction and thrust values.
Experience, good judgmenet and a database of previous models can
greatly reduce the 'unknowns' to very reasonable approximations.
Once the actual system is modeled and benchmarked with SERVOsoft,
detailed studies and scenario analysis can be performed with ease,
yielding exceptionally precise results in the order of less than
1% error margin. In the hands of an experienced user, SERVOsoft
is the complete design and modeling tool, allowing complex cost
efficient decisions to be made quickly, and accurately…with
confidence.
Yes. SERVOsoft is a generic
model for motors, drives, infeed, bleeder and capacitor modules,
gearboxes and couplings. This is because all calculations are based
on industry standard rating methods and physics.
In the area of gearbox life
and input and output bearing life calculations, gearbox vendors
tend to differ in how they rate their products. Therefore, SERVOsoft
is structured to support different calculation methods for different
vendors. If your calculation method is currently not offered in
SERVOsoft, please contact us to see
how we can add support for it.
8. How can I add my products to the SERVOsoft database?
With the Lite, Advanced and
Pro versions of SERVOsoft, you can manually enter motor, drive,
gearbox, infeed, capacitor, and bleeder module data directly into
the database with the built in Add/Edit database forms. See How
to Enter Motor Data.
If you have many products
you want to add, and/or you are a vendor or distributor, we can
include all your products in the SERVOsoft database for distribution
to all SERVOsoft users around the world. Please contact us
for all the details. For starters, you can download the Excel spreadsheet
at our Product Data Entry page, fill
in your data and email it back to us. The spreadsheet contains worksheets
for rotary motors, linear motors, gearboxes, couplings, drives,
infeed, bleeder and capacitor modules. If you have any questions
about entering the data, please feel free to contact us.
We are here to help.
Database Updates
Only: Run SERVOsoft, then click Tools > Update Database
(see Database
Updates)
Program
and Database Updates: Run SERVOsoft, then click
Tools > Update SERVOsoft
Downloads
Page: Download the database file directly from
our downloads page
Note: If you are behind a
firewall, you may need to ask your IT department to allow SERVOsoft
to access the controleng.ca web server to get the updates. You can
enter your proxy server settings in SERVOsoft under Tools > Options,
under the 'Internet Connection' tab.
10. Which inverter current rating does SERVOsoft use?
Inverter current ratings can
be confusing because not all manufacturers rate their inverters
the same. Inverters have two current ratings, a peak rating and
a continuous rating. The peak rating is the maximum current that
can be generated for a brief period of time, usually no more than
5 seconds, typically 0.5 – 3.0 seconds. The continuous current
rating is the maximum current the inverter can produce indefinitely.
Some vendors rate their inverter current as RMS continuous, some
as RMS peak, and some as peak. The difference can be significant.
RMS indicates the power available
from current. For sinusoidal brushless motors, the RMS rating is
70%, (1/v2) of the maximum current rating. So, an inverter that
is rated at 10A RMS continuous could be rated at 28.28A Max peak-to-peak
(10A x v2 x 2 = 28.28A), even though both drives produce the same
amount of current. SERVOsoft uses the rms effective current rating
of 10A RMS, which is most common among servo system vendors. The
following graph best illustrates the differences:
Note that difference can be as large as 2.82
times (v2 x 2 = 2.82).
The database included in the Trial
version contains a limited number of products with older
data that is not revised over time. The Trial version is meant for
evaluation only.
The database included in the Lite,
Advanced and Pro
versions is extensive, and continues to grow every month. Get the
latest database updates at any time using 'Tools > Update Database'.
And of course, the Lite,
Advanced and Pro
versions allow users to add, edit or delete any product in the
database. Licensed users have full control of their database
file.
If you would like to see other products added
to the database, please see our Product Data Entry page.
As of November 18, 2011, the database includes
over 73,900+ products
including:
A raw numeric calculation is
just a number. It provides little or no context as to how the number
fits into the problem. Charts on the other hand, provide context
and perspective to the calculation. A picture does paint a thousand
words.
Consider two numbers, a motor
peak torque calculation, and its resulting peak torque margin. Together
they provide good and needed information, but there is something
missing. What is the shape of the peak torque curve? And what if
we adjust the motion profile somewhat, can we get better performance?
See the technical article on Servo System Optimization: Better Performance for No Cost,
which explores this exact problem, and yields impressive results
in the right circumstances.
14. How do I configure a Network Dongle Server with one or more
shared SERVOsoft licenses?
