Handbook and Application

Guide for High-Performance

Brushless Servo Systems
This updated handbook provides a
technical overview of the components,
theory, and interaction of brushless
motion control systems plus a
helpful guide outlining the design
considerations, calculations and
application of brushless servo sytems,
including helpful engineering formulas
and conversion tables.
This engineering handbook can also be
used to complement the ElectroCraft
motion control guide, DC MotorsSpeed Controls-Servo Systems.

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

Figure 1: Block diagram of a typical motion control system

PLC or
host
computer

Position
controller

Drive
amplifier

Motor

Load

A simple representation
of a typical motion control
system is shown in Figure
1. Each of the primary
components will be reviewed.

Feedback

Contents
Part One: Theory of brushless motion control

Comparison of DC servomotors and brushless servomotors.......................... 3

Sinusoidal and trapezoidal brushless servos...............................................................5

Trapezoidal and sinusoidal EMF and square wave current.................................5

Sinusoidal EMF and sinusoidal current........................................................................... 6

Sinusoidal control for brushless and induction motors.........................................7

Closed-loop control for high performance.................................................................. 9

Current regulation and tuning guidelines..................................................................... 11

Part Two: Sizing and application guidelines

Mechanical considerations....................................................................................................14

Motion profile considerations.............................................................................................18

Sinusoidal brushless motor specifications................................................................ 20

Electrical noise and its causes.......................................................................................... 20

Filtering, grounding, shielding, and segregation....................................................22

ElectroCraft Incorporated: Company information............................................26

-6

-4

Sinusoid
an
square wav

Flu
Fl

Motor

Sinusoidal EMF
Commutation
encoder

Brushless
tachometer

-2

Demagnetizing
D
emagneti
ti ing
i fforce H (Kilo
(Kil
(Kilo-Oersteds)
Oersteds)
O
t d )

Figure 5: Torque-speed curves

Sinusoidal
oidal current

Sinusoidal EMF
and
sinusoidal current

-8

Fe
rr
ite

ne Bo
od nd
ym e
iu

-10

AC servo

R
S

Brushless
servo

Motor

Sinusoidal EMF
or
induction motor

Sinusoidal
brushless
servo

Encoder or
resolver

Amplifier current limit

A
Amplifier
voltage limit
voltage

Torque

Essential Guide to Brushless

Drive Motion Control
DC servo

Brushless servo

Commutation
C
limit

Speed
S
Spe
peed

Comparison of DC servomotors
and brushless servomotors

Figure 2: Principle and construction of a DC servomotor

i

Armature
windings

Permanent
magnets

Inverter control
sequence

Phase-to-phase
back EMF

The traditional permanent magnet DC servomotor

has been the industry workhorse for many decades
Permanent
P
Per
r
rm
magnet
field
in high-performance servo drive applications. The
primary reason for this is that the DC servomotor is
Brushes
very easy to control using adjustable DC voltage. A
Commutator
l
brief review of the operating principle of the DC moLa
T = KTl
Ra
+
tor illustrates this point: See Figure 2.
Magnetic
ic field vector
+
l
90
Eg = KEn
V
A fixed magnetic field created by permanent
Torque
magnets in the stator interacts with the armature
Armature
current flowing in the rotor winding. Interaction of
current vector
the current-carrying conductors in the magnetic field
produces a rotor torque. This torque is at its maximum value when
the magnetic field vector is perpendicular to the current vector, but
Figure 7: Waveforms for two EMF stylesisand
square
wave
brushless
servo drives
zero
if the
angle
between
the vectors is zero. The magnitude of the
torque is:
VBUS
Torque = K B I sin
SU
TU
RU
R
Where
K is a constant,
B is the magnetic flux density, I is the armature current, and is the angle between the two vectors.
Conceptual schematics
Therefore, as
motion reduces the torque angle to a zero
S the rotor
T
SL
TL
RL
value,
no further motion results. To eliminate this condition, the DC
motor incorporates a commutator on the rotor, which routes the current flow in theSINUSOIDAL
armature EMF
windings as the rotor rotates. In other words,
TRAPEZOIDAL EMF
the current
is progressively reversed as the windings connected to
+
+
VR-S 0
0
the commutator
bars pass beneath the brushes. In a servomotor, the
+
+
0
physical
location
of the brushes is such that the current vector is mainVR-T 0
tained perpendicular
to the fixed magnetic field for any direction of
+
+
VS-T 0
0
rotor rotation
or for any rotor speed. This results in torque generation
0 60 120 180
300 0 60 proportional0 to
60
0 armature
12
120 180
80
30
300
00 current
0 60
0
and motor speed proportional to
(360)
(360)
Rotor position (Electrical degrees)
Rotor position (Electrical degrees)
armature
voltage.
The
classic
equations
that describe the DC servoRU
SU
motor are then:
TU
Torque = Kt I
RL
SL
Eg = Back EMF Voltage = Ke n
TL
Where Kt is the torque constant, Ke is the voltage constant, and n
1: Transistor ON 2: Transistor OFF
1: Transistor ON 2: Transistor OFF
is the motor speed.

Overall
back EMF

-12

1
0
1
0
1
0

1
0
1
0
1
0

1
0
1
0
1
0

1
0
1
0
1
0

13% of peak

VT-S VR-S VR-T ...

60 120 180

Electrical degrees

300

(360)

60

Your Genius. Our Drive.

