Introduction to Motor

Control
EC3011: Electronic and Instrumentation
R. Valluvan
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Why study about motor control?
• Electric Motors are part of day to day life
• Ex: electric vehicles, elevators, robotics, consumer electronics, etc
• Engineers of all disciplines have to deal with electric motors
• This course will introduce some basics on controls of
• DC motor
• Servo motor
• Stepper motor
With pulse width modulation (PWM)
What is PWM?
• Output signal alternates between on and off within specified
period
• Controls power received by a device
• The voltage seen by the load is directly proportional to the
source voltage
• Duty Cycle (D): on-time / period
• Vlow is often zero

VAVG  DVHI  (1  D)VLOW

Types of PWM
Generation of PWM – Analog method

PWM output is
formed by the
intersection of
the saw-tooth
wave and
sinusoid
Generation of PWM – Digital (Delta)
• Counter used to handle
transitions
• Delta/Delta-sigma
method
• Output signal compared
with limits
• Every time limits
reached, changes state
Generation of PWM – Digital (Delta-sigma)
• PWM signal generated by
Delta method
• Error = output – reference
• Error integrated
• State changes when
integration reaches limits
• Advantage
• Circuit simpler
• Reduces quantization
• noise by high pass filter
PWM with 555 timer
Potentiometer is used to
adjust the duty cycle
Advantages of PWM
• average value proportional to duty cycle, D
• low power used in transistors used to switch the signal
• fast switching possible due to MOSFETS and power transistors at
speeds in excess of 100 kHz
• digital signal is resistant to noise
• less heat dissipated versus using resistors for intermediate voltage
values
Disadvantages of PWM
• Cost
• Complexity of circuit
• Radio Frequency Interference
• Voltage spikes
• Electromagnetic noise
Applications of PWM
• In the past, motors were controlled at intermediate speed by using
resistors to lower delivered power
• Electric stove heater
• Lamp dimmers
• Voltage regulation – convert 12 volts to 5 volts by having a 41.7% duty
cycle
• Sound production: PWM controlled signals give sound effects similar
to a chorus
• Power transfer: PWM used to reduce the total power given to a load
without relying on resistive losses
 Frequency of the PWM Signal
Lower Limits
1. Must be at least 10 times higher
than the control system frequency
2. Higher than 20kHz – audible
frequency of sounds to avoid
annoying sound disturbances,
caused by magnetostriction
3. If too low the motor is pulsed, not
continuous, because the motor’s
inductance can not maintain the
current
4. Inverse of frequency should be
much less than the motor/load time
constant
5. Higher error from ripple voltages
Upper Limits
1. If too high the inductance of the
motor causes the current drawn to
be unstable
2. MOSFET transistor generates heat
during switching
3. Limited by resolution of controller
4. Eddy currents generated in
electromagnetic coils which lead to
adverse heating
5. Heat losses in electromagnetic
materials is proportional to
frequency squared
Applications to DC Motors
• The voltage supplied to a DC motor is proportional
to the duty cycle
• Both brushed and brushless motors can be used
with PWM
• Both analog and digital control techniques and
components are available
Example-DC motor: Specifying circuit
elements

Requirements
1. Maxon EC-16 brushless motor,
Time constant = 8.75 ms
1
 8.5 ms  f 117 Hz
f
2. Want to avoid audible frequencies
f ≥ 20 kHz
3. PID control loop running at 150 Hz
f ≥ 10 ∙ 150 Hz
Example: Specifying circuit elements

This circuit has a

PWM frequency
according to:

1.44
f 
R1C1

Check constraints
Set f to 25 kHz to add in a factor of safety
≥ 117 Hz
Choosing C1 to be 100 nF, R1 is 576 Ω ~ 500 Ω
f ≥ 20 kHz
Recalculating with these values f = 28.8 kHz ≥ 1.5 kHz
Alternative ways to generate PWM
• Arduino
• Matlab
• Labview
Application to Servo Motors
• A servomotor is a rotary actuator that allows for precise control of
angular position, velocity and acceleration.
• It consists of a suitable motor coupled to a sensor for position
feedback. It also requires a relatively sophisticated controller, often a
dedicated module designed specifically for use with servomotors.
• Servomotors are not a specific class of motor although the term
servomotor is often used to refer to a motor suitable for use in a
closed-loop control system.
• Servomotors are used in applications such as robotics, CNC machinery
or automated manufacturing.
Inside a Servo Motor
Servo Motor position control with PWM

• Pulse width directly maps to angle

Example: Servo Control using Arduino
Example: Servo Control using 555 timer
Servo Applications
Applications for Stepper Motor

• A stepper motor is a digitally controlled motor that allows

precise control over the position of the motor’s rotor.
• Changes in the digital input rotate the motor’s rotor by a precise
amount, which is called a step or step angle.
• Depending on the motor, this step angle may be as small as 1
(or less) or as large as 45.
Magnets in a Stepper Motor
•A stepper motor has a permanent magnet
connected to its rotor and electromagnets
connected to its stator.
Simplified image from
John Iovine’s PIC
Microcontroller
Project Book, 2nd ed.

•The digital signals controlling the motor turn

the electromagnets on and off in sequence,
causing the rotor to rotate.
Rotating a Stepper Motor (Simplified
Picture)

In this example, how

big is each step?

From John Iovine’s PIC

Microcontroller
Project Book, 2nd ed.
 Half-Stepping
•In the previous illustration, only one of the
electromagnets was on at a time.
•We can get finer resolution by sometimes turning on
two electromagnets at a time. This technique is called
half-stepping.
 Types of Stepper Motors
•Different designs result in several types of stepper
motors:
•Unipolar
•Bipolar
•Universal (which combine characteristics of unipolar
and bipolar motors)
Wiring a Stepper Motor
•The number of wires on a stepper motor
varies, depending on the motor’s type.
•Bipolar Stepper Motor: 4 wires
•Unipolar Stepper Motor: 5 or 6 wires
•Universal Stepper Motor: 8 wires
Control of Stepper Motor
Driver IC
With Arduino