ESC(Electronic Speed Controller)

|DRAFT FOR MOTOR POWER PLANE| In this session, I worked on calculating a size for a power plane that can withstand the current draw of my motors. I ran into an issue with the MOSFET footprint that restricted me from connecting a plane to the big metal contact in the middle, which required me to replace that footprint with a more suitable one. Also, I researched exposing the power plane for tinning to increase the current handling capabilities of the ESC, but these are just ideas for now.

|IMPROVED LAYOUT| In this session, I improved the board’s overall layout and added solder pads for the motor phases and battery terminals. I plan to do more research on layout design for the switching regulator and high-current PCB routing.

|PCB LAYOUT DRAFT| In this session, I drafted the ESC layout, and I added a Capacitor across the battery terminals. I will add pads for both the battery and the motor phases after I wire all the parts to make sure there is enough space.

|FINISHED FOOTPRINT ASSIGNMENT AND ERRORS| In this long session, I assigned each component a footprint after finding a compatible part on Digikey and adding it to the BOM, while in the middle of this process, KiCad did not save my progress for the footprints, costing me extra time. I also found a compatibility issue with the comparator I had chosen, which prompted me to choose a new one and rewire the whole BEMF system. After I got the comparators sorted out, I finished up the footprint assignment and part picking. I am finally ready to start routing this board!

|FINISHED SCHEMATIC| In this session, I finalized the ESC schematic. I had to read through all the datasheets of the parts again to ensure they worked properly within the circuit. I tried using STM32CubeMX to map the STM32F0 pins for my ESC, but the app seems to be glitchy and dysfunctional, so I cannot currently save the profile of my microcontroller. I still need to choose footprints for some of my components, but I will add that to my PCB timelapse.

|FINISHED DRAFT| In this session, I was able to finish the draft for the ESC. I added the crystal for the STM32 and wired the outputs for the comparators and inputs for the gate driver. The ESC will need refinement, and the correct parts should be chosen for the basic passive components.

In this small session, I added the comparators and neutral point for the brushless motor. All brushless motors connect all their coils to one central point, unfotunately this point is not accessible with a wire, so a resistor network is used to replicate this point, making a virtual network. The comparators use this neutral point and compare it to the coil that is floating to detect when to switch the phase for the motor.

In this session, I drafted the design for the phase control system. This system is a 3-phase brushless motor control system using 6 MOSFETs and the DRV8300 IC(Gate Driver). The MOSFETs take battery positive or ground and connect each phase to either, depending on the phase. The DRV8300 is a 3-phase BLDC gate driver, which is useful because it only takes one chip to control all 6 MOSFETs and has built-in protection from two MOSFETs of the same phase turning on and shorting the battery.

In this session, I worked on the power management unit that uses a buck converter chip to efficiently keep the voltage input from a battery at a steady 10V for the MOSFET gate driver and 3.3V for the LDO regulator for the microcontroller. I also started to work on the phase control circuitry, but I will need more time to research it. The time lapse does not truly show the work put into making the circuit. Many calculations and hours of research were put into just choosing the parts and wiring them correctly.

Started the ESC Schematic! In this quick little session, I was just playing around with the Outpost time-lapse recorder. I did start the schematic drawings for the MCU, Input Connector, and Power Management System, though I must do more research for all. I did not get the block diagram and summary on time, but it probably took like 10 minutes. All in all, a hopeful start.