All installations require Windows
Administrator rights.
Whether using a Network Dongle or
a Stand Alone Dongle, SERVOsoft
must be installed on each user's machine.
In the diagram to the right, this means on every Local User
and Remote User's machine that wants to use SERVOsoft.
The Network Dongle Server software
only needs to be installed on one
central machine that can be seen by all SERVOsoft users
on the network.
The Network Dongle Server software runs on Windows 2000
/ XP / Vista / Server
The server has minimal hardware requirements
since SERVOsoft does not run on the Network Dongle Server.
Install and configure the Network
Dongle Server, which can be downloaded at SERVOsoft
Updates(password protected).
Instructions to install and configure
a Network Dongle Server are available in English and German.
Note: A Network Dongle programmed with several shared
licenses can also be used as a Stand Alone license by
simply connecting it to a PC with SERVOsoft installed.
The only drawback is that the multiple licenses are not
available to other users. This capability is useful for
testing purposes to validate the dongle is programmed
with the correct license and functioning correctly.
SERVOsoft requires the following
to work in Chinese:
You must have SERVOsoft v2.8.179 or later installed on your
machine.
The Chinese language option must be enabled in SERVOsoft.
Windows Locale must be set for "Chinese (PRC)", and
the display format must also be set to "Chinese (PRC)".
For PDF reports in Chinese, the "Arial Unicode MS"
font must also be installed.
The "Arial Unicode MS" font is located at C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\ARIALUNI.TTF
The "Arial Unicode MS" font is usually installed
with MS Office by default, but not always depending on the
program version.
If you have MS Office installed on your machine, and
the "Arial Unicode MS" font is not in the Windows
Fonts folder, then you will need to install it using MS Office
or another source.
The "Arial Unicode MS" font can also be purchased
online.
Please note that ControlEng has no affiliation or connection
with any company wrt to the "Arial Unicode MS"
font.
Because of the large installed based for MS Office, the
"Arial Unicode MS" font is installed on
the vast majority of Windows machines.
The "Arial Unicode MS" font is ideal
for SERVOsoft to use to support PDF documents in Chinese,
and other languages that require
a unicode font.
The Chinese PDF report uses
the "Arial Unicode MS" font, which is graphics based, and therefore large at 23MB. Because this
font is not always installed on every Windows machine, SERVOsoft
embeds the font in the PDF report so that any user can open the
PDF document.
The SERVOsoft Lite, Advanced
and Pro licenses include English and German. In v2.8.179 released
on September 22, 2008, French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish and Chinese
were added as options that can be ordered separately in addition
to the standard English and German languages.
Please note that the language
options apply to all aspects of the program except the help file
and installation. The help file and installation are in
English and German only.
For examples of reports generated
in each language, please goto Features,
then click 'Reports'.
Yes, SERVOsoft runs on 64-bit
machines. For v2.9 onwards, the SERVOsoft installation prompts the user to install the 32-bit or 64-bit dongle drivers.
However, for v2.8 and earlier, the dongle license installation
package installs the 32-bit drivers by default. If you have a 64-bit
machine running a 64-bit version of Windows, then you need to uninstall the 32-bit drivers, and then install the 64-bit drivers.
Instructions
for v2.8 and Earlier
Uninstall WIBU dongle 32-bit drivers via Control Panel >
Add / Remove Programs > WIBU Runtime
20. How do I get my network license to work over a VPN?
A common problem when trying to get your network license to work over a VPN (e.g. Citrix), is proper firewall configuration on the Windows client machine. Simply enable the UDP port for ServoSoft per the image below.
21. I can't update the program or database, and I get the error "Internet connection not available" or "Download Error"
Almost always, this is either a proxy server and/or a firewall issue.
1.
First, if your PC connects through a proxy server, you need to enter the same proxy settings used by your browser. In SERVOsoft, goto 'Tools > Options' to open the Options form and click on the 'Internet Connection' tab, per the screenshot to the right. Select the 'Use Proxy Parameters' checkbox and then enter your proxy parameters.
2.
Next check your Windows and/or other local software firewall and allow SERVOsoft download access to the Internet.
3.
Once 1 and 2 above are done, try connecting. If it is still blocked, then most likely it is an external firewall that is blocking SERVOsoft. In this case you need to speak with the IT department to allow SERVOsoft download access to the Internet.
While we are confident you will get it working using the 3 steps above, another option is to download program and database updates directly from our Downloads page.
Size
complete servo systems
