EandM is an authorized Siemens industrial automation distributor serving manufacturers, system integrators, and industrial facilities across the West Coast—California, Oregon, and Washington—including full support for SINAMICS drives, SIMOTICS motors, and TIA Portal software.
If you are still using Siemens' older standalone Sizer configuration software to size drives and motors, you might not realize it has been fully phased out.
Everything Sizer did—and considerably more—is now natively built directly into the cloud-connected TIA Selection Tool (TST). This free utilities package covers the full range of current Siemens hardware, including next-generation single-axis and common DC bus drives coming to market. The interface has evolved significantly, and the updated dimensioning workflow is exceptionally fast once you know how to leverage it. Here is a complete walkthrough showing how to size a single-axis SINAMICS S210 servo platform from scratch.
Starting Point: Project View vs. Portal View
When you initially fire up the TIA Selection Tool, the landing workspace defaults to Portal View. For day-to-day engineering sizing and motor calculations, you want to skip past this interface and navigate straight into Project View. Toggle between these environments by clicking the option toggle positioned in the bottom-left corner of the master project window.
Once inside Project View, you gain access to a traditional, functional device tree on your left panel and a central configuration window where calculation steps occur. Every component you introduce will dynamically compile inside a unified Properties pane, showing specific asset naming tags, editor annotations, custom timing markers, and data logs—ideal when dividing mechanical sizing records across engineering teams.
Step-by-Step Servo Sizing Walkthrough
1Add a New Sizer Device
Introduce a fresh hardware instance by double-clicking the main workspace tree or selecting the primary top toolbar. Under the functional selection matrix (spanning controllers, distributed I/O blocks, and HMI Comfort grids), select Drive Technology, then click Drive Dimensioning with Sizer Integrated in TIA Selection Tool. TST will output an undefined motion axis placeholder inside your system device tree.
2Define Your Portfolio Restrictions
The Portfolio tab allows you to pre-filter your hardware parameters so the tool filters compatible options in real time. Hovering over a calculated motor profile instantly highlights paired, matching drive converters. Work through your basic electrical voltage properties and environmental boundaries first.
Specialist Pro-Tip: Before jumping into mechanical parameter tracking, glance at the Possible Solutions side panel. Ensure you check all motor and drive variants you want to leave on the calculation table. If you don't possess a strict initial physical preference, click Select All to allow maximum scaling headroom.
3Define Your Mechanical System Model
Click Add Load and pinpoint your specific mechanical system topology (options span conveyor index bands, rack-and-pinion rails, and rotary indexing index tables). For this baseline profile, select Ball Screw Actuator, then click Configure. The orange-highlighted input fields indicate mandatory mechanical values required to establish the inertia model:
| Mechanical Parameter Field |
Target Value Deployed in This Profile |
| Steady Payload Mass | 20 kg |
|---|
| Ball Screw Diameter | 10 mm |
|---|
| Ball Screw Active Length | 1,000 mm |
|---|
| Ball Screw Material Density | Machined Steel (Automatic lookup profile populate) |
|---|
| Lead Screw Thread Pitch | 3 mm |
|---|
Once the final pitch value is submitted, the initial alert warning triangle in the system project tree shifts to a green validation checkmark—the mechanical model is now fully defined.
4Build Out Your Motion Profile
The Motion Profile workspace defines the velocity changes of your axis over time. The tool uses a variable locking "pin" mechanic—you select and pin any three target criteria, and the engine automatically calculates the remainder. For general assembly machinery, a trapezoidal profile serves as the ideal motion standard (linear constant acceleration, speed cruise hold, linear deceleration).
| Motion Vector Variable |
Configured Example Value |
| Total Target Travel Distance | 500 mm |
|---|
| Allotted Move Profile Window | 10 seconds |
|---|
| Maximum Velocity Threshold (Vmax) | 75 mm/s |
|---|
| Dwell/Pause Cycle Time (t pause) | 2 seconds |
|---|
This finishes the forward stroke definition. To manage a complete operational reciprocating loop, simply copy the forward segment line (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V) and invert the directional toggle arrow. This avoids redundant data entry. Ignore any generic trailing empty profile steps; the sizing compiler only parses active moves you explicitly populate.
5Evaluate and Select the Servo Motor
Click the Motor element inside the workspace tree. The software automatically updates your filter pool to align with your load model requirements, calculating exact values for root-mean-square torque, maximum peak torque, and thermal effective power capacity. Given a 20 kg payload on a 10 mm diameter ball screw, torque needs are moderate; the highly compact SIMOTICS S-1FT2 serves as the premier equipment choice.
Highlighting an individual motor profile populates a live Torque vs. Speed Graph on the right screen. Review this graphic to verify proper headroom sizing: ensure your peak acceleration load points and thermally weighted continuous duty points sit comfortably beneath the limit curves. Avoiding pushing too close to the thermal boundaries prevents winding degradation over long machine lifecycles.
6Pair and Size the Freq Converter Drive
For the high-performance 1FT2 motor lineup, the next-generation SINAMICS S210 serves as the natural matching converter platform. While scrolling through the frequency converter options list, look for the official green check safety compatibility icons. This indicates the drive's rated operational output current meets or exceeds the motor's critical stall current profile.
Critical Warning Indicator: If you see a warning icon with a blue directional marker on top, avoid selecting that hardware configuration. This represents a current mismatch that could compromise electrical motor protection models during line faults.
7 & 8Cabling Layout Sizing & Global BOM Export
Select Cables in the project architecture tree. Because the SINAMICS S210 takes advantage of Siemens' advanced One Cable Connection (OCC) technology, encoder feedback signals and main raw motor power run inside a single physical hybrid cable sheath. Click Add Power Connection, define your minimum routing distance (5 meters for this system example), and approve the generated part number link.
Finally, toggle over to the Order List pane. The software neatly organizes your configured hardware blocks across dedicated tabs (Motor, Converter, Cable, Adapters), each populated with exact part numbers and live hyperlinks to the global Siemens Industry Mall portal. Export this sheet directly to Excel or a structured PDF document to easily copy part numbers into your purchasing queues without manual transcription errors.
Validating with Drive View & Drive Topology
The integrated Drive View tab provides an exact single-line visual summary illustration combining your drive, matching OCC cordsets, and motor frame inside a single engineering schematic. If you move into complex multi-axis installations, the secondary Drive Topology view maps out exactly how control click cables daisy-chain across control modules—taking the guesswork out of panels before assembly begins.
This basic walkthrough configures an isolated single-axis S210 servo system. The TIA Selection Tool can handle advanced mechanical complexity, including synchronized gantry axes, complex line-regeneration multi-axis configurations, and direct programmatic integration with SIMATIC controllers inside TIA Portal software layers.
Need a Sizing Validation or Torque Audit?
Our application engineering desk provides zero-charge, pre-sale motor scoping, inertia matching, and layout selection support for system builders across the West Coast. Let's look over your motion profiles together.