Seeking Feedback and Suggestions on Custom ESC Design for Drone Integration
Hey everyone,
I’m excited to share my current project and would love to get your thoughts and suggestions. I’m building an ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) from scratch and will then integrate it into a custom-designed drone.
Solution:Jump to solution
Hi, I reached character limit on discord, so I've added my comments on this doc. Cheers!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11dqii1o3Np3LmN8Pq6OEqnvy3KBDijHr5KIcKhlCioc/edit?usp=sharing...
Google Docs
Nayels's ESC board review
Sorry for the late reply, here are my thoughts. I haven't read the other replies, so some stuff might be repeated. Okay, since its an ESC, first thing that comes to my mind is what the currents are going to be in the power traces and is the width is sufficient. If there is space limitations you ...
29 Replies
The ESC will use current sensing for low RPM or FOC (Field Oriented Control) and a BEMF (Back Electromotive Force) divider for high speed.
The system features an STM32G431RBT6TR MCU, a DRV8323RHRGZR MOSFET driver to drive IRL7486 MOSFETs, a TPS5430DDAR buck converter for the 3.3V MCU power, a 3-pin PWM input and another for a potentiometer to adjust the motor speed, plus a USER RGB WS2812B LED.
It will run on a 6S battery, and the motor I intend to control is a 5010-750 KV, designed to work with a 40A ESC. Currently, the MCU runs with a 96MHz crystal, but I plan to upgrade to a more powerful one. I appreciate any suggestions on my PCB and any general feedback on the design. It's my first time realizing a complex PCB like this one,
Thanks, Nayel KHOUATRA
Thanks, Nayel KHOUATRA
Thanks in advance for your time
Hey @Nayel to begin by defining clear requirements and setting up your hardware and software development environment. Design your circuit, connect all components (MCU, motor driver, MOSFETs, power supply, potentiometer, PWM input, and RGB LED), and develop firmware using tools like STM32CubeMX and STM32CubeIDE. Test each component individually before integrating them, debug as needed, and ensure thorough system testing. Optimize performance, manage power effectively, and document your code and user guide. Finalize by stress testing, validating against requirements, and preparing for deployment and maintenance, using version control and collaboration tools for smooth project management.
Here are some documentations you can study
https://www.st.com/resource/en/user_manual/dm00104712-stm32cubemx-for-stm32-configuration-and-initialization-c-code-generation-stmicroelectronics.pdf
https://www.st.com/resource/en/user_manual/dm00605888-stm32cubeide-user-guide-stmicroelectronics.pdf
https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/stm32g431rb.pdf
https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/drv8323.pdf
https://www.infineon.com/dgdl/irlz44n.pdf
https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tps5430.pdf
https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/datasheets/WS2812B.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnMKNibPkDnFQfror9ywJJ_VThOBm1Udf
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnMKNibPkDnFVvXPPjHQuL7e4hs3WN_P_
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_NeoPixel
https://www.st.com/resource/en/user_manual/dm00102320-description-of-stm32f4-hal-and-lowlayer-drivers-stmicroelectronics.pdf
https://community.st.com/s/article/FAQ-Using-STM32CubeIDE-Debugger
https://community.st.com/
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/stm32
Thank you very much!
Your design is great. Make sure to use and design with power integrity in mind. Are you using a dedicated layer for power or just a trace
I'm using only the second layer as PCB ground plane, the 3V3, vbus... are traces
I'm not very familiar with using a 4-layer PCB. I understand that one layer can be dedicated to 3.3V, another to GND, and the remaining two for signals. However, I'm unsure about the effective placement of components. My goal is to place the MOSFETs along with the shunt and bemf dividor on the bottom side of the PCB and the other components on the top side.
Ok. Are there any critical signals in your design? Like any impedence matching trace
In my case, I based the width of the traces and lengths on another person's design.
And based on my current skills I'm unable to answer this question properly
Ok I should be fine
Thank you, Joseph, for sharing your insights.
Solution
Hi, I reached character limit on discord, so I've added my comments on this doc. Cheers!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11dqii1o3Np3LmN8Pq6OEqnvy3KBDijHr5KIcKhlCioc/edit?usp=sharing
Google Docs
Nayels's ESC board review
Sorry for the late reply, here are my thoughts. I haven't read the other replies, so some stuff might be repeated. Okay, since its an ESC, first thing that comes to my mind is what the currents are going to be in the power traces and is the width is sufficient. If there is space limitations you ...
Hi Hemalchevli, thank you very much I will check that right now!
Thank you so much for your detailed feedback on the ESC design! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your expertise. Your suggestions on power traces, MOSFET thermal management, and PCB layout are super helpful. I hadn't thought about some of these aspects, like using functional names for indicators instead of just "LED1".
I'm not familiar with the IPC7351 standard you mentioned - could you tell me a bit more about why it's important?
Your advice will definitely help me improve this design. Thanks again for your help!
Happy to help!
If I have your permission, can I put the design review as content on my LinkedIn? I'll be including the pics you posted.
IPC is a family of standard in electronics industry. IPC7351 defines how a footprint pad size should be. If you are not able to find them or generate them, the next best is to refer to the component's datasheet for designing the footprint.
Yes sure!
Oh ok, I will check that thanks!
Hi everyone!
I think I have finished my design, and I would like to thank you all for being part of this. There are some adjustments I didn't make, like the orientation of some designators which overlap with each other. However, I have made the necessary adjustments for the rest. In the next version, I plan to use a 4-layer PCB to make it smaller. Currently, I am learning different techniques. I am leaving the board as it is to mark a beginning, and in the next iteration, I will use the 4-layer approach.
Here is the final version:
Thank you again, everyone!
