Documentation

Getting Started

Zenomiq is a web app — no installation required. Open it in any modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge), create an account, and start designing. You can configure parameters as a guest, but a registered account is required to run calculations, save projects, or use the API.

Zenomiq is available on both desktop and mobile. For complex design work we recommend a desktop browser — the docking workspace, parameter cards and the 3D viewer have more room to breathe.

Account Management

Signing in

Two sign-in options are supported:

Email & password — classic registration with email confirmation.
Google OAuth — click Sign in with Google on the login screen. First-time Google users are asked to complete a short profile (display name, company) before the first calculation is saved.

Profile settings

Access your profile from the user menu in the top-right corner:

View and edit personal details (name, company).
Change your password (email/password accounts only).
View your account statistics.
Generate, regenerate or revoke a personal API key.

Email confirmation

Green checkmark — email confirmed.
Yellow warning — confirmation pending.
Use the Resend button if you didn’t receive the email.
Google OAuth accounts are confirmed automatically on first sign-in.

Gear Design Calculator

The calculator covers external and internal cylindrical gear pairs, spur or helical, with the following material pairings:

Steel vs. steel
Steel vs. plastic (typically a steel pinion driving a plastic gear)
Plastic vs. plastic

Optimisation criteria available today include root-strength safety factors, specific sliding, and (optionally) transverse contact ratio ε_α.

Internal gears note. Engineering models and 2D geometry diagrams fully support internal gear pairs. Automatic 3D CAD (STEP) generation for internal gears is on the roadmap and disabled in the current release.

Operating Modes

The calculator runs in three complementary modes, chosen from the Mode Selection card on the main area. The same parameter cards are shared across modes; what changes is how they behave.

AI Mode — design from targets. You declare which geometry parameters are free to vary (with min/max ranges), which are fixed, and what you want to achieve (target safety factors, target sliding, target ε_α). Zenomiq’s AI optimiser searches the design space and returns the best-matching gear pair together with the ranges it explored.
Manual Mode — direct calculation including rating. You supply a single concrete value for every geometry and macrogeometry parameter; Zenomiq computes the gear-pair geometry and safety factors in one pass.
Geometry Mode — geometry-only calculation. No rating standard is applied; the materials/lubricant card and the rating-standard dropdown are hidden. A Pair / Single toggle lets you size a single gear instead of a pair. Useful for quickly sizing geometry, validating macrogeometry, or generating a 2D/3D model without committing to a rating method.

Switching mode is non-destructive — your inputs are preserved where they make sense. Optimisation-specific fields are hidden outside AI Mode, and rating cards are hidden in Geometry Mode.

Manual Mode tier: Basic vs. Pro

When Manual Mode is active a Basic / Pro toggle appears next to the mode buttons. Basic exposes only the essential geometry parameters and selects the rack profile from the ISO 53 catalogue. Pro unlocks the full set of detailed-geometry and load-distribution parameters. Pro requires a Pro subscription.

Supported Standards

The following rating methods are enabled in the current release:

ISO 6336 — Method B (2019) — metal vs. metal pairs (steel vs. steel); also used as the default fallback when a saved calculation references a method that has since been disabled.
VDI 2736 Part 2 — Modified Method B — metal vs. plastic pairs.
VDI 2736 Part 2 — Method C — plastic vs. plastic and metal vs. plastic pairs.

Older ISO 6336:2006 Method B and DIN 3990 Method B / C are planned for a later release.

Geometry Input Modes

In both Manual Mode and Geometry Mode you can choose how the macrogeometry is constrained by selecting a Geometry input mode:

input_a — centre distance a is fixed. The normal module m_n is derived from the remaining geometry.
input_mn — normal module m_n is fixed. The centre distance a is derived.
input_mn_a — both m_n and a are fixed. The profile-shift coefficient x_2 becomes the closing variable, and z_1 is rounded to an integer per DIN 3960.

The default is input_mn_a. Changing the mode reveals or hides the corresponding input cards. In AI Mode the toggle is hidden: m_n and a are treated as ordinary optimisable parameters that the optimiser can fix or vary independently.

Tooth-count input toggle (z₁ / z₂ vs z₁ / u)

In Manual Mode and Geometry-Pair mode a sub-toggle lets you choose how the second tooth count is supplied:

z₁ / z₂ (default) — input z₁ and z₂; the gear ratio u = z₂ / z₁ is shown as derived.
z₁ / u — input z₁ and u; z₂ is computed and displayed read-only.

