BLDC motor redesign enables design flexibility

11 November 2022

Oriental Motor redesigns its brushless motor driver to provide more all-round functionality. The BLV-R series of BLDC motors and drivers gives developers improved positional feedback, DC voltage range, STO ability, speed range, and speed stability; all achieved whilst also significantly reducing the driver’s size and power consumption.

Oriental Motor has built on the success of the BLV series of motors to create the BLV-R series of BLDC motors. It is specifically designed towards the automated guided vehicles (AGVs) market, but has the flexibility and functionality to be used in many new and emerging applications.

The BLV-R is available with a parallel shaft gearhead or hollow shaft gearhead and with gear ratios between 5:1 to 200:1. This provides a wide range of output speed and torque options to suit an application’s needs.

The compact BLDCs are available in frame sizes ranging from 60 to 110mm. Operation is possible at low speeds – from as little as 1r/min. The BLDCs also have communication via Modbus (RTU) and CANopen for positioning.

The BLV-R series has a rated output power of 60W, 100W or 200-400W, depending on the variant and torque from 0.43 to 108Nm, depending on the motor and gearhead combination.

The BLV-R series is made up of the smallest comprehensive BLDC drivers available in the market today. The low-voltage input power DC motor drivers measure 75mm x 65mm x 29mm, and have a mass of only 120g.

The motors are also compact: a 100W motor, with a 30:1 gearbox measuring just 108.4mm long and weighing only 2.4kg.
The usable voltage range is 15VDC to 55VDC, and the speed control range is 1:4000rpm, enabling a range of voltage changes.

The wide input compensates for any voltage drops within the battery of, for example, an AGV, allowing it to continue operation without intervention.

In the event of temporary battery voltage increases – for example, from regenerated energy – normal operation is maintained.

These attributes make the BLV-R fast and manoeuvrable and ideal for applications which require precision, speed and accuracy. An example previously stated is AVGs but includes most applications in factory automation.

The redesign extends to improved positional feedback achieved by incorporating a new encoder. The positional resolution is set at 0.01° as standard, but is also fully adjustable in the driver parameters.

The higher resolution in the BLV-R makes accurate positioning and speed achievable. The increased control that this brings can be used to control tight turns and accurate manoeuvring.

Improved torque control within the drivers results in stable speeds and accurate torque control all the way down to 1rpm to allow for accurate movement.

The torque control feedback also means the motor can be used in tensioning applications. In this mode, the driver will continuously maintain a set torque and will not aim to maintain a speed.

Another innovation for the BLV-R series is an ATL function which allows the motors to deliver up to 300 percent of their rated torque continuously (only limited by the thermal alarm cut-off). This allows AGVs for example to negotiate slopes and ramps using more torque as and when needed.

A proprietary ID Share Mode is integrated into the BLV-R series motors. Developed by Oriental Motor, this allows commands to be sent to multiple motors simultaneously for accurate movement and smooth operation even in confined areas.

The 24/48 VDC input drivers and all-new 100W (1/8 HP) and 200W (1/4 HP) brushless DC motors are energy-efficient to extend battery life.

The BLV-R series is approved according to UL and CE certifications and is available now from Oriental Motor (UK).