Paul & Sabrina's cheap DIY 144v motor controller

[MPaulHolmes]

Hi Mora! I'm just about to finish a bill of materials for the 1000amp controller now. Say hi to Varttina, my favorite band, if you see them! I'm going to mill a little board and solder the melexis HB current sensor on there with a few surface mount caps, and then calibrate it on a 3/8" x 3/4" bus bar. I think 1/16" is going to be OK for distance to the bar! NO more 3/4" away like with the low field version. HUrray! I think even brusa uses this part in the 3 phase inverter. ya!

[Freyguy]

Hey Paul,
Would there be any interest in a dash mount LCD Instrumentation module compatible with the Cougar? I’ve designed one that I’m planning to use in conjunction with my Cougar/Open Revolt controller, and I’d be willing to donate the PCB fab files, BOM and source code to the Wiki page. Don’t want to highjack this thread so if anyone wants more details, you can find it here

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ler-16132.html

This uses a PIC18F micro (sorry AVR fans) only because I’ve had experience with them on other projects (personal and professional). Since it was designed with my needs in mind parameters are hard coded. If I have time I will work on a serial command interface, otherwise those interested will need to purchase a $35 PICKIT2 programmer to change parameters. I have them all declared in one section of the code so this process is fairly easy. Of course, anyone can embellish/ replace my code to customize any way they wish

[MPaulHolmes]

Heck ya freyguy! That is beautiful! I'm going to make one of these for my car. I love the fact that you can change programming features with the push of a button. And page through all the relevant data. That was very well thought out. This is just awesome!!! We have some serious people working on this stuff! yahoo!

[voltmatic automaton]

OK so....whut? I was away for a while and haven't traced the thread for ALL the developments, so the Revolt Board is now IGBT ?

I built the rev c board I think it was, but I need to rebuild the controller and I want to implement IGBTs for a more hardy unit, so do I need a totally need PCB? What changes need to be made to the parts list for the Power Stage?

I apologise if I'm asking previously posted questions, but I'm currently in a time crunch for my EV.

[Freyguy]

Thanks Paul!
It may take a week or two, but I should be able to have all documentation available for uploading to the Wiki page.

[MPaulHolmes]

OK, so I'm a little depressed! I entered the controller as an instructable. They had a microcontroller contest. I thought I could win some free microcontrollers from sparkfun, and I didn't even make it as a finalist! dang it! I got beat by LED sneakers, LED kitchen lights, um... stuff like that. dang it!!!!! I even promised my son I'd get him some robot parts if we won! dang nab it!

I ordered the metal parts for the 3 prototype 1000 amp controllers today. 3 copper heat spreaders too! Oh ya! Also, I'm about to order the power board, control board, and driver board, but I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to do it. Does anyone else want a control board? $25 each to help defray the costs of setup fees? The poor beta testers and I have over $200 worth of one time setup fees. I'm trying to keep the initial beta tester costs out of the stratosphere, which I'm not succeeding very well at.

3 control boards cost $98, and 5 cost $105. hahaha. The $25 would help with the horrible 4 ounce board.

You can just send the money to mpholmes@hotmail.com. I'm going to order from that paypal account. But I'm going to order either late tonight or tomorrow, so you better tell me fast! I'll write on here when I order it all, so you can know that you missed it, and not to send me any money if you see a message from me.

It should be compatible with the IGBT boards. The bigger non-isolated 12v to 15v dc-dc can plug right in. There's desaturation detection on the driver board, that can be sent to the microcontroller. It has 3 pins with holes that are unused, so desaturation awareness sounds like a good use.

It also has a hole right before the hcpl-4506 optocoupler, which IGBT people can use to wire straight over to the driver board, because there is a different optocoupler on the driver board.

I think it's very unlikely that there is a mistake on the control board. I've read it over so many times, that it's not even hilarious. Well, a tiny bit.

[MPaulHolmes]

Also, the current sensor will now be in the cost range of about $3 or $4. HURRAY! I ran the physics numbers according to the datasheet, and the High Magnetic field sensor can be VERY close to the bus bar! Hurray! 1000 amps? 2000 amps? 500 amps? 10,000,000,000 amps? No problem! Well, maybe the last one is a bit excessive. But it would probably be fine up to around 5000 amps, not that there is a power section that would be fine.

[mora]

Money sent. Hope it helps.

[MPaulHolmes]

Hi Mora! Thanks! I won't order the boards until tomorrow afterall. My son hogged the computer this evening on nickjr.com, so I still have a little work to do.

[jackbauer]

How much for 2 Paul?