We have a moving shiploader boom with cover reels on both ends. As the boom shuttles through a cradle one reel pays out and the other reel pays in. We are trying to balance the two reel forces to not overpower the motor that actually pushes the boom.
To clarify, the question is how to program the two reel drives to stay in tension and remain balanced (another complication - the diameter of the reels is always changing)
You'd do better posting this under Mechanical engineering. The transmission piece of this forum deals with transmission lines not with mechanical transmissions.
What davidbeach said. The motor that pushes the boom (singular) will drive whatever mechanical load its connected to. If there's more than one motor involved (one on each reel), there might be an electrical solution (VFDs modulated by tension sensors, etc). But your setup sounds like its in need of a mechanical solution. Possibly running the cables several turns around a constant diameter drive wheel. Or driving both drums through some sort of differential gearing from the one motor. Something us EEs happily ignore once our motor shaft disappears into the nether world of grease and pulleys.
Now that you have started in this forum it may be well to post short questions in both the mechanical fora and the "Electric motors, generators & controls engineering" asking the readers to check and answer in this thread.
Posting the same question in multiple threads is frowned upon, but a "Heads-up" asking the posters in other fora to look at this thread is acceptable.
Have you done an evaluation on how much variation in tension is allowable? I expect that tension is not critical as long as there is enough to move the machine. A wide tolerance may make the solution easier simpler and cheaper.
Bill
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