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

Figure 3: Principle and construction of a brushless servomotor

Heat has a shorter

While the control of a DC servomotor is straightforward, the primary

limitation of the DC servomotor is
Heat has a shorter
RL
TL
SL
path to ambient.
RU
SU
the mechanical commutator. Some
TU
of these limitations include brush
RU RL SU SL TU TL
RL
TL
SL
replacement, brush run-in after reBrushless motor
placement, brush arc RFI (radio freS
R
RU RLControl
SU electronics
SL TU TL
quency interference) and voltage/
Heat must travel
farther.
current limitations.
Brushless motor
Commutation signals
S
R
The construction of the DC servoControl electronics
Heat must travel
motor also requires the commutator
farther.
to rotate. This means the armature
Commutation signals
T
windings must rotate as well which
results in high rotor inertia and a poor
thermal situation because the heat
T
DC motor
from losses is primarily generated in
the rotor. Of course, for any type motor, the heat-producing losses must
DC motor
be minimized and effectively transferred out of the motor so that temperatures inside the moFigure 4: B-H curves for permanent-magnet materials
Figure 6: Brushless drive technology and terminology
tor stay below maximum limits. Replacing the mechanical
13
curren
current
commutatorSquare-wave
with an
electronic one can eliminate all of these
12
R technology and terminology
Figure 4: B-H curves for permanent-magnet materials
Figure 6: Brushless drive
Brushless DC
DC
motor
limitations.
11
servo
13
The
electronically
motor
or brushless servoS commutated
Square-wave curren
current
d m
Trapezoidal
EMF
e
10
Electrically
Motor
er iu
t
12
R
n m
Si dy
commutated
motor consists of a permanent
magnet rotor,
aDCstator with usuBrushless
9
o
Commutation
motor
ne
11
servo(ECM)
encoder
T
ally
three
phases,
and
a
rotor
position
sensor.
(See Figure 3.)
8
S
d
Trapezoidal EMF
e m
10
Brushless
Six-step
Electrically
Motor
er iu
nt m
7
tachometer
Due
to
the
construction
technique
of
a
brushless
servoservo
Si dyo 5
commutated
9
oC
Commutation
motor (ECM)
ne m
6
encoder
Square-wavecompared
curre
current
S
T
motor (inside-out
to
the
DC
servomotor)
the
moTrapezoidal
8
R
brushless
Brushless
Six-step
5
tor
losses
are
almost
entirely
in
the
stator,
resulting
in
a
short
7
tachometer
servo
servo
5
Co
4
S
6
Square-wave
curre
current
Sm
thermal path
to the
ambient
allowing
more
input power into
Sinusoidal
EMF
Trapezoidal
R Motor
3
brushless
5
the
windings.
Passing
air
over
the
motor
frame
can further
Commutation
servo
2
encoder
4
T
S
increase heat transfer
to
the
ambient.
By
eliminating
the DC
Brushless
Sinusoidal
EMF
1
Brushless
Motor
3
servo
tachometer
motors
mechanical
commutator
Commutation and armature winding on
0
2
encoder
-8
-6
-4
-2
-12
-10
Sinusoidal
oidal
current T
the rotor, the
brushless
motorBrushless
design results
AC servo in lower rotor
Brushless
R
1
Demagnetizing
D
emagneti
ti ing
i fforce H (Kilo
(Kil
(Kilo-Oersteds)
Oersteds)
O
t d )
servo
tachometer
Sinusoidal
EMF higher motor supply voltinertias, higher rotor speeds,
and
0
Sinusoidal
or
-8
-6
-4
-2
-12
-10
brushless
induction motor
Sinusoidal
oidal current
ages compared
to RSthe
servomotor. The
AC servo
Motor conventional DC
servo
Demagnetizing
D
emagneti
ti ing
i fforce H (Kilo
(Kil
(Kilo-Oersteds)
Oersteds)
O
t d )
Sinusoidal EMF
Figure 5: Torque-speed curvespolyphase stator winding for a brushless
Sinusoidal lends itself to
Encoder or servomotor
or
T
resolver
brushless
S
induction motor
automatic winding processes.
Motor
servo
Amplifier current limit
Figure 5: Torque-speed curves
The permanent-magnet materialsEncoder
used
for typical rotor construcor
T
resolver
A
Amplifier
tion are the rare earths (samarium cobalt
and neodymium iron bovoltage limit
voltage
Amplifier current limit
ron) or ceramic (ferrite). Typical demagnetization plots of the second
Brushless servo
DC servo
A
Amplifier
quadrant B-H curves for these materials are shown in Figure 4. B is
voltage limit
voltage
the flux density and H is the magnetizing force. The ferrite magnet
Brushless servo
Commutation
C
DC servo
limit
has inferior magnetic properties, yet is low cost and readily available.
Speed
S
Spe
peed
The samarium cobalt material (SmCo5) has excellent magnetic
Commutation
C
limit
properties, can operate at higher temperature, but is expensive. The
Speed
S
Spe
peed
rare-earth material neodymium iron boron has many impressive magFigure 2: Principle and construction of a DC servomotor
netic properties. At the same time, however, there are limitations.
path to ambient.
Figure 3: Principle
and construction of a brushless servomotor

SU

Trapezoidal EMF
Sinusoidal EMF
Sinusoidal EMF
and Trapezoidal EMF
and Sinusoidal EMF
and Sinusoidal EMF
and
and
square wave current
sinusoidal currentand
square wave current
square wave current
sinusoidal current
square wave current

Flux d
Fl
density
itFl
B d
(Kilo-Gauss)
(Kil itG B (Kil
)
Flux
density
(Kilo-Gauss)
G
)

rr
ite

rr
ite

Fe

TU

Torque

Torque

Fe

ne Bo
od nd
ym ed
iu
m

ne Bo
od nd
ym ed
iu
m

RU

Permanent

Armature

Figure 2: Principle and construction

of a DCmagnets
servomotor
windings
i

Permanent
P
Per
r
rm
magnet Armature
field
windings

Permanent
P
Per
r
rm
magnet
field

Brushes
Commutator

l
Magnetic
ic field vector

Permanent
magnets

Brushes
La
Ra
Commutator

T = KTl

TL

TU

4
3

TL

-12

Brushless motor

-8

-6

-4

1
0

-2

Demagnetizing
D
emagneti
ti ing
i fforce H (Kilo
(Kil
(Kilo-Oersteds)
Oersteds)
O
t d )

