Development of Motor Drivers The Driving Force in the World of Drives

Related Vendors

Nexperia B.V.

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

Be it in e-scooters, robots, or washing machines: electric motors have long been the heart of modern technology. But with increasing functionality, engineers today need more than just components. They need intelligent tools for future-proof motor controls.

Motorized products are playing an increasingly important role in all industries and consumer goods markets. From electric scooters and forklift trucks to robots, power tools, and smart household appliances—electric motors are now central components of many technical systems. As these products evolve, the demand for precise, efficient, and responsive motor controls has also increased. Additionally, engineers today face complex design requirements, tighter development timelines, and higher performance expectations.

To meet these challenges, it is no longer sufficient to simply select the right components. Engineers also need development tools that enable early, accurate evaluation and rapid prototyping. These tools must support various control methods, account for different sensors and power configurations, and provide meaningful predictions of future performance in real-world applications. With the increasing complexity of motor control systems, the demand for flexible evaluation environments is also growing.

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Meeting the Requirements of Various Applications

Although the performance requirements for motor-driven systems vary depending on the application, most focus on a few common factors: smooth operation, high energy efficiency, minimal noise generation, and reliable performance under various loads and environmental conditions.

In e-mobility applications such as e-scooters and e-bikes, the systems must provide precise speed control, rapid acceleration, and a quiet user experience under a wide range of operating conditions. In industrial applications, fans and pumps need to deliver continuous and consistent performance, often in compact housings with limited heat dissipation. Battery-powered tools require efficient torque delivery, compact design, and rapid response times. Household appliances are even more complex, as they often need to operate very quietly and must not overload the power grid. In robotics applications, precision in position and speed control, as well as adaptability to variable load conditions and environments, are crucial.

Regardless of the end product, however, all these systems place high demands on the hardware and software for motor control. Engineers must therefore validate design decisions early in the development process to ensure that the systems remain stable and function as expected in practical use. This requires evaluation platforms that can simulate realistic conditions and support a wide range of test cases.

Key Requirements for A Modern Evaluation Platform

Modern development tools for motor control must go beyond simple demo boards. To support rapid development, the setup must be intuitive and efficient. In many cases, depending on the complexity of hardware and software integration, it can take days or even weeks to get a motor operational. A platform that allows engineers to configure a board and get a motor running in just a few hours can significantly reduce development time. By minimizing this initial effort, faster iteration, earlier validation, and a smoother transition from concept to functional prototype can be achieved.

The platform should also be compatible with multiple communication protocols such as UART, SPI, I2C, and CAN to enable integration with various microcontrollers and development environments. With support for different control methods, including trapezoidal, sinusoidal, and field-oriented control (FOC), teams can test performance under various operating conditions and achieve system goals such as noise reduction, smooth operation, or torque behavior.

Integrated current measurement and built-in protection mechanisms are essential for safe operation and real-time feedback. With these features, engineers can assess the behavior of the power stage under load and quickly diagnose faults. Diagnostic LEDs, inline phase current measurement, and VBUS current monitoring are useful for early fault detection and verification of design assumptions.

Furthermore, open-source firmware and access to design files facilitate the customization of the platform to specific requirements or more complex use cases. Developers can experiment with new algorithms, optimize hardware settings, or simulate specific operating conditions with fewer constraints. Combined with simulation tools such as LTSpice, the platform becomes a bridge between modeling and physical validation.

Furthermore, a modular design offers a crucial advantage. Separating the inverter stage from the control logic simplifies upgrades, component replacement, and adaptation to individual requirements. This separation ensures that a platform can be adapted to different projects without extensive modifications.

An Exemplary Platform: Evaluation Kit NEVB-MTR1-KIT1

An example of a development platform that supports this flexible approach is the NEVB-MTR1-KIT1 from Nexperia and Würth Elektronik. It is designed for motor systems with low to medium voltage, supports a variety of applications between 12 and 48 V, and is designed for an output power of up to 1 kilowatt. The platform is modular and consists of two components: a dedicated three-phase inverter board and a microcontroller board (Image 1). It supports brushed DC motors, brushless DC motors (BLDC), and permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM).

