electrospinner

I am working on a project in which I need to spin an electric motor at 500-3000 rpm (approximate requirements). I have purchased an ESKY ek5-0001 brushless motor but I have been having troubling finding the appropriate hardware set up to modulate the speed. I have found many ESCs but am unsure on how to complete the setup. If anyone has any recommendations that would be very helpful. Priorties are low cost and ease of use (rc control is not necessary - a dial attached to the controller would be sufficient).

Thanks

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

electrospinner, I have ask that this be moved to a different forum. I see you are new here. Welcome! There are however forums that are related to electric equipment. These would be better suited to get an answer to your question. When this gets moved, you will get a notification.

Have a great day, David

Jim Schwagle

My Feedback: (1)

The motor has three leads, the speed controller has three leads on one end, that attach, in any order. If the motor spins the wrong way, swap any two of the three leads. The other end of the speed controller has two leads for the power supply, probably colored red and black. Generally batteries (NiCd, NiMh or LiPo are used for power) A third lead will be there that has the ability to be plugged into a receiver. No receiver is necessary, plug it into this....

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/testequip...QueryId=614350

This brand is not the only one, I use it only for reference. This device, when power leads are hooked up, can be turned as a dial to throttle your motor. Although the device has a power input plug, none is necessary as the speed controller supplies power through the throttle lead. (Most do, the one shown does )

The type of speed controller you need is here...

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/black_12_...QueryId=614378

Again, this is not the only one, any brushless speed controller will work. Your setup, at least from the motor you've selected will use rather low voltage, 8-12V. RC'ers typically use LiPo's for such a setup, two or three cell. The speed controller and motor are sensitive to voltage (and current), so if you're going to use a power supply be aware and don't exceed the speed controller or motor limit which will be printed on it. It will only draw the current it needs and you should have no problem there. This motor, unloaded will be spinning very fast other than at VERY low throttle settings. Loaded, depending on load, it will draw more current.

jdetray

Welcome, electrospinner.

Here is a diagram showing how to connect the various bits.


The "servo tester" in the diagram is the Manual Servo Adjuster linked by Jim above.

The "ESC" is a brushless Electronic Speed Controller suitable for your motor.

The "battery" could instead be a power supply.

A possible challenge with the motor you have selected is its kV of 1500, so it wants to spin rather fast. It might be difficult to easily control the low end of your desired RPM range. A motor with a lower kV would be easier to operate at the relatively low RPM you are targeting.

- Jeff

electrospinner

Thank you for the advice.  The suggestions you have are in line with other reading I have come across.  I have one final question:  the motor documentation says the speed controller requirement is 25A.  If I were to purchase a less expensive ESC that ran at say 8A, what would be the effect on the system?  Would the controller simply not function or would it limit the max speed of the motor?

Thanks again

jdetray

The amount of current drawn by the power system will depend upon the load applied to the motor. The greater the load, the greater the current.

You must use an ESC that can handle at least as much current as the power system will draw. If the power system draws more current than the ESC can handle, the ESC will probably be damaged or destroyed. Some ESCs will protect themselves by shutting down, but many others will simply overheat and be destroyed.

When your motor is running freely with no load, it will draw very little current, perhaps 1A or less. In that situation, a 8A ESC would be plenty large enough.

However, as you ask the motor to perform work, its current consumption will increase. If you put a sufficiently large load on the motor, it may draw more than 8A, in which case the 8A ESC would not be enough. Of course, too much current can also damage or destroy the motor. Same with the battery, if you use one.

The bottom line is that if you overload a power system, the weakest component will fail. It's just a question of which one.

You can measure the current being used by your power system with a wattmeter. It's the only way to be certain, as opposed to merely guessing. When you are experimenting with power systems, a wattmeter is practically a required piece of equipment.

- Jeff