Gearbox Calculations

[KohKohPuffs]

I've been using JVN calculator for a long time to calculate gearbox specs/performance. However, I would like to explore different methods to do this, and I guess I also would want to put effort into it rather than have something doing it for me. In addition I also heard that JVN might be somewhat inaccurate, so I would like to seek out something more reliable.

So is there a set of equations for proper gearbox calculations? Links will be fine.

Thanks

[Knufire]

This is more accurate for multiple motors, and Paul goes through the calculators in the presentation in the description of the paper. However, the big factor that this and JVNs calculator ignores is the voltage drop on the battery. There is a calculator floating around somewhere on CD that has a battery simulator along with the drive calcualtor, but I don't remember who wrote it.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/3166

[IKE]

How much work are you willing to apply to get a more accurate Calculation? JVN calculator is really pretty good but does have a few assumptions and "fudge factors" you could try improving on, but it is a fair amount of work that still will not be perfect, and by some regards, less useful.

[Michael Hill]

Not to push my own stuff, but I've got a drivetrain simulator (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/3038) that takes voltage drop into account.

It was based off of Ether's formulas (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2868) and uses Paul Copioli's motor combining formulas.

[KohKohPuffs]

Originally Posted by IKE

How much work are you willing to apply to get a more accurate Calculation? JVN calculator is really pretty good but does have a few assumptions and "fudge factors" you could try improving on, but it is a fair amount of work that still will not be perfect, and by some regards, less useful.

I got external help about this, and I agree, JVN is accurate, although it seems like the only think about it is that it assumes constant voltage. So if I'm right, then it shouldn't really matter what I use because the difference is going to be pretty small.

That being said, I think I'm going to stick with JVN for now.

[asid61]

Originally Posted by Michael Hill

Not to push my own stuff, but I've got a drivetrain simulator (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/3038) that takes voltage drop into account.

It was based off of Ether's formulas (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2868) and uses Paul Copioli's motor combining formulas.

^ I have used Michael's calculator before to calculate the optimal gear ratio to go a certain distance (such as 17.6fps to go 2ft under optimal conditions). I highly recommend using it a few times for the design leaders of your team.