Control electronics

-10

Sinusoidal EMF
and
square wave curre

SL

Flux d
Fl
dens

RL

5
ne Bo
od nd
ym ed
iu
m

TU

Sinusoidal EMF
and
sinusoidal current

SU SL

SU

Fe
rr
ite

RU RL

RU

Heat must travel

farther.

rr
ite

ne Bo
od nd
ym ed
iu
m

Sinusoidal and trapezoidal

brushless servos

Sinusoidal EMF
and
square wave current

Flux d
Fl
density
it B (Kilo-Gauss)
(Kil G
)

Trapezoidal EMF
and
square wave current

Torque

Neodymium iron boron magnet materials

less-than-optimal
Commutationhave
signals
Figure 5: Torque-speed curves
thermal properties and this must be taken into account in the motor
Amplifier current limit
design. Two forms of Neodymium iron boron magnets are shown in
T
Figure 4. The highest performance is achieved with the fully
dense
A
Amplifier
voltage limit
voltage
sintered material. The bonded neodymium can be formed into more
Brushless servo
DC servo
complex shapes simplifying manufacturing processes and lowering
costs at the expense
performance. The rare-earth permanent magDC of
motor
Commutation
C
nets are used for high-performance brushless servomotors that have
limit
the lowest rotor inertias and the smallest overall motor size/weight for
Speed
S
Spe
peed
a given torque rating.
From an application perspective, the torque-speed
Figure 4: B-H curves for permanent-magnet materials
Figure 6: Brushless
drive
andconstruction
terminologyof a DC servomoto
Figure
2:technology
Principle and
curves of a typical DC servo system versus a typical
i
Permanent
Square-wave curren
current
brushless servo system are shown in Figure 13
5. Note
Armature
magnets
windings
12
R
Brushless DC
the ability of the brushless servo system to operate at
11
servo
Permanent
P
Per
r
rm
magnet
higher speeds with higher peak torques
compared
to
S
Trapezoidal EMF field
ed m
10
Electrically
Motor
er iu
t
n m
Si dy These advantages
commutated
the conventional DC servo system.
9
o
Commutation
motor (ECM)
ne
encoder
T
Brushes
of electronic commutation versus mechanical commuta8
Commutator
Brushless
Six-step
7
tachometer
tion result in superior performance and
reduced mainservo
5
l
Co
6
Square-wave curre
current
Sm
La
tenance.
T = KTl
Trapezoidal
Ra
R
+

Sinusoidal EMF
and
sinusoidal current

Fe

The basic structure of the DC servomotor and

drive
1
amplifier is relatively standard throughout the0 world.
-8
-6
-4
-2
-12
-10
However, the same cannot
be
said about
brushless
servoDemagnetizing
D
emagneti
ti ing
i fforce H (Kilo
(Kil
(Kilo-Oersteds)
Oersteds)
O
t d )
motors and drive amplifiers. Some of the common brushless technologies and terminology are shown in Figure 6.
Figure 5: Torque-speed curves

90

Motor

Commutation
Armature
encoder
current vector

Figure
Motor

Sinusoidal EMF
or
7: Waveforms
induction motor

Brushless
servo

for

Sinusoidal
two
EMF styles
brushless
servo

RU

l
As stated previously, designing
and manufacturing
a Tbrushless
La
= KTl
Ra
+
Magnetic
ic
field vector
+ brushless
servomotor with trapezoidal EMF
is90not practical,
so
most
l
V
Eg = KEn
servomotors actually have a sinusoidalTorque
back EMF.
Because of
the simplicity and low cost of the square-wave current control, it is common
Armature
current vector

TL

Phase-to-phase
back EMF

+
0
-

+
0
-

+
0
-

1
0
1
0
1
0

1
0
1
0
1
0

1
0
1
0
1
0

1: Transistor ON 2: Transistor OFF

VBUS
TU

1
0
1
0
1
0

VT-S VR-S VR-T ...

Your Genius. Our Drive.

SU

TU

L
L
ElectroCraft uses various
neodymium iron boron
magnets (rare TRAPEZOIDAL
earth mag- EMF
+
nets) in
the
ElectroCraft
RP,
VR-S 0
RPP, and EXC
families of
+
VR-T 0servomotors. The
brushless
newer RP+and RPP Series
VS-T 0
motor families
were de0 60 120 180
0 60
signed to exhibit
superior300 (360)
Rotor position (Electrical degrees)
velocityRUand torque perforU
mance, Swhile
maintaining a
TU
small footprint
and comRL
L
petitive STprices.
L

Figure 7: Waveforms for two EMF styles and square wave brushless servo drives

RU

SU

Conceptual schematics

Inverter control
sequence

Torque

Brushes
Commutator

Sinusoidal EMF and square wave current

and square
VBUS

Encoder or
resolver

Amplifier current limit

A
Amplifier
This type of brushless servo technologyvoltage
volwas
tage limitdevelBrushless
servo
oped first because of its analogy to traditional DC motors. The theory
DC servo
of operation is illustrated in Figure 7. As the rotor turns, the current
is electronically commutatedCommutation
C from one pair of windings to another. In
limit
this way, only the flattop portions
of the back EMF are active, and a
Speed
S
Spe
peed
composite DC voltage is created proportional
to motor speed. The
current amplitude, which is proportional to developed torque, is usually controlled by pulse Figure
width2:modulating
the activeof transistors.
Principle and construction
a DC servomotor
In practice, achieving the trapezoidal
back EMF waveform
i
Permanent imposes
Armature
magnets
windings
difficult motor design constraints. For this reason
and because
of the
evolution of brushless servo technology
Permanent
P
Per
r (which
rm
magnet we will describe in folfield
lowing sections) this type of brushless servo drive is rarely used today.

