ENGINEERING
Brushless DC Motor Controller
Alex Haas and Chad Talsma
Typical brushless DC electric motor controllers are intricate and complicated devices employing many features such as closed loop speed control, digital readouts, and position sensing. However, not all customers need such high-tech features. An Iowa company that builds small electric motors was seeking a low-cost alternative to DC motor control. They asked students to design a simple and robust controller that would cost at least 50% less than the comparable controller on the market, while maintaining adequate performance for their desired applications. The final design achieved a cost savings of over 60% and performed very well.
