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B&R Cuts Complex Servo Sizing from Days to About an Hour with SERVOsoft®
Oct 30, 2026
How SERVOsoft helps B&R engineers accelerate servo sizing, compare a broad motion-control portfolio, and evaluate complex applications with greater efficiency.
Customer Overview
| Company | B&R Industrial Automation |  |
| Industry | Industrial Automation & Motion Control | |
| Headquarters | Eggelsberg, Austria | |
| Products | Servo drives, motors, gearboxes, variable-frequency drives, and integrated motion-control solutions | |
| Customer Perspectives | Wolfgang Briewasser, R&D Motion HW, B&R | |
B&R is a global automation technology company with an extensive portfolio of motors, drives, gearboxes, and motion-control solutions. For B&R engineers, servo sizing can require evaluating numerous product combinations against detailed application requirements. SERVOsoft brings application modelling, engineering calculations, and product data into one environment, helping engineers move more efficiently from customer requirements to an appropriate motion solution.
The Challenge
Servo sizing can involve considerably more than selecting a motor from a catalogue. Engineers may need to calculate application forces, define driving cycles, evaluate motor and drive requirements, and then compare the results against product specifications. Without an integrated engineering tool, this can require separate calculations in separate applications, followed by manual comparison with individual datasheets. For a company with a large motion-control portfolio, evaluating all the possible combinations can quickly become time consuming.
B&R needed an environment that could help engineers:
- Model applications and motion requirements
- Perform detailed sizing calculations
- Evaluate motors and drives
- Compare numerous product combinations
- Access detailed technical product information
- Support complex customer sizing questions
- Evaluate alternative and competitive products
Why SERVOsoft?
Wolfgang Briewasser has used SERVOsoft throughout his 15 years at B&R. For him, one of its most valuable capabilities is having B&R's products available together within a common database. Instead of manually reviewing a small number of motors or drives at a time, engineers can evaluate a much broader range of possible solutions.
As Wolfgang explains:
“You can compare a lot of motors. You can compare a huge product portfolio.”
This gives B&R engineers a better overview of available products and helps them identify suitable combinations more efficiently.
Faster Servo Sizing
The productivity difference becomes especially clear when compared with a more manual engineering process. Without SERVOsoft, an engineer may need to build equations, calculate forces, define driving cycles, determine motor requirements, and then compare those results against datasheet values. Wolfgang estimates that a sizing task that could require two or three days can be reduced to approximately one hour using SERVOsoft. As he explains:
“You can find really fast good solutions for the system you want to size.”
Broad Product Portfolio Comparison
SERVOsoft also makes it easier for B&R engineers to work across the company's extensive product portfolio. Rather than restricting analysis to a few manually selected motors and drives, engineers can consider a much larger number of alternatives within the same sizing environment. This helps make the breadth of B&R's motion portfolio more accessible to engineers while reducing the effort required to evaluate different combinations.
Detailed Technical Data
Another important advantage is the level of technical detail that can be incorporated into SERVOsoft. Wolfgang uses the software to examine detailed information for both B&R products and, where available, products from other manufacturers. This provides valuable insight into product capabilities and allows different solutions to be evaluated using the same engineering environment. For Wolfgang, SERVOsoft's technical depth is an important differentiator. In comparison to other sizing tools, he notes that SERVOsoft allows engineers to incorporate significantly more technical detail into an application.
Supporting Complex Customer Applications
Wolfgang is not currently in a primarily customer-facing role, but he continues to support more difficult sizing questions and special projects. When customers bring application requirements to B&R's support organization, challenging cases can be escalated to engineering specialists for additional review. SERVOsoft gives those specialists a structured environment in which to evaluate the customer's application, motion profile, and available product options.
Competitive Product Evaluation
SERVOsoft's multi-manufacturer database provides B&R engineers with visibility into competing products. Where sufficient product data is available, Wolfgang can review detailed information about B&R products alongside alternatives from other manufacturers. This gives B&R another way to understand how its products compare technically within the broader motion-control market.
Results
Sizing Reduced from Days to About an Hour
The most significant measurable benefit identified by Wolfgang is engineering time. A sizing process that could otherwise require two or three days of calculations and product-data comparison by hand can be completed in approximately one hour using SERVOsoft.
Greater Engineering Efficiency
SERVOsoft brings calculations, application requirements, and product data together rather than requiring engineers to work across separate calculation tools and datasheets.
Better Portfolio Visibility
Engineers can evaluate a significantly larger range of motors and drives, helping them identify appropriate solutions across B&R's extensive motion portfolio.
Faster Product Comparison
SERVOsoft allows different motor and drive combinations to be evaluated within the same application, reducing the amount of manual comparison required.
Deeper Technical Analysis
Detailed product information gives engineers the ability to model applications with a level of technical depth that Wolfgang considers an important strength of SERVOsoft.
Business Impact
SERVOsoft helps B&R:
- Reduce the time required for complex servo sizing
- Evaluate more motor and drive combinations
- Make a large motion-control portfolio easier to navigate
- Centralize detailed product information
- Support complex customer sizing questions
- Compare alternative and competitive products
- Apply engineering expertise more efficiently
The Bottom Line
For B&R, SERVOsoft combines engineering speed, product breadth, and technical depth. Instead of performing calculations separately and manually comparing the results against individual datasheets, engineers can work with application requirements and detailed product data within one environment.
The result can be a substantial reduction in engineering time. Wolfgang estimates that a sizing process that could take two or three days can be reduced to approximately one hour with SERVOsoft.
At the same time, engineers gain better visibility across B&R's large product portfolio and can evaluate more possible solutions without sacrificing the technical detail behind the decision. Together, these capabilities help B&R engineers find appropriate motion solutions faster while applying their engineering expertise more efficiently.
Customer Quotes
“SERVOsoft helps us reduce the sizing time from two or three days to about one hour.” — Wolfgang Briewasser, R&D Motion HW, B&R |
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