Eg = KEn

AC servo

R
S

Brushless
tachometer
Sinusoidal
oidal current

Torque

Sinusoidal EMF

Overall
back EMF

Trapezoidal EMF and

square wave current

brushless
servo l

Magnetic
ic field vector

Commutator
l

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems
+

Magnetic
ic field vector

90

Torque

La

Ra

T = KTl

Eg = KEn

Armature
current vector

to have square-wave current servo

amplifiers operating sinusoidal back
EMF brushless motors. This is comVBUS
monly referred to as a Brushless DC
TU
R
servo system. The theory of operation is shown in Figure 7.
S
T
Notice that with ideal back EMF
TL
and current waveforms, the motor
torque constant Kt has a peak-toSINUSOIDAL EMF
peak divided by peak ripple value
+
0
equal to 13.4%. The average Kt
+
value is about 10% higher than the
0
Kt for sinusoidal currents. In closed+
0
loop velocity servos the Kt ripple is
not necessarily a problem since a
0 60
0 12
120 180
80
300
30
00 0 60
0
(360)
high velocity loop gain produces a
Rotor position (Electrical degrees)
very uniform rotation. However, the
torque constant ripple does increase
motor heating, because current is
modulated by the ripple function to
1: Transistor ON 2: Transistor OFF
produce the uniform velocity. In fact,
13% of peak
the continuous torque rating is decreased by about 5% as compared to
0 60 120 180
300 0 60
sinusoidal current excitation.
(360)
Electrical degrees
Another subject that has not been
discussed yet is motor winding inductance. The coils of wire that make up the motor windings have
resistance and inductance. From Faradays law, current in an inductor
cannot be changed instantaneously. In practice, the square wave currents suffer from the inductance effectas shown in Figure 8. This
torque loss progressively worsens as speed or frequency is increased.
Phase advancing the commutation angle can improve this situation at
the expense of additional complexity.
In summary, excitation of a sinusoidal EMF brushless motor with
a square wave current drive is practical and can result in acceptable
performance for many applications.
This very basic control principle is relatively simple to accomplish
in a servo drive. This approach is still common and results in a lower
cost solution, which requires less hardware and, in many cases, is simpler to install than more sophisticated brushless servo technology.
The ElectroCraft CompletePowerTM series of brushless servo drives
and speed controls utilize this control methodology. The CompletePower Series of drives can be a cost effective and simple solution to
many motion control applications.

Figure 7: Waveforms for two EMF styles and square wave brushless servo drives

SU

RU
Conceptual schematics

SL

RL

Phase-to-phase
back EMF

TRAPEZOIDAL EMF
VR-S

+
0
-

VR-T

+
0
-

VS-T

+
0
-

60 120 180

300

(360)

60

Inverter control
sequence

Rotor position (Electrical degrees)

RU
SU
TU
RL
SL
TL

1
0
1
0
1
0

1
0
1
0
1
0

1
0
1
0
1
0

1
0
1
0
1
0

Overall
back EMF

1: Transistor ON 2: Transistor OFF

VT-S VR-S VR-T ...

Typical high-speed
current waveform

Typical low-speed
current waveform

Figure 8: Inductance effect

with square wave current
IR
IS
IT

IR

60 120 180

Electrical degrees

300

(360)

60

Sinusoidal EMF and sinusoidal current

The sinusoidal brushless servo drive inherently results in the best
rotational uniformity at any speed or torque. Compared to the pre-

240

120

240

120

vious technologies, the primary difference for the sinuFigure 9: Sinusoidal three-phase principle of operation
soidal servo drive is a more complex control algorithm,
while the motor, feedback, and power electronics remain
FT
FT
Ftotal
the same. In recent years, the advancement of high-per = 60
= 90
formance microcontrollers and Digital Signal Processors
Ftotal
FR
FR
(DSPs) that now can handle complex calculations has increased the capability of the sinusoidal brushless servo
FS
system. The control hardwares capability combined with
FT
FS
FR
the decreasing cost of these components has driven furFT
FS
FR
ther development of this control methodology above
others previously described.

The sinusoidal back EMF motor excited with three

0
0
phase sinusoidal currents (in the proper relationship to
= 60
= 90
the back EMF at every rotor position) produces a constant
Current vector
The magnetic field vector and
torque. An explanation of this phenomenon at a steadycurrent vector are of constant amplitude
and rotate at a constant speed
state speed and torque is illustrated in Figure 9.
in a steady-state condition.
Magnetic field vector
The three-phase sinusoidal quantities which are displaced spatially by 120 represent the magnetic field
and current. The three-phase quantities produce a resultant vector
with constant amplitude that rotates at the sinusoidal frequency. The
rotor position sensor tracks the back EMF position and allows the current vector command to be generated perpendicular to the magnetic
field vector at any instant. A pulse width modulated (PWM) current
amplifier is necessary to ensure the ability to control the current amplitude, frequency, and phase with sufficient dynamic performance.
At this point, the fixed magnitude magnetic field vector, which is perpendicular to the adjustable magnitude current vector, is analogous
to the operation of a DC motor.
There are many brushless servo drives and brushless positioning
drives that are designed to produce sinusoidal currents with incremental encoder feedback. This type of servo system combines the
optimum motor design with a sinusoidal current PWM drive to produce the best low-speed and high-speed performance. The ElectroCraft CompletePowerTM Plus digital servo drive takes this control
capability one step further. True sinusoidal current control can be accomplished in these drives without the need for high-resolution incremental encoder feedback. Only the lower resolution commutation
feedback is required. In some applications, this reduces the need and
cost of the additional encoder.
Other benefits resulting from the microprocessor-based drive design
include the capability of operating induction motors using field oriented
control and of sharing the motor mounted encoder with the position
controller. This maximizes flexibility and performance and minimizes cost.

Sinusoidal control for permanent magnet

brushless motors and induction motors
The mechanical commutator of the DC servomotor ensures that
the armature current vector is kept perpendicular to the permanent

Your Genius. Our Drive.

