Quote:
Originally Posted by xtian999
I only see a few wires from the power stage to the control stage, and they are 5v and grounds. A few more inches and a plug won't kill the system, will it?
|
Those wires carry the PWM signal controlling the powerstage... And yes they are 5V... Basicly if you make them longer, you create delays, same goes for adding resistance (a connector does this), delays and signal losses... In a 5V system with PWM signals small differences like this makes huge changes to reliability and predictability of the system...
Ideally all those cables should have the exact same electric charcteristics ie same length, resistance and so on... The larger the variance the more potential for problems... If you add an inch or two of flexible wire insted of the resistors leg, it's fine as long as you do it uniformly... If you add a foot or two of wire and two connectors it's likely to cause problems... YMMV...
The question however is WHY you wan't to move it out? It's designed in such a way that it should withstand several magnitudes worse EM environoment... (I do radiocircuits for a living, I can look at it and tell you it's not going to cause problems in that way...) The box on the controller keeps other things from being mucked up... So why mess with something that works? Especially in a way that more than likely will introduce a problem that wasn't there in the first place?
The wires being flexible like you suggested so that you can move them without damaging them is a good simple idea that improves things... Go with that...
Screw mounting the parts is a bad idea... You will decrease the efficiancy of the controller by measurable amounts... Ie you will essentially need to add an extra battery or so for the same range... (slightly exaggerated probably, but you get the idea...) And really honestly, do you think you will do roadside repairs to a motor controller even if it's "modular" ? I honestly don't...
Besides Ben blowing up the controller seems to be a isolated event... So far I'd say the design has proven to be very reliable and robust for it's humble beginnings... I'd say most companies developing stuff like this has more teething problems than this project has had...