ESC

Introduction

ESC, Electric Speed Controllers, are required for controlling electric motors While most standard ESC's will work well with fixedwing, rotorcraft have higher requirements

Positive features for rotorcraft:

• Faster response to input signal
• Higher torque
• Accept higher or other input signal (higher PWM input or I2C)
• Less noise

Standard ESC can be used, but with a little work and an alternative firmware they will work better.

AVR (ATmega) based ESC

Simon Kirby develops an alternative firmware for ATmega based brushless motor controller, written in assembly.

Features:

• 16MHz operation on most boards
• 16-bit output PWM with full clock rate resolution (~18kHz PWM with a POWER_RANGE of 800 steps)
• 24-bit timing and PWM pulse tracking at full clock rate resolution
• ICP-based pulse time recording (on supported hardware) for zero PWM input control jitter
• Immediate PWM input to PWM output for best possible multicopter response (but NOT where soft start or really any significant current limiting is needed!)
• Accepts any PWM update rate (minimum ~5microseconds PWM low time)
• Optimized interrupt code (very low minimum PWM and reduced full throttle bump)
• Configurable board pin assignments by include file
• Smooth starting in most cases
• Forward and reverse commutation supported, including RC-car style reverse-neutral-forward PWM ranges, with optional braking

Programmer

Any ISP programmer will do the job, just some popular:
usbasp There are tons of cheap chinese copies out there. (use with avrdude)
mySmartUSB light Noob friendly software.

Related links

Hardware compatibility table (Openpilot)
Hardware compatibility table (google docs)
sim-/tgy git repository.

SiLabs based ESC

Some newer ESC are build with a Silicon Labs MCU with a Intel 8051 core.
They have a C2 programming interface and therefore need a special programmer.
Steffen Skaug provides an alternative firmware, written in assembly.

Features:

• Can be configured for helicopter MAIN motor or TAIL motor operation. Or as MULTIcopter motor operation.
• Main motor operation has governor functionality and multicopter motor operation has closed loop functionality.
• Motor operation can be damped for fast motor retardation.
• Many parameters can be programmed, either from PC applications for setup and configuration, or from the TX.
• Supports 1kHz, 2kHz, 4kHz, 8kHz or 12kHz positive or negative pwm as input signal, as well as regular 1-2ms PPM signal.

The easiest way is to program and set up the esc with the BLHeli setup tool (no surce available :( ).

Programmer

• owsilprog uses a Arduino
• Silicon Labs Toolstick available at Mouser for 8€ (requires little modification)

Related links

• BLHeli Setup tool
• tutorial on oddcopter.com
• bitdump/BLHeli git repository

Open BLDC

Open hardware and open software brushless controller project. From small low cost up to 200A continous hardware, but currenty under development.

Anyone wanna help ? :)

Related links

• Homepage
  
• open-bldc git repository