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

Figure 10: Field-oriented control for induction motors

and permanent-magnet brushless motors
Stator coodinates () (R,S,T)

DC motor
type command signals

Field coodinates (X-Y)

Field command
(induction motor only)

IR* sin
Coordinate
transformation

Torque
command

Sensor

IS* sin ( 120)

Motor

IS* sin ( 240)

Slip
constant

Three-phase
current regulator

sin/cos
generator

Slip angle
(induction motor only)

M
PA

Rotor electrical position

Optical phase advance angle

Figure 11: Resolver feedback for brushless motors

Rotor excitation

Resolver schematic

High-frequency
rotor excitation

High-frequency
modulated sine

High-frequency
modulated cosine

magnet field at all speeds and torques. This provides for control of torque by simply adjusting the
armature current level and makes using the DC
servomotor very straightforward. Using input commands analogous to those for a DC servomotor, a
universal control computes the torque producing
sinusoidal currents for permanent-magnet brushless motors. (Otherwise, for induction motors, it
computes the torque and field-producing sinusoidal
currents.) This universal control strategy, known as
field-oriented or vector control, is shown in Figure
10. Field-oriented control ensures that the torqueproducing current vector is perpendicular to the
field vector at any torque or speed. Some form of
this control is used with all sinusoidal back EMF and
sinusoidal current brushless servo drives. From the
servo users perspective, the torque, velocity, and
position control is then analogous to the traditional
DC servomotor.
Also shown in Figure 10 is an optional phase
advance angle. The phase advance angle can be
used to optimize the amplifier/motor performance
characteristics. The most common use of the phase
advance angle is to compensate for the inductance
effect that causes a torque reduction as speed (frequency) increases. A less common use of the phase
advance angle is to allow permanent magnet brushless motors to operate to a higher speed than would
normally be possible without the phase advance
angle. If the phase advance angle is used, the magnitude of the angle as a function of torque and/or
speed is normally determined by the servo drive
manufacturer and is not user adjustable.

Incremental encoders and resolvers

The most commonly used motor-mounted position feedback
devices for sinusoidal brushless servos are either incremental optical encoders or brushless resolvers. The primary advantages of the
resolver are that the position information is absolute and it is robust
because it is similar in construction to the motor. However, other
factors favor the encoder over the resolver, including lower overall
cost, digital feedback, higher resolution and accuracy, and easy line
count flexibility (binary or decimal). The advancement of magnetic
and capacitance-based incremental encoder technology further enhances the position of encoder based feedback design. However, the
use of both encoder and resolver feedback will likely continue into
the foreseeable future as both solutions service the need of specific
applications and operating environments.

Gain (dB)

Phase angle (Degrees)

The resolver used in brushless servo drives is ilFigure 12: Incremental encoder feedback for brushless motors
lustrated in Figure 11. The high-frequency excitation
signal is transferred to the rotor via a circular transformer. The raw resolver feedback is a high-frequenA+
Acy AC signal modulated by the sine and cosine of
B+
Bthe rotor angle. The raw resolver feedback is not very
I+
Once per revolution:
useful, so some form of external circuitry is required
Marker of index pulse
IEncoder
to create usable information. In brushless servo drive
applications the resolver feedback is usually proOptical encoder construction
cessed by commercial resolver-to-digital-converters
Light sensor
Electronics
Shaft
that add significant cost. The output of the resolver
Coded disk
to digital converter is an absolute digital position
Coded disk
Gap
word and analog velocity.
The incremental encoder used in brushless servo
Lens
drives is illustrated in Figure 12. The raw encoder
Mounting surface
feedback, already in digital format, is typically proLED
cessed with low-cost commercial circuitry to produce
a digital position word. The posiFigure 13: Closed-loop control for high-performance motion
tion information interfaces directly
to the microcontroller of digital
MOTOR
drives. If the velocity loop is analog,
and
SENSOR
SERVO
DRIVE
POSITION CONTROLLER
then an additional circuit processes
the encoder feedback to produce
Velocity controller
Current controller Power amplifier
Position controller
Motor
an analog tachometer signal. Notice that encoder feedback signals
Position
are differential, for high noise imcommand
Position feedback
Current feedback
Speed feedback
munity, and for locating the encodSensor
er at long distances from the drive.
d
dt
Permanent-magnet servomotors also use a low-resolution
absolute signal in addition to the
incremental encoder. This is used
Closed-loop frequency response
to locate the magnetic field vec20
tor at startup. The low-resolution
-45 phase shift
-3 dB bandwidth
bandwidth
10
absolute signal is often built into
0
0
the incremental encoder (usuLog frequency (Hz)
-20
-40
-10
ally called commutation signals)
-60
Gain
-80
-20
or is generally provided from a
-100
Phase angle
-120
-30
separate Hall-effect, or commu-140
-160
-40
tation, encoder. In some cases,
-180
these commutation signals are
incorporated into the incremental
encoder and are provided by a
single device, thus eliminating the separate commutation feedback
device, reducing the cost and complexity of the servomotor design.
Induction motors do not require an additional low-resolution absolute encoder because they do not use permanent magnets to establish the magnetic field vector.

Your Genius. Our Drive.

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

Closed-loop control for high performance motion control, the most common structure for highperformance motion controllers, is illustrated in
PHASE R CURRENT CONTROLLER
Figure 13. This cascade control structure has an
-I
R
innermost current loop, a velocity loop around
the current loop, and a position loop around the
Motor
velocity loop. The sequence of current (torque),
PHASE S CURRENT CONTROLLER
-I
S
velocity, and position is natural as it matches the
structure of the process to be controlled.
PHASE T CURRENT CONTROLLER
On/Off
Voltage
Current error
This multi-loop control structure functions
command
command
properly only if the bandwidths of the loops have
-I
the proper relationship.
T
VTriangle
Current feedback
Bandwidth is the measure of how well the
controlled quantity tracks and responds to the
command signal. Figure 13 shows a closed-loop
frequency response and definitions for the two most common bandwidths -3 dB bandwidth and -45 phase-shift bandwidth. The current loop must have the highest bandwidth, then the velocity loop;
finally, the position loop has the lowest bandwidth. Therefore, tuning
control-loop regulators is accomplished by starting with the innermost loop and working outward.

