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Motor & gearbox selection

Enter the absorbed power and the speeds at each end. The calculator returns the gearbox ratio, the torque at both shafts, and the design power to select the gearbox on once the service factor is applied.

How this works โ†’

Your figures

1450 for a 4-pole at 50 Hz, 2900 for 2-pole, 960 for 6-pole.

What the driven machine actually turns at.

1.0 uniform, 1.25 moderate shock, 1.5 heavy, 1.75+ for crushers and mills.

Result

Power

Absorbed power
15 kW ยท 20.12 HP
Design power

Absorbed ร— 1.5 service factor โ€” select the gearbox on this

22.5 kW
Motor frame

Next IEC size above the duty with 15% margin

18.5 kW ยท 24.8 HP

Speed & torque

Gearbox ratio

1,450 rpm in, 45 rpm out

32.22 : 1
Motor shaft torque

9550 ร— kW รท rpm

98.8 Nยทm
Output shaft torque

What the coupling, key and shaft have to carry

3,183 Nยทm
Output torque with SF

The figure to check a gearbox rating against

4,775 Nยทm

Torque rises as speed falls โ€” a slow output shaft is the expensive end of a drive, not the motor.

Questions

What is a service factor for?
It covers the difference between the smooth power a motor nameplate implies and what the machine actually does to the drive โ€” shock loads, starting torque, hours a day, reversals. Select the gearbox on absorbed power times the service factor, not on absorbed power.
Which service factor should I use?
Around 1.0 for a uniform load like a centrifugal pump, 1.25 for moderate shock such as a conveyor, 1.5 for heavy duty, and 1.75 or more for crushers, hammer mills and anything that can jam. When in doubt the gearbox supplier's table for your specific machine wins.
Why is output torque so much larger?
Because power is torque times speed. Reducing the speed forty to one multiplies the torque by forty, less the gearbox losses. That is why the slow end of a drive is the expensive end โ€” the shaft, key, coupling and gearbox casing are all sized by that number, not by the motor.
Does it size the motor?
It suggests the next IEC frame above the absorbed power with a fifteen percent margin. Whether that frame is right also depends on starting torque, duty cycle, ambient temperature and altitude, none of which are considered here.