Romax Technology recently announced the availability of release R14.0 of the precision bearing, gearbox and driveline simulation and analysis software, RomaxDesigner; and wind turbine drivetrain specific variant, RomaxWind. The release includes many productivity and feature enhancements and introduces the new Concept Modeller module option. The Concept Modeller module revolutionizes the speed with which complex gearbox models can be created, functionally analyzed and exported to CAD for packaging analysis. The point and click user interface incorporates drag and drop editing and sizing features resulting in over 10x speed improvement and reduced data entry errors when creating fully compatible RomaxDesigner models.

Designers can create gearboxes using conventional "stick-diagrams", that are as easy as pen-and-paper. Possible gearbox layouts include complex ravigneaux and plus-planet planetary arrangements and the latest dual-clutch arrangements. The Concept Modeller module takes the stick-diagram input and generates 2-D and 3-D representations which can be easily analyzed visually by selecting cut planes through the design.

The module allows high speed analysis of the basic properties required to evaluate many design concepts and select those that merit more detailed study. The properties include: powerflow path analysis for each transmission ratio, speed and torque, gear sizing analysis to aid in the determination of packaging requirements, calculation of tooth passing frequencies to provide early indications of likely NVH performance. No data re-entry is required on concept designs that are taken forward into RomaxDesigner for precision analysis.

"We are seeing higher levels of innovation in our customer's transmission designs and design processes as they rise to the challenges lower emission vehicle designs with rapidly evolving powertrains," said Younsu Park, director of simulation technology at Romax. "A recent gearbox project involved the analysis of 58 conceptual layouts of which six were selected for detailed analysis. RomaxDesigner release R14.0, with our new Concept Modeller option is making significant productivity improvements in this type of workflow"

The theme of productivity improvement, particularly for automatic gearboxes and wind turbine gearbox certification, is reflected in the other major updates in release R14.0. Multi-plate clutch enhancements have been implemented and the support for complex ravigneaux and plus-planet planetary arrangements is now available at all levels of precision analysis. The certification process for gearboxes designed with RomaxWind, the wind turbine drivetrain specific variant of RomaxDesigner, has become much smoother with the further approval of RomaxWind generated reports by Germanischer Lloyd (GL). Reports now accepted for certification by GL include; shaft fatigue, gear pitting, tooth strength rating and scuffing.

Based on extensive feedback from users, 20 productivity enhancements have been included in release R14.0. Commonly used functions have been assigned quick-click buttons, tabs during data entry have been re-ordered to match the most common workflows and new visualizations have been added to more easily confirm correct data entry.