Figure 14: Three-phase current loop for a PWM power amplifier

I*R

I*S

I*T

Current regulation
The current control for three-phase brushless servomotors is usually performed with a PWM power amplifier and closed-loop control
of the current in each phase. A block diagram of the current loop and
power amplifier is shown in Figure 14.
The power devices must be able to withstand high voltages, switch
high currents, and exhibit low conduction and switching losses. Traditionally, the bipolar transistor and power field effect transistors (FETs)
have been the most common output devices for high performance
servo systems. However, these switches are being replaced with insolated-gate, bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and intelligent power modules
as these devices have lower losses and can operate at higher power
levels. These devices combine the rugged output of a bipolar transistor with the gate drive and fast turn-off times of a power FET. The
PWM frequency of modern servo drives is typically between 5 and 20
kHz. The high PWM frequency allows for a high current loop gain and
keeps the current ripple frequency and audible noise to a low level.
The current feedback sensor is critical and must provide an exact
representation of the actual current. The current feedback signal is
compared to the current command to generate a current error signal. The current regulator processes current error to create a motor
voltage command. The voltage command signal is compared to a
triangle wave to create the PWM signal that commands the power
devices to turn on and off at the proper time. There is additional
circuitry that provides lockout to ensure that the upper and lower
devices are never on at the same time, even during turn-off and

10

turn-on transitions. Too much lockout

Figure 15: Velocity loop block diagram
time results in excessive deadband in the
Load torque
disturbance
PROPORTIONAL PLUS
current loop while too little lockout time
INTEGRAL CONTROLLER
TL
Current
Inertial
results in short-circuit or shoot-through
controller
load

*
T
I*
I
current flowing through upper and lower
m
1 m
1
KT
PGAIN
JS
TS + 1
Velocity
devices. The PWM technique results in
command
IGAIN
the most efficient conversion of DC to
S
variable AC power.
Motor velocity
Because the current controller tuning
is very important for proper drive performance, most drive manufacturers do not
allow users to perform this adjustment. In the past, to eliminate the
need for current controller adjustments by the drive user, specific
amplifier model numbers were matched with specific motor model
numbers, or plug-in personality modules matched an amplifier with
a motor. The next generation of ElectroCraft CompletePowerTM Plus
brushless servo motors and drives will self-detect the motor and drive
combination and automatically determine the correct current control
gain settings eliminating the possibility of incorrect setting. The end
result of a properly tuned current controller is an actual current that
follows the commanded current with -3-dB bandwidths commonly in
excess of 1 kHz. To the outer velocity loop, a properly tuned current
controller can be approximated by a fixed gain and first order lag
such that the low frequency characteristics (up to frequencies of concern to the velocity loop) approximate the low frequency characteristics of the more complicated actual transfer function.
One limitation of the current loops is gain, phase, and offset errors
that occur due to imperfect sensors and other circuitry. These errors
are one source of torque ripple so it is important to keep these errors
to an absolute minimum. Another limitation of the properly designed
current controller is insufficient voltage to generate the necessary current. This situation occurs for large value current commands at higher
motor speeds when the back EMF of the motor begins to approach
the motor supply voltage. In applications requiring high torque at
high speeds, careful observation of the motor/drive system peak
torque envelope is required.

1
S

Velocity regulation and tuning guidelines

The most common velocity controller structure is the proportional
plus integral (PI) regulator. A block diagram of a simple velocity loop
appears in Figure 15. The choice of the P gain and I gain for the
desired response are based upon the application requirements. Proportional gain is always used with higher bandwidths resulting from
higher P gain values. The integral gain provides stiffness to load
torque disturbances and reduces the steady-state velocity error to a
zero value. However, integral gain does add phase shift to the velocity controller closed-loop frequency response and can lengthen settling time. Therefore, a low or zero-value integral gain is sometimes

Your Genius. Our Drive.

11

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

used with very high bandwidth position

controllers in point-to-point positioning
TACH RESPONSE
TACH RESPONSE
applications, while a significant integral
TO VELOCITY COMMAND
TO TORQUE DISTURBANCE
gain value is used with contouring applicaWell tuned
Well tuned
Poorly tuned
tions to provide high stiffness.
Poorly tuned
In practice, the velocity controller tuning
is rarely determined solely by calculation.
Often tuning is done manually through trialand-error, with the motor connected to the
actual load. This tuning is simplified though
Figure 17: Position controller block diagram
the use of sophisticated set-up software
and a PC connected to the servo drive.
VELOCITY
ACTUAL POSITION
The ElectroCraft CompletePowerTM Set-Up
POSITION COMMAND
CONTROLLER

*
1
1
Software Utility provides the user a manual
K
TS + 1
S
tuning mode that allows a small step velocity command to be applied to the drive
while the motor is attached to the actual
load. Within the software utility, real-time adjustment of the velocity
loop gains can then be made while observing oscilloscope waveforms
on the PC to optimize the velocity loop tuning for the application. A
typical example of velocity responses to the step changes in velocity command and load torque for a poorly tuned velocity loop and a
well-tuned velocity loop are shown in Figure 16. Tuning should be performed with small signal responseswhich means that the current
stays away from the current limit at all times.

