This DIY Brushless Motor Looks Like It's Ripped From a Steampunk Universe
David Cambridge decided to spend quarantine making this brushless motor to gain a better understanding of how they work.
Brushless motors are ideal for various applications since they have higher performance, are more efficient, and have a low chance of wearing out. It’s not uncommon to see these motors used in everything from leaf blowers to sea scooters. Still, hobbyist David Cambridge decided to spend quarantine making a steampunk-inspired brushless motor for a better understanding of how they work.
The motor is made up of six coils of copper wire with amps through it wrapped around ion — this creates a magnetic, which helps spins the rotor. These are placed in a base designed in Fusion 360, and 3D-printed. The prototype was built with three hull switchers, which work like RE switchers. Next came the microcontroller to control the motor’s speed. Cambridge opted to make an STM32 microcontroller rather than purchase one. He used software to design the type of PCB chip needed and sent the schematics off to be built for him.
Satisfied with the results, he then decided to redesign the motor to give it a steampunk aesthetic. Rather than the hard plastic of the prototype, the motor’s parts were replaced with brass and metal, which affects the motor’s efficiency. To improve the speed, the rotor was rebuilt to put more distance between the magnetic parts and the spinning metal.
The brushless motor also features a steampunk-style display to show how fast it’s running, but that posed another problem. The display incorporates a lot of Nixie tubes, which operate at 170V; the microcontroller runs at 3V. This means another prototype circuit had to be built to make the proper adjustments. The PCB needed to be tweaked as well. Once this was fixed, the motor was placed on a custom display with vintage-inspired brass plated to complete the steampunk look.