Siemens Combines Electric Motors into Single Product Family

The Siemens Drive Technologies Division has combined all of its electric motors into one product family with the name Simotics, a move designed to integrate the portfolio and improve clarity for customers when selecting motors. Simotics covers applications in almost all areas, and these motors are an essential component of the Division's integrated drivetrain. The range encompasses low-voltage induction motors, motors for motion control applications, DC motors, and high-voltage motors.

"Siemens motors represent reliability, energy efficiency, dynamic response, and precision born out of more than 125 years of experience in electric motor construction," says Doug Keith, president of Siemens Drive Technologies Division. "Having our entire portfolio under one brand name helps to position Siemens as a single source for integrated drive train solutions, thus saving costs for the customer." The low-voltage motors for general industrial applications include the Simotics GP General Purpose motors. These are energy-efficient induction motors. Siemens offers these motors with aluminum frame in the shaft heights 80 to 160, and power ratings of 90 W to 45 kW. Typical applications include pumps, fans and compressors with special requirements regarding low weight and high efficiency.

The Simotics SD Severe Duty motors have a rugged cast-iron frame and cover the power range from 750 W to 315 kW. They are available in shaft heights 100 to 315, and they meet the stricter requirements of the paper and printing industry, as well as the chemicals/petrochemicals industry.

The Simotics TN Trans-Standard motors from shaft height 315 and above cover a low-voltage power range from 200 kW to 1,250 kW. They are available for all common operating voltages and cooling types.

The Simotics DP Definite Purpose motors are manufactured for specific purposes such as motors for roller tables in the steel industry, for smoke-extraction applications in the ventilation of buildings and tunnels, as well as for cranes in almost all standard designs. This class is supplemented by ship motors for use below deck.

The explosion-protected motors known as Simotics XP for mains-fed and inverter-fed operation include non sparking "n", increased safety "e", flameproof enclosure "d", and "dust explosion protection" versions for power ratings up to 1,000 kW and shaft heights up to 450.

Siemens offers a comprehensive range of compact motors for motion control applications for exact and dynamic positioning and precise motion control of drive shafts. The new Simotics motor class includes the Simotics S Synchronous servomotors with power ratings from 50 W to 34.2 kW that are characterized by high dynamic response and precision. The motors cover a torque range from 0.08 to 125 Nm, and they have been designed for tasks including positioning and continuous-path control in high-performance production machinery and machine tools, as well as for use in general mechanical equipment manufacture.

The Simotics M Main motors are intended especially for high-dynamic and precisely rotating main drives, also primarily in production machinery and machine tools. The motors are available in asynchronous and synchronous versions with power ratings from 2.8 kW to 1,340 kW at maximum speeds of up to 40,000 rpm. These two motor groups are supplemented by direct drives for gearless use.

The Simotics L Linear motors are compact synchronous motors with maximum dynamic response and precision for use in high-performance linear axes. They reach top velocities of up to 1,280 m/min.

Also available are the powerful Simotics T Torque motors. These are permanent-magnet three-phase synchronous motors with low rated speeds that represent a space-saving alternative to hydraulic and conventional electrical drives. They are suitable for a torque range of 22 to 42,000 Nm with maximum speeds up to 1,800 rpm.

The Simotics portfolio also includes the Simotics DC motors with power ratings up to 1,610 kW that are used, for example, in extruders for the plastics industry, as drives for hoisting and traversing gear in cranes, and as rolling mill drives. In addition, the product family also includes high-voltage motors with a range of power ratings to over 100 MW and speeds of 10 to 15,000 rpm. The motors are available in different construction types, cooling types, and degrees of protection. As main drives, they are often the heart of a plant, and they are characterized by high reliability. They drive powerful compressors and pumps in the oil and gas industries, for example, or mills in mining applications.

It is crucial to the efficiency of an integrated drivetrain that all components interact optimally and that they are in tune with the application. The Siemens range for the drivetrain also encompasses gear units under the Flender brand name, drives under the Robicon Perfect Harmony and Sinamics brand names and controllers under the Simatic, Simotion and Sinumerik brand names.