How do I calculate the required power for a rotating platform with a worm gear?

  • Thread starter Thread starter IVAN__V
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Force
AI Thread Summary
To calculate the required power for a rotating platform with a worm gear, one must first determine the peak torque needed to move the turntable and load under various conditions, including acceleration, steady-state, friction, and gravity. The power required can then be calculated using the formula P = T * ω, where T is torque and ω is angular velocity in radians per second. It's essential to consider the motor's specifications for heat dissipation and the number of starts per hour, as well as selecting a suitable controller for speed regulation. Resources such as the "Smart Motion Cheat Sheet" and engineering guides from gearmotor manufacturers can provide valuable insights and equations for these calculations. Proper dynamic motion analysis is crucial to ensure the motor and gearing are appropriately sized for the application.
IVAN__V
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Hi people.
I'm trying to figure out how to build a rotating platform that's powered by an electric dc motor. Basically i want to spin this platform say 1 m in diameter, and it's got an object on top of it. Like say anywhere from 5 kg to 50 kg or even maybe 100 kg. What i know for sure is that I'm interested in using a worm wheel type gearing. I've looked around at dc motors and power in the 100's watt/kw range...
The problem is i just don't know how big a motor or should i say powerfull i need to use , before i go out and buy one and realize it's too small/weak.
Thing is i need it to rotate the platform both ways at a max 60 rpm. but it needs to be able to switch direction fast...thats why I'm planning on using a worm gear ...to be able to gain a lot of leverage and i also have to option of moving it slower and like have a very good degree of precision.
So how do i calculate the watts needed... if i go with a 1500rpm motor times a 25 reduction worm gear..that gives me 60 rpm, so that i can change it's direction ...i want it to be snappy , like resemble a pan/tilt thingy used for cameras.

Edit.
So like 0.5...1...1.5m diameter (let's consider the weight on it sort of well balanced for simplicity)
5...50..100 kg weight
dc motor initial rpm doesn't really matter cause i can always find a proper worm drive to get it down to 60 rpm.
 
Last edited:
Engineering news on Phys.org
I'd really appreciate someone's help.
Ok. I'll try and make it simpler:

How much energy , in N/m or some convertible unit, a disk has if it's spinning at 60 rpm and it's 1 meter in diameter and weighs 50 kg.
Maybe someone knows a formula to calculate the energy for different values of it's weight, rpm, diameter.
 
Ok. I've managed to find something out..i'm not sure if it's the right path.

I've found that using rpm P(power in Watt) = T(torque) *2*3.1415 * rps =
so P=T*6.283*1 => P=T*6.283
and if i want to know T then T=P/6.283

Does this look right ? So the T torque of a 1000 watt motor is T=1000/6.283 ? of course given the 60 rpm or 1 rps speed of my motor.

So this takes care of figuring out the motor torque.

But how about the spinning disk torque ?
I've found two equations but they describe a weight at the end of a bar that's rotating. Like a horizontal pendulum.
T=r*F torque=radius *Force
and
L=r*p Linear momentum=radius*radial momentum

The thing is the first formula is for a system that's like a half disk, it isn't balanced on the horizontal plane. Mine is a disk. Also I'm not sure if i even need or for what the second formula is useful.
 
Last edited:
I've also found this:
F(force)=m(mass)*a(acceleration)
and for circular motion, my case, right ?
it's a(acceleration)=v^2(speed squared)/r(radius)
Now v at the edge of 1m disk is 3.14 m/s and r=0.5
so a=3.14^2/0.5=19.72
now since F=m*a then F=50kg*19.72 so F=986

Is that correct ? 986 Newton meter ? or what ?
 
You're approaching this problem backwards.

You must do the dynamic motion analysis to determine the peak torque required to move the turntable+load in all loading conditions. Your motor+gearing must be sized for that, not specified up front and then forced to work. That's a sure road to failure.

T-peak = T-accels + T-steadystate + T-friction + T-gravity + T-safetyfactor + T-gearingefficiency + T-phaseofmoon + T-this + T-that + T-theotherthing

Calculated for starting and/or stopping and any other conditions that you could possibly conceive of.

From this peak torque value you can calculate power required (watts or horsepower) and then try to find a suitable gearmotor combination. Motor must be sized for number of starts per hour (for heat dissipation) and final speed required. Then you must select a suitable controller to be able to drive the motor to required speeds.

Websearch for "Smart Motion Cheat Sheet" in PDF format, it has all of the essential dyanmics equations.

Gearmotor manufacturers such as SEW-Eurodrive, Dodge, Nord, others ususally have useful & freely-downloadable engineering guides where you can learn how to calculate this stuff (in case you failed your Dynamics class).
 
How did you find PF?: Via Google search Hi, I have a vessel I 3D printed to investigate single bubble rise. The vessel has a 4 mm gap separated by acrylic panels. This is essentially my viewing chamber where I can record the bubble motion. The vessel is open to atmosphere. The bubble generation mechanism is composed of a syringe pump and glass capillary tube (Internal Diameter of 0.45 mm). I connect a 1/4” air line hose from the syringe to the capillary The bubble is formed at the tip...
Thread 'Physics of Stretch: What pressure does a band apply on a cylinder?'
Scenario 1 (figure 1) A continuous loop of elastic material is stretched around two metal bars. The top bar is attached to a load cell that reads force. The lower bar can be moved downwards to stretch the elastic material. The lower bar is moved downwards until the two bars are 1190mm apart, stretching the elastic material. The bars are 5mm thick, so the total internal loop length is 1200mm (1190mm + 5mm + 5mm). At this level of stretch, the load cell reads 45N tensile force. Key numbers...
I'd like to create a thread with links to 3-D Printer resources, including printers and software package suggestions. My motivations are selfish, as I have a 3-D printed project that I'm working on, and I'd like to buy a simple printer and use low cost software to make the first prototype. There are some previous threads about 3-D printing like this: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/are-3d-printers-easy-to-use-yet.917489/ but none that address the overall topic (unless I've missed...
Back
Top