Velocity

Figure 16: Velocity responses to poorly tuned and well-tuned velocity loops

Position regulator
and tuning guidelines
Position control applications typically fall into two basic categories: contouring and point-to-point. Contouring applications require
that the actual position follow the commanded position in a very
predictable manner with high stiffness to reject external torque
disturbances. Notice that predictability is required, but this does not
necessarily mean that position error must be zero at all times.
The other type of position controlpoint-to-point positioning
is typically defined by move time, settling time, and velocity profile,
not paths.
Independent of the positioning application, the form of a simple
position controller is shown in Figure 17. The velocity controller has
been approximated by a unity gain and a first-order lag with a time
constant equal to the velocity loop -45 phase shift bandwidth.
A position controller with only proportional gain K is very common (particularly for contouring applications), and the position loop
response can be easily calculated for a certain crossover frequency or
gain. The open-loop frequency response for the proportional position
controller is shown in Figure 18. The crossover frequency is related to
the common method of expressing gain:
2.65 Hz = 16.66 rad/sec = 1 inch/min./mil = velocity/position error

12

Position error (rads)

Decibels

Where 1 inch/min./mil also equals 1

Figure 18: Position controller response and Kp gain
meter/min./mm. In most position controlPOSITION CONTROLLER OPEN-LOOP
lers, the Kp gain is related to position loop
FREQUENCY
Q
C RESPONSE
O
gain as shown in Figure 18. A general pom/min. in./min.
rad
sition loop regulator is more complicated
1
=1
= 16.66
2.65 Hz
mm
mil
sec
Crossover = K
Crossove
than the simple proportional gain-only
Rad/sec
type. The general position loop regulator is Proportional-Integral-Derivative with
Velocity loop scaling
motor rpm per command volts
feed-forward (velocity and acceleration)
Position loop gain
and is illustrated in Figure 19. Following is
Kp
rpm Volts
m/min. in./min.
n.// min .
a brief explanation of the purpose for the
=
= C
Counts
bit 60 16.66

mm
mil
Volt
five adjustment terms.
Typically four times the
The proportional gain Kp is the most
Full-scale velocity
number of encoder lines
command divided by 2n
per revolution
important term and generates a velocity
where n = DAC resolution
command proportional to position error.
In other words, if just Kp gain is present,
motion is only possible if a position error
Figure 19: General structure of position loop
exists. In fact, higher velocities result in
Fgain S
S
proportionally higher position following
K
ff
error. Only increasing Kp gain can reduce
KI
Position
the position following error. However, beS
Actual position
command
Velocity loop
cause the velocity loop has a given -45

*
1
KP
S
phase-shift bandwidth, Kp gains that push
position-loop bandwidth above about 1/3
Kd S
of this velocity loop -45 phase-shift bandDerivative gain = Kd
width cause actual position to overshoot
the commanded position which is usually undesirable.
Figure 20: Effect of velocity feedforward
on position error profile
The feed-forward gain Kff generates a velocity com2.0
mand signal proportional to the derivative of the position
1.8
command. Therefore, if there is no change in the posi1.6
No velocity feedforward
1.4
tion command, then the feed-forward command is always
1.2
1.0
zero. Ideally, 100% feed-forward provides the exact veloc0.8
75% velocity feedforward
0.6
ity command without the need for any position error. In
0.4
practice, actual systems including loads are not ideal, so
0.2
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35 0.4
a more conservative setting of feed-forward gain is often
Time (sec)
taken (100% or less) because too much feed-forward gain
causes actual position to overshoot the commanded position. Because the feed-forward command is generated open loop, there is no
effect on the position loop stability. The function of the feed-forward
command is to significantly reduce the constant velocity following
error even though the Kp gain is maintained at a proper level for stability. Figure 20 shows an example of the feed-forward velocity command effect on position following error when making a trapezoidal
velocity profile move.
The derivative gain Kd as shown in Figure 19 creates a command
signal that is proportional to the derivative of actual position feedback.
The derivative term is used in two different situations. One situation

Your Genius. Our Drive.

13

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

occurs when the normal velocity servo is

replaced by a torque (current) servo, which
requires that the derivative term be used to
VR
VBUS
Dissipative
provide the necessary damping in the form
V
S
shunt
Motor
regulator
of a velocity feedback signal. The other sitVT
uation occurs with a normal velocity servo
PWM inverter
to reduce overshooting of the position if
a higher-than-normal Kp gain is necessary.
The next gain term is the acceleration feed-forward gain, Fgain,
which scales the second derivative of position command. This term
allows position following error to be reduced when the velocity is
changing. The acceleration feed-forward term is useful in combination with the velocity feed-forward term when trying to maintain a low
following error at all times which can be useful in tracking applications, or if a fast settling time is required.
The last term is the integral gain, Ki, which can provide a velocity
command signal to reduce static position errors to zero. Integral gain
provides stiffness against torque disturbances and friction torques
and is usually handled in the velocity controller. Therefore, integral
gain in the position controller is normally avoided except for special
situations. Because integral gain causes overshooting, some position
controllers with integral gain allow the integrator to only be active
during certain conditions such as when the position command is
not changing, and when the actual position is very close to the commanded position.

From AC supply
50/60 Hz

Figure 21: Components of a basic servo system

Optional
transformer
Mandatory
NEC branch
circuit
protection

VL1 Rectifier
VL2
VL3

+
-

Application guidelines for sinusoidal brushless

servomotors and drive amplifiers
The trapezoidal or square wave current brushless servo is characterized the same as a brush-type servo drive and is generally well
understood. The principles of sizing the sinusoidal brushless servo
drive are similar, but there are some differences which merit review.
Therefore, this section provides the guidelines for applying and sizing
a servo drive using the sinusoidal brushless servo drive as an example. The basic structure of the servo system to be sized is illustrated
in Figure 21.
Many laborious calculations are made in the typical sizing process.
Calculations include reflected load inertias, RMS and peak torques,
average and peak currents, RMS maximum speeds, and so on.

