White Paper
How to Select a DC Motor: Brushless DC Motors
George Hunt Application Engineer, MICROMO
Going for longevity with brushless technology
If an application requires high speed, quiet operation,
low EMI and longevity, then brushless DC technology
(BLDC) might be what you are looking for. There are
many advantages to brushless motor technology and
speed is one of them. Higher speeds are achievable
because there are no mechanical limitations being
imposed by the brushes and commutator. Another
advantage is the elimination of the current arcing/
electro-erosion problem commonly experienced with
brushed motors. BLDC motors also possess higher
efficiency, and generate lower EMI which is excellent
when used in RF applications. They also possess superior
thermal characteristics over brushed motors since the
windings are on the stator.
The stator is connected to the case, thus the heat
dissipation is much more efficient. As a result, the
maintenance on a brushless motor is virtually non-
existent.
Unfortunately, the higher cost of construction puts BLDC
technology out of reach for many applications. You can
easily spend twice as much on a brushless system and lose
the simplicity of a brushed motor. Don’t forget to save
room for the control/drive electronics too. You’ll need to
mount it somewhere it if it isn’t integrated in the motor.
Keep in mind, the motor can’t be mounted too far away
from the drive as long cable runs tend to introduce noise
into the system. To compensate, the phase leads can be
twisted and shielded from the sensitive feedback leads
to reduce noise. As with brushed motors, brushless must
overcome starting friction as well. Again, this is the sum
of torque losses not depending from speed. Dynamic
friction is dependent upon speed. In fact, dynamic
torque friction is the only thing defining torque losses
proportional to speed for BLDC. A function of speed (for
example in metric units of mNm/rpm), dynamic friction
is due to the viscous friction of the ball bearings, as well
as to the eddy currents in the stator originated by the
rotating magnetic field of the magnet.
Overall, you can expect the speed-torque curve to
demonstrate excellent linearity for BLDC technology.
Driving Brushless Micro-motors
Unlike brushed DC motors, brushless technology cannot
be operated by connecting directly up to a straight
line DC voltage. Remember, brushless motors utilize
electronic commutation. So again there are no brushes
making physical contact with the commutator. The
permanent magnet rotor initiates motion by chasing
a revolving magnetic field induced by the current in
the stator windings. Creating this motion is done with
electronics and is usually an on/off signal called Pulse
Width Modulation or PWM. Normally supplied by a
comparator, the PWM signal is a voltage generated
as a result of a sinusoidal command signal and a saw
tooth carrier or chopper frequency. The PWM signal is
either on or off and delivered at a duty cycle governed
by the chopping frequency. The PWM signal will be
high when the command is greater than the carrier
(chopper or switching frequency). The lower the
chopping frequency, the more time the current has to
gain amplitude. The motor will continue to accelerate
and decelerate with an accompanying increase in
current density. Such harsh changes in amplitude can
result in more ripple in the output as well as shortened
motor life. So it is important that the switching
frequency is high enough. The discrete on/off states
are controlled by 6 semiconductor switches which
correspondingly send the amplified current through
the correct phase. When the current is reversed by the
semiconductor switches, the stator windings are utilized
more efficiently because more than one winding will
be energized. In order to turn the phases on and off at
just the right time, the drive requires feedback. This will
help to keep the commutation angle around an ideal
90 degrees. Brushless motors are normally in a closed
loop (servo) system to operate properly. In many cases,
digital Hall effects are employed to provide the required
feedback and commutate BLDC motors. For smoother
operation, sometimes sinusoidal commutation (linear
Hall effects) can be used.