The evaluation kit supports both sensor-based and sensorless control concepts, providing engineers with flexibility in development. Firmware is provided for sensor-based control using Hall-effect sensors, incremental encoders, and absolute encoders. For sensorless evaluation, the hardware includes an integrated circuit for detecting back-EMF (back-electromotive force), simplifying the development process by eliminating the need for external filters or microcontroller comparators. This approach reduces setup complexity and facilitates the exploration of sensorless control strategies using custom firmware. The kit can be integrated with Arduino Leonardo R3 and Nucleo form factor microcontrollers and easily connected to external systems via standard communication interfaces.

The power stage includes efficient LFPAK56 MOSFETs and integrated gate drivers. The integrated high-side and inline current measurement provides real-time feedback for torque and speed control. Protection features such as overcurrent and undervoltage shutdown reduce development risks during evaluation. An integrated DC-DC converter powers the logic and control, enabling the entire system to operate from a single input source (Image 2). In addition to the hardware, the kit includes LTSpice simulation models, complete schematics, a bill of materials, and layout files. The open-source firmware is provided under an MIT-like license, allowing full customization for specific use cases or new development requirements. This type of platform is particularly useful for engineers developing products in the fields of e-mobility, robotics, household appliances, or industrial systems. It offers a balanced combination of quick deployment, technical flexibility, and in-depth system insights, helping teams move quickly from concept to validated design.

The Focus is on Field-Oriented Control

Among the various supported control strategies, field-oriented control (FOC) has gained increasing importance in modern motor driver applications. FOC enables smoother, more precise, and more efficient motor operation, especially at varying speeds or under dynamic load conditions. It is particularly useful in high-performance applications such as robotics, e-mobility, and industrial automation.

In FOC, the three-phase stator currents are transformed into rotor coordinates. This mathematical transformation separates the torque-producing and flux-producing components of the current, allowing each component to be controlled independently. As a result, the motor behaves more like a brushed DC motor in terms of torque linearity and dynamic response, while still retaining the advantages of a brushless design.

The advantages of FOC include reduced torque ripple, lower noise, increased energy efficiency, and improved controllability at low speeds. These benefits make FOC the preferred choice for PMSM, which are often used in applications where performance and reliability are critical.

However, implementing field-oriented control (FOC) presents a significant challenge. It requires precise current measurement, accurate detection or estimation of the rotor position, and real-time control algorithms that need to be carefully tuned for each application. Because of this increased complexity, engineering teams often hesitate to adopt FOC in the early stages of development.

The evaluation kit includes the necessary hardware to support FOC, including integrated current measurement and interfaces for sensor-based or sensorless position feedback. This provides a solid hardware foundation for developers who want to implement and experiment with their own FOC algorithms. Since no application-specific circuits or board modifications are required, teams can focus entirely on developing control software and optimizing system behavior instead of dealing with low-level signal acquisition.

Combined with external firmware and simulation tools, this type of platform helps simplify the use of FOC for a wide range of applications and e-mobility systems. Its suitability for advanced control concepts such as FOC thus makes it a valuable resource for developers aiming to optimize motor performance at a deeper level.

Alignment of Tools With Development Goals

As electric motor technology becomes increasingly important, the significance of flexible and realistic evaluation environments also grows. Engineers need tools that allow them to validate designs under real conditions, compare various control methods, and make informed decisions early on. Platforms that offer modularity, open design access, and comprehensive control compatibility help development teams meet these new demands. Through rapid prototyping, reliable testing, and optimized adaptability, these tools reduce development effort and enhance project dynamics.

While no evaluation board can solve all challenges, well-designed platforms bring development significantly closer to achieving seamless hardware-software integration. Whether it concerns optimizing performance, reducing noise, improving efficiency, or expanding product functionality. Even with the ongoing advancement of motor technologies and increasing diversification of applications, engineers equipped with adaptable evaluation systems are well-positioned to remain at the forefront of future product innovations. (mr)

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