Mechanical transmissions, gearing,

and torsional resonances
The most commonly encountered mechanical transmissions can
be analyzed for many applications and are shown in Figure 22. The
choice of mechanical transmission is determined by application requirements. Useful equations in Figure 22 characterize the various
transmission types.
Another important decision is the choice of rotary gearing (if any)

14

Figure 22: Classification of common mechanical transmissions

GEARBOX OR BELT DRIVE TRANSMISSION

Motor velocity
Load velocity
m = N L and m = N L

Gear ratio = N =
Motor

m, m, Jm, Tm

Load

1
TL = Load torque reflected to motor
N
One revolution = 2 radians

= Angular distance (rad)

= Angular velocity (rad/sec)

J = Moment of inertia (lb - in.- sec 2 )

T = Torque

Reducing inertial mismatch

between motor and load.

LEAD SCREW TRANSMISSION

Inertial mismatch should be
Reflected load inertia = J L

minimized for high-perfor 1 2 W 1 2

Load m
= m
=

2P
g 2P
mance applications, and is 1:1
Velocity = v (in./min.)
Force
F
Load torque = TL =
Distance = x (in.)
for best results. Gearing re2P
Revolutions
2Pv
duces the reflected inertia by
Pitch = P =
L = 2Px and L =
Motor
Leadscrew length
60

,
J
,
T
the square of the reduction ram
m m m
RPM = n = Pv
tio. For example, a 10:1 gear
W = Weight
Gravity constant = g = 386 in./sec 2
ratio reduces reflected load

inertia by 10 squared or 100.

BELT-AND-PULLEY, CONVEYOR, TANGENTIAL, OR RACK-AND-PINION TRANSMISSION
Motor
However, do not fail to include

m, m, Jm, Tm
x
v
the extra inertia of couplings,
Force
L = and L =
Load m
Drive radius r
Load
r
60r
pulleys, or gears, as these can
v
rpm = n =
be significant and offset the
2r
inertia reduction. The addiJ L = Reflected load inertia = mr 2
Acceleration torque = T = J
W
v 2
tion of couplings or thin drive , Motor
= r 2 = m(
)
rad
m
m, Jm, Tm
Where =
g
2n
shafts will increase the complisec 2
Drive radius r
TL = Load torque = Fr
1 hp = 746 Watts
ance of the system as the moPower (Watts) = T (Nm) (rad/sec)
tor winds up the transmission
T (lb - in.) n (rpm)
Power (hp) =
63,024

like a spring, this will result in

resonances as the load moves
and the spring is unwound. Also note that adding a gearbox will add
backlash to the system, effectively removing the load from the motor within the backlash angle. This can lead to motor high frequency
instability at standstill, causing excess motor heating and failure to
accurately track contoured moves.

Illustrations courtesy Motion System Design magazine

between the motor shaft and

the mechanical transmission/
load to be moved. There are
many reasons for considering
gear reduction in a motion
control application such as:

High torque and low-speed applications. Most conventional brushless servomotors can operate at high speeds, such as 3,000 to 6,000
rpm. The torque increase due to the gear reduction (motor torque is
multiplied by the gear ratio) is used to keep the motor physical size as
small as possible. This is because the continuous torque rating (and not
horsepower) determines the motor size and cost. Horsepower is equal
to torque x speed. Therefore, for minimum motor size and inertia, motor speed should be as high as possible.
Limited space. If there are space constraints, the use of gearing
can allow a smaller overall package or it can allow the motor to be
repositioned in a different location or orientation.
Many different factors need to be taken into account when select-

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15

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

Figure 23: Classification of common mechanical transmissions

Gearing
orientaation

Technology

Physical parameters

Performance

Typical applications

Ratio range

Compactness

Backlash

Stiffness

Torque
range

Smoothness

Efficiency

Maximum
input rpm

Inertia

Price

Timing belt

<3:1

98% per
pass

Unlimited

Inexpensive and allows flexible motor orientations. Low ratios only.

Spur/
helical

Full range

96 to 98%
per pass

Unlimited

Most common general-purpose

reducer. High backlash can cause
problems in some applications.

Planetary

Full range

90 to 95%
per pass

4,000

Best overall choice for higherperformance applications.

Parallel

Inline

Harmonic

High ratios

75 to 85%

3,000

Usually good for higher ratios.

Cycloidal

High ratios

70 to 80%

3,000

Common with larger torques and

higher speeds.

Bevel

Low

96 to 98%
per pass

Unlimited

Right angle equivalent of spur gear.

Worm

High

50 to 70%

3,000

Common choice for right-angle applications that require low backlash.

Right angle

ing gearing technology. The first step for a high-performance servo

application is to determine which gearing technology best fits the
applicationby answering the following questions:1. What are the
physical limitations for the application? For example, into what envelope must the motor/gearing fit, and must the motor be positioned
at a right angle to the load? The three basic orientations are parallel,
in-line, and right angle gearing.
2. What reduction ratio is required? After deciding on the basic
classification, the next factor to consider is the reduction ratioillustrated in Figure 23 for the most common gearing technologies.
For example, timing belts are generally not used for ratios above 3:1,
while harmonic type gearing is usually not available with ratios below
about 40:1.
At this point in the selection process, the performance parameters of the gearing technologies are examined to further narrow the
choice. Figure 23 includes the most important performance parameters and their relative ranking. These are only approximate rankings
and variations do exist.
For high-performance servo applications, three of the performance parameters are of particular importance and need additional
explanation: accuracy, torque-carrying capability, and reliability.
Accuracy is often equated to backlash but there is more that must
be considered. Backlash is the space between mating parts or
gears and it is usually specified in degrees or arc minutes. Normally, gears need backlash to run reliably because space is needed to
accommodate lubrication, manufacturing errors, and eccentricities

16

in the gears and other components.

Figure 24: Mechanical model of motor and load with compliant connection
The tradeoff is to keep the backlash as
and open-loop frequency response
low as possible without sacrificing efficiency or other performance features.
Excessive backlash can cause positioning error and instability so low-backlash gearing is generally preferred with
MