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Open Source Motion
Over three decades I’ve been a part of the evolution that has combined the microcontroller with power electronics. Over that time, motor drives have evolved into building blocks, however they have become “black box” building blocks. While they may use standard communication protocols such as Rs485, Ethernet or Can, each […]
Motion and the “Internet of Things”
The “Internet of Things” as defined by Kevin Ashton in 1999 was “to empower computers with their own means of gathering information, so they can see, hear and smell the world for themselves, in all its random glory”. In 2008, SRI Consulting Business Intelligence expanded the concept and charted a […]
Fieldwork
Have you ever found yourself troubleshooting an application at a remote site but without the necessary tools available? I learned a long time ago that the scout motto of “Be Prepared” applies to fieldwork as well. Back then, this involved dragging a suitcase with oscilloscope, bulky isolated probes, a “luggable” […]
The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You
One of my hobbies is the History of Technology. As I travel, I’ll visit nearby historical sites that have a tie to technology. What fascinates me about these sites is how our math, science and engineering predecessors tackled the challenges of the day and mastered them working only with what […]
Scotty… I Need More Power!
If you are a geek like me and are ever in Detroit, don’t miss the automakers’ museums. The sheer size of the Ford museum is astounding. It even includes a working late 19th century factory, complete with steam engine, overhead shafts and belt and pulley drives to the machine tools. […]
Off Grid Mission Focused Electric Motion
As engine driven hydraulic and pneumatic applications migrate to electric motion, the concept of designing the entire system to meet mission requirements becomes important. Using recent developments in 1 to 10Kw power conversion, it is now possible to design the motion system to the optimum operating voltage for the application […]
No Motor is an Island
(with appologies to John Donne) No motor has value unless it’s in an application. The same is true of a motor/ controller drive system. Yet, as even the smallest of drives gets smarter their flexibility to contribute to the overall performance of the application has not kept pace. Deep down, […]
Driving Low Voltage High Speed BLDC Motors Above 1 KW
Gary Box Software Defined Power www.softwaredefinedpower.com 1.0 Background and motivation 1.1 Features and benefits of high speed or high pole count BLDC motors 1.1.1 The case for speed An unmistakable trend in off grid motion control is the migration to electrical alternatives for existing mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems. This […]
A System Approach to Maximizing Motion Efficiency
An IEEE study in 2008 concluded that 60% of electrical energy in the United States is used to run motors, the vast majority of which are induction motors running directly on the grid. Historically, the use of the electrical grid to directly provide motion was the killer app of AC […]
Look Ma… No More (added) Wires!
I firmly believe that at some point, 100% of all electric motor power will pass through at least one semiconductor. Most, if not all will be under microcontroller control and will be able to communicate with the outside world. But just how will that be done? Last month I touched […]