Motocone – 6380V1.

0 datasheet
19.9.2014 – Rev1.0

1 INTRODUCTION
The Motocone – 6380V1.0 is an
open source motor controller
design capable of driving
synchronous 3-phase motors
equipped with a 120° commutation
sensor. The Motocone - 6380V1.0
was initially designed to drive
automotive alternators converted
into motors and equipped with a
120° commutation sensor. It can
also drive a wide range of
commercially available sensored
BLDC motors. It could also be used
for driving brushed DC- motors.

The Motocone – 6380V1.0 does not have any programmable components and thus the
schematic diagram will relieve all features that exists. This makes the design easy to understand,
debug and modify.

In this datasheet the circuit functions are explained, reference connections are shown with
different motors and electrical ratings are given with the components with the default bill of
materials.

2 FEATURES
• Peak phase current limit range 0A - 90A
• Input voltage range 10V – 63V
• Input current up to 80A
• Over temperature protection
• Under voltage protection
• Drives:
o 3-phase sensored BLDC motors (120 degree sensor)
o 3-phase automotive alternators equipped with 120 degree sensor
o DC-motors
3 APPLICATIONS
• Small electric vehicles
• E-bikes
• Lawn movers
• Starter generators
• Pumps, fans

4 CONNECTIONS AND SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Figure 1. Top side

Figure 2. Bottom side
Figure 3. Schematic diagram
5 DEFAULT BILL OF MATERIALS
Quanti Additional
Designator Package ty Comment information
C8,C13,C18,C4,C7,C6,C5,C3,C20,C19,C9,C1
5,C14,C10 SM1206 14 100n 100V
R41,R42,R40,R6,R43,R45,R44,R30,R11,R26
,R35,R36 SM1206 12 2R
Keystone_1213
P3,P11,P10,P9,P8,P1,P4,P2,P5,P7 _ST 10 1213-ST
R12,R9,R29,R31,R32,R16,R4,R18 SM1206 8100k
R8,R39,R38,R37,R13,R10,R1 SM1206 72k7
FDP027N08
Q8,Q7,Q6,Q5,Q3,Q1 TO220GDS 6 B
R22,R21,R20,R25,R24,R23 SM2512 6 5m
TO-220 heat sink
6 MAX07NG clips
R33,R15,R5,R14,R19 SM1206 5 40R2
D5,D4,D6,D2,D1 MicroMELF 5 MCL4148
C12,C1,C2,C16 SM1206 4 1u 16V
U2,U4,U6 SO8E 3 LM393
U5,U7,U3 SO8E 3 IRS2184PBF
R27,R28 SM1206 2 1k2
R7,R2 SM1206 2 330k
C11,C17 SM1206 2 1n 50V
PIN_ARRAY_3X 10k single turn
RV1,RV2 1 2 25UR10KLF trimmer
Q2,Q4 DPAKGDS 2 NTD4906N
D=10mm EEU- 330uF 63V
H=30mm 2 FC1J331L Electrolytic
U9 SO14E 1 74HC86
U8 SO14E 1 74HC08
R34 SM1206 1 1k5
R3 SM1206 1 18k
PIN_ARRAY_5x 2x5 Pin
P6 2 1 Header
PIN_ARRAY_2X
TH1 1 1 KTY81/121 Silicon thermistor
D3 MicroMELF 1 RED
U1 DPAK2 1 MC7805CD
R17 SM1206 1 10k
6 ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS
All voltages are referenced to GND

Terminal Description Min. Max. Units

+BATT Battery positive input terminal -0,3 63 V
+12V Control circuit positive input terminal -0,3 16
FIELD Field winding negative output terminal -0,3 16
Phase_A,B,C 3-phase winding AC output terminals -0,3 63
+5V 5V auxiliary power output terminal -0,3 5,3
Throttle 3-phase winding voltage control input -0,3 5,3
Field_ctrl Field winding voltage control input -0,3 5,3
A,B,C 120 degree position sensor inputs -0,3 5,3
IFIELD Field winding output current 4 A
IPhase_A,B,C 3-phase winding peak output current 90* **
I+BATT Battery input current 80* **

* If 20A is exceeded the electrolytic capacitors EEU-FC1J331L must be changed to meet

application specific ripple current requirements

** Sufficient heatsink with possibly forced cooling is needed to keep the heatsink temperature
below cut-off temperature

7 RECOMMENDED OPERATING CONDITIONS

All voltages are referenced to GND

Terminal Description Min. Max. Units

+BATT Battery positive input terminal 10 60 V
+12V Control circuit positive input terminal 10 16
+5V 5V power output current 100m A

8 ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS
All voltages are referenced to GND

Symbol Description Min. Typ. Max. Units

VThrottle Throttle 0-100% input range 1 4 V
VField_ctrl Field_ctrl 0-100% input range 1 4
UV +BATT under voltage cutoff 10
V_LowA,B,C Sensor input low threshold 1,5
 RESA,B,C Sensor input pull-up resistance to +5V 2700 Ω
RES+BATT +BATT leakage resistance 100k
ZThrottle Throttle input impedance 50k
ZField_ctrl Field_ctrl input impedance 50k
OT Over temperature cutoff 85 °C
Fs Phase_A,B,C and FIELD switching 18 kHz
frequency

9 CIRCUIT FUNCTIONS
This chapter describes the different internal circuits of the Motocone – 6380V1.0

9.1 SAW WAVE OSCILLATOR

The saw wave oscillator shown is used to create a
1V – 4V peak to peak saw tooth shaped wave
with a frequency of 18 kHz. Resistors R2, R4 and
R7 set the upper and lower voltage thresholds.
R1, R3 and C11 set the frequency and the rising
and falling time constants. Oscillator output is
taken from the U2A negative input terminal
labeled “SAW”.

