Editor’s Pick: FEA Predicts Rotating Electronic Machine Performance

By Anthony J. Lockwood

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

Infolytica recently announced version 2.2 of its MotorSolve software for designing and analyzing rotating electric machines such induction and switched reluctance machines as well as brushless DC motors and generators. I’m not sure if MotorSolve is as well known as Infolytica’s MagNet 2D and 3D electromagnetic field simulation software, which has been solving engineering problems for more than 30 years now, but it’s well worth your time getting to know this system.

MotorSolve is part of Infolytica’s family of software for electromagnetic design and analysis. Like its siblings, which also includes ElecNet and ThermNet among others, MotorSolve is designed to be easy to use. A key part of how MotorSolve operates goes by what Infolytica calls “automated FEA.” What this term means to you is that MotorSolve takes as much of the hassle out of finite element analysis meshing and postprocessing as possible. This, in turn, lets you focus on the task at hand rather than whacking your way through jobs that the computer can do better than you anyway. Let me stress that while MotorSolve automates a lot of your work, you’re never out of control. You can always get in there and do things manually if you want.

But the fact is Infolytica’s idea that you should be an engineer using CAE software rather than a software operator doing who does some engineering underlies MotorSolve. One example is that it uses templates that let you set up a design quickly – you select your rotor and stator types then specify dimensions, coil materials, component temperature, and so. Another example is a feature that automatically generates an optimized coil winding. You even specify the analysis methods to use so that you have control over the speed and accuracy level of your simulation to match your needs at a given moment.

MotorSolve v2.2’s IM (induction machine) capabilities have been upgraded with a new results module that helps you analyze induction motor equivalent circuits, AC fields, and pulse width modulation. You can also produce charts and field plots of things like torque, flux, and waveforms.

There’s more to MotorSolve v2.2 than I touched on here. You can get a lot more from today’s Pick of the Week write-up. What I really recommend, however, is that you take a couple of minutes to watch the short video linked off the write-up so that you can see for yourself what MotorSolve is all about.

Thanks, pal.—Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood
Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering  Magazine

Read today’s Pick of the Week