Motor Driver Modules (making and selling them) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: chriskraz
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 29, 2017, 07:58:13 pm
content: Hi guys,I'm curious to find out what people's thoughts are towards predesigned/assembled modules (IE. SparkFun stuff, Adafruit stuff, etc). I've always been interested in designing/laying out modules like they have but more for motor control and other niche applications. Right right I've been interested in building and assembling small outline motor drivers for brushed DC motors. I enjoy the process of taking an IC and putting all the required components together onto a small board which can be used in various applications, but I'm curious to what kind of interest or demand there is for them out there?Anybody have input on the matter?

author: Belrmar
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2017, 09:41:07 pm
content: this actually seems interesting. the problem with driving ac motors is that they are designed for the 50/60 hz so using a variable freq power supply is not idel , without counting on that electric ac motors work best with a pure sine wave. is a complicated subjet to dive in but i would like to see something new

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2017, 10:23:07 pm
content: Quote from: chriskraz on June 29, 2017, 07:58:13 pmif its cheap it may be succesful depending on the marketing... i developed a brushed dc motor driver that accept PPM signal. all the h-bridge and direction control is handled in the driver board, but it still a no go due to wrong board layout, require version 2 design, and waiting for the $$$ to come in... again, the main point is cheap, because you are competing with people who take only 10% of your monthly food consumption...

author: chriskraz
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 30, 2017, 01:28:25 am
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on June 29, 2017, 10:23:07 pmAny idea what are some of the most common motor sizes? I believe I can make these boards pretty tiny and reasonably inexpensive, but I'd like to build one for some more commonly used power demands before covering other power demands.On another note, are there people out there who would love to try these things out? (Specifically bloggers, vloggers, people who just love this stuff, etc) Obviously this would have some marketing value but it's also a source for some great feedback from people who would use them.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2017, 03:05:39 am
content: Quote from: Belrmar on June 29, 2017, 09:41:07 pmV/Hz is commonly used in VFDs and works well enough for a lot of things. Whether or not pure sine wave would make a significant difference depends on whether or not the motor has enough inductance to smooth out the current. The Prius drives the motors with square waves above 40MPH or so.What I would really like to see is a 2 phase VFD for small refrigeration and A/C compressor motors, since inverter versions of those are scarce and expensive. Up to 1.5 tons would be a reasonable goal. (Above that, 3 phase compressors and VFDs are common on the surplus market.) V/Hz control should be good enough, although adding in FOC can help extract a little more efficiency at particularly low or high load.