BRUSHLESS MOTOR CONTROLLERS

September 2019 - January 2020, for MRover and EECS 373: Embedded Systems. A 2 kW (42V, 50A) brushless motor controller for robotics applications.

Schematic

Current Issues:

• Gate driver (TI DRV8353RS) high-side charge pump cannot deliver more than 600 mA of gate drive current, which is not enough for the power FETs in use

• 12V Buck Regulator internal to gate driver also often fails. Failure mode appears to be internal switching FET breakdown

• Gate traces (between gate driver and gates) are longer than recommended

Next Steps:

• Select a simpler, more robust gate driver

• Select easier-to-drive gates

This project was, unfortunately, abandoned due to competing priorities on MRover.