Tip shortening (k₁, k₂)

Zenomiq supports per-gear tooth tip-shortening factors k₁* and k₂* (per ISO 21771:2007 §5.4.6). Each factor is dimensionless: a negative value shortens the tip; 0 means no shortening. An Auto tip-shortening toggle (in the Detailed gear geometry parameters card) lets Zenomiq derive the values automatically (default in AI Mode) or use your explicit values (default in Manual / Geometry modes).

Working with Parameters

Workspace layout

Main area (centre) — parameter cards.
Right dock — 3D gear-pair viewer plus action buttons (Generate 2D / 3D, Download PNG, Print Report). The buttons light up after a successful calculation; editing any input invalidates the result and disables the buttons until you recalculate.
Bottom dock — three tabs: Results, Sliding Analysis, Calculation Log. Docks can be resized by dragging the splitter.

Parameter types

Running parameters — basic operation values (transmitted power, driven-gear speed, required cycles to failure, operating temperature for plastic gears).
Optimisable parameters (AI Mode) — toggle the Optimize checkbox to vary a parameter between min and max. If unchecked, the parameter acts as a fixed constant.
Detailed gear geometry parameters — single constant values for parameters that stay fixed during the calculation.
Targeted results (AI Mode) — target values for optimisation criteria (e.g. target root safety factor, target sliding, target ε_α).
Optimisation weights (AI Mode) — weighting factors for each optimisation criterion. Higher weight = higher priority for that criterion.

Sliders & input fields

Dual-handle sliders — for optimisable variables with a min/max range (AI Mode).
Single-handle sliders — for constants, targets, weights, and every parameter in Manual / Geometry Mode.
Numeric fields — type exact values for precise control; sliders and fields stay in sync.
Parameters are typed as real numbers (default, 0.001 step) or integers (whole numbers only).

AI Mode optimisation criteria

Root-bending safety factor on Gear 1 and Gear 2.
Specific sliding.
Transverse contact ratio ε_α — optional, on by default. Default target value is 1.4. The criterion uses an asymmetric loss so designs at or above target are favoured.

Running a calculation

Pick the mode (AI, Manual, or Geometry), gear type, material pairing (AI / Manual only), rating standard (AI / Manual only), and geometry input mode.
Configure parameters using sliders or numeric fields.
Click Calculate.
Results appear in the bottom dock’s Results tab; right-dock action buttons become enabled.
Optionally save the calculation to a project.

Progress is shown by a progress bar in the sidebar. AI Mode runs for a configurable number of iterations; Manual Mode completes in a single step. Detailed messages, warnings and completion status are reported in the Calculation Log tab.

Results, 3D Geometry & Reports

When a calculation completes successfully (you’ll see ✅ Calculation completed successfully in the log), the Results tab shows:

Basic gear parameters — the final concrete gear pair: z_1, z_2, x_1, x_2, m_n, a, β, b, α_n, and the key rating results (safety factors, ε_α, etc.). Available in both AI and Manual modes.
Optimisable parameters (AI Mode only) — the min/max range explored and the value chosen by the optimiser, for every optimised parameter.

The specific-sliding distribution is plotted in the Sliding Analysis tab. Results can be exported to CSV or saved into a project.

With a valid, fresh calculation, the right-dock buttons are enabled:

Generate 2D meshing gear pair — renders a 2D diagram of the meshing gears in the right dock.
Generate 3D CAD — builds a 3D model and exposes a Download STEP (.stp) button.
Download PNG image — snapshot of the 3D viewer as a PNG.
Print Report (PDF) — server-side PDF report. AI Mode reports include optimisable-parameter ranges, final results and diagrams; Manual Mode reports include results and diagrams.

Beta note. 3D CAD export (STEP) is in early beta — verify the geometry carefully before use. Internal-gear 3D CAD export is not yet supported.

Projects

Projects group related calculations together: they provide context for engineering studies, enable collaboration, and track history for specific designs.

Creating a project

From the Projects page

Navigate to Projects in the sidebar.
Click New Project.
Enter a name (required) and a description (recommended).
Click Create Project.

Quick creation (during calculation save)

When saving a calculation without existing projects, click Create one now.
Fill in project details in the popup.
The project is created and automatically selected.

Managing projects

Projects are listed as cards with name, description, counts, last-updated date and quick actions.
Use the three-dot menu on a card to Edit or Delete.
⚠ Deletion is permanent — all calculations and files inside the project are removed.

Project details view

Click Open on a project to see:

Full description, creation and last-updated dates, statistics.
All calculations within the project, with a parameter summary and action buttons (Load, View, Delete).

Saving & Loading Calculations

Saving

Prerequisites: signed in, at least one project created.

Complete your parameter configuration and calculation.
Click Save Calculation.
Choose an existing project, or create one on the spot.
Enter a calculation name (required) and optional notes.
Click Save Calculation.

If you don’t have any projects yet, the save flow will prompt you to create one.

Loading

From a project — open the project, find the calculation in the list, click Load. The calculator opens with all parameters restored.

From the dashboard — open a recent project from the dashboard, then load the calculation as above.

Viewing details

Quick preview — click View in the project to see a parameter summary and results in a modal, with the option to load.
Full parameter list — shows every input, distinguishes variables from constants, and displays computed results.

Exporting & deleting

Export — load a calculation and click Export CSV.
Delete — from the project page, click Delete next to the calculation and confirm. This cannot be undone.

CSV Import / Export

Template download

Click Download CSV template in the sidebar. You will receive a CSV file matching the current mode (AI or Manual), gear type (external/internal, spur/helical), material pairing, and rating standard. Use this as the starting point for bulk parameter input.

Geometry input mode in Manual CSV templates. Manual templates implicitly target input_a unless a geometry_input_mode row or an explicit m_n row is added. Dedicated Manual templates for input_mn and input_mn_a are available — these include the m_n row by default. Legacy fix_* identifiers in older CSV files are still imported correctly via the alias path.

Import

Click Upload CSV in the sidebar.
Select your CSV file.
The file is processed and parameters are updated in the calculator.
Invalid entries are ignored with console warnings.

CSV data types

type: variable, constant, target, weight
value_type: real, integer
const/value: numeric value for constants
min/max: range values for variables

Example row

description;name;const;min;max;type;value_type
Power - P [W];P;200;;;constant;real
Number of teeth on Gear 1 - z_1;z_1;;11;30;variable;integer

Best practices

Always start from the downloaded template.
Validate data before import.
Keep backup copies of important parameter sets.

Dashboard

The dashboard is your central overview.

Welcome section — personal greeting, quick stats (projects, calculations), quick action buttons.
Recent activity — last 10 calculations from the past 30 days, with project context.
Project summary — recent projects with statistics and quick access to project details.
User statistics — total projects, calculations, account age, files uploaded.

Quick actions

New Calculation — opens the calculator.
Create Project — opens the project workspace.
View Dashboard — opens the full dashboard.
Account Settings — opens profile management.

Troubleshooting

Common issues

Can’t save calculations — you need at least one project. Create a project, then save.
CSV import not working — use the downloaded template and check the delimiter.
Email confirmation not received — check spam, then use the Resend button.
Parameters not loading from CSV — invalid parameter names or types; verify names match the template.
Calculation results not showing — you must be signed in to run and view results.

Error messages you may see

“Project selection is required” — choose a project when saving (or create one).
“Calculation name is required” — enter a descriptive name.
“Invalid project selected” — the project may have been deleted; refresh and try again.
“Unknown variable in CSV” — a parameter name is not recognised; check spelling.

Calculation errors

If the calculation cannot produce a valid result, a red toast appears at the top of the screen and details are written to the Calculation Log tab. Most cases come from extreme or inconsistent inputs — for example, fixing both the centre distance a and the module m_n to values that no real gear pair can satisfy, or asking the AI optimiser to reach safety targets that no design in the declared parameter ranges supports. The usual fix is to widen the optimisable ranges, move a / m_n toward conventional values, or loosen the targets.

Browser compatibility

Recommended: Chrome 80+, Firefox 75+, Safari 13+, Edge 80+. JavaScript must be enabled.

Performance tips

Clear the browser cache if the interface feels slow.
Use CSV import for bulk parameter changes.
Periodically clean up old calculations and projects.

Tips & Best Practices

Project organisation

Use descriptive project names: “Transmission Gearbox Study”.
Include version or iteration: “Motor Drive v2.1”.
Reference design requirements in descriptions.

Calculation workflow

Create a project with a clear scope.
Set up base parameters (CSV helps for complex cases).
Run initial calculations.
Save a baseline.
Iterate with variations.
Save significant results with descriptive names.

Data management

Export important calculations as CSV backups.
Delete obsolete projects and calculations.
Keep project descriptions up to date.

Security

Use a strong, unique password.
Confirm your email address promptly.
Sign out from shared computers.
Report any suspicious account activity to info@rdmotion.com.

Support

Technical issues — contact us via the Support link in your profile, or email info@rdmotion.com.
Feature requests — use the feedback option in the user menu.
Bug reports — include browser version and the steps to reproduce.

Zenomiq is built and operated by RD Motion d.o.o. — a remote materials-testing lab and engineering studio based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.