9.2 FIELD WINDING CONTROL AND POWER STAGE

When driving an
automotive
alternator
converted to a
motor, its field
winding can be
excited using this
circuit. The
Field_Ctrl input
voltage is compared with the saw wave by comparator U2B. The comparator output gives a
PWM signal that is used to drive the mosfet Q4. When Field_Ctrl is ≤ 1V the duty cycle is 0% and
when Field_Ctrl is ≥ 4V the duty cycle is 100% changing linearly between Field_Ctrl voltages
1V…4V. Note that the alternator field winding is connected between terminals +12V and FIELD.
9.3 3-PHASE WINDING PWM GENERATION AND CURRENT LIMIT

When current limiting does not occur, the 3-phase winding PWM generation in similar than in
the Field winding; When Throttle is ≤ 1V the duty cycle is 0% and when Throttle is ≥ 4V the duty
cycle is 100% changing linearly between Throttle voltages 1V…4V.

Overcurrent is sensed using the comparator U4A and shunt power resistors R20..R25. When
overcurrent is sensed U4A pulls down the node CURR and causes U4B to turn off its output in a
cycle by cycle current limiting manner. While node CURR is pulled down, it also discharges C16
resulting in a forced throttle reduction due to reaching overcurrent. This feature reduces audible
noise when compared to a bare cycle by cycle current reduction.

Capacitor C16 value can be increased to slow down the throttle response or to generate a soft
start function.

9.4 UNDER VOLTAGE AND OVER TEMPERATURE PROTECTION

Under voltage detection is
made by U6B comparator and
resistors R31, R32. The circuit is
set to 10V threshold by default
and the resistors must be
changed accordingly if other
threshold voltages are desired.
If under voltage detection is not
needed R31 and R32 can be
removed and U6B can be tied to +12V. This way the leakage current of R31 and R32 can be
avoided.

The temperature protection circuit relies on KTY81/121 sensor which is thermally connected to
the same heat sink with the 3-phase power stage mosfets. The default thermal protection
threshold is 85°C.
In case of either over temperature or under voltage the comparator U6A latches its output stage
to be pulled down. This causes both Field and 3-phase winding outputs to be turned off and
turning on the red led D3. The latched state can be reset by a off – on power cycle on the +12V
input.

9.5 SENSOR INPUT AND COMMUTATION LOGIC

The 120 degree position sensor signals A,B,C are pulled up to 5V using 2k7 resistor. These
sensor signals are used to determine the rotor position in order to apply current to the correct
phase at the correct time.

There are two types of commutation available; synchronous operation and Freewheeling
operation. Their difference is in the behavior of the 3-phase power stage during the duty-cycle
off stage. In synchronous operation during off stage both lower leg mosfets of the currently
active phase are turned on. In Freewheeling operation during duty-cycle off stage all mosfets are
turned off.

The synchronous operation is more efficient due lower current ripple and winding currents
forced to go through mosfets rather than diodes. The synchronous operation is the default
setting and a clear choice in constant RPM applications. The freewheeling operation can be
advantageous on some throttle driven electric vehicles due to its free rolling ability.
9.6 3-PHASE WINDING OUTPUT STAGE
The 3-phase output stage
consists of three identical
half-bridges of which one is
shown in the picture. The
default BOM components
are capable of voltages up to
60V but components can be
price optimized for lower
voltage applications.

10 REFERENCE CONNECTIONS
This chapter describes reference wiring diagrams for different motors and supply voltages.
Following notes apply all reference circuits shown in this chapter:

• Throttle and/or Field_ctrl trimmers can be replaced by a hall or resistive throttle sensor
• If higher than 40A battery current is used +BATT and GND wiring must be doubled and
fused according to application requirements
• A charge resistor (e.g. 1k 10W) is highly recommended to be connected between the
battery and +BATT terminal before making the connection with wire. This will avoid the
spark caused by rapidly charging the smoothing capacitors on the motor controller
board.
• On BLDC motors and alternator motors the phase wirings must be in correct order
referenced to the sensor signals. It is often fastest to find out the correct wirings using a
trial and error method: connect the phase wirings as you like. Then try out different
signal wirings until the motor spins. If rotating direction needs to be changed, swap any
two of the phase wires and find out the correct signal wiring again.
10.1 SENSORED BLDC MOTOR WITH A 10V…16V POWER SUPPLY

10.2 SENSORED BLDC MOTOR WITH A 16V…60V POWER SUPPLY

10.3 SENSORED AND CONVERTED ALTERNATOR WITH A 10V…16V POWER SUPPLY

Note: Rotating direction of the alternator motor can be reversed by changing the rotor field
polarity e.g. by using a DPDT switch

10.4 SENSORED AND CONVERTED ALTERNATOR WITH A 16V…60V POWER SUPPLY

Note: Rotating direction of the alternator motor can be reversed by changing the rotor field
polarity e.g. by using a DPDT switch
10.5 DC-MOTOR WITH A 10V…16V POWER SUPPLY

10.6 DC-MOTOR WITH A 16V…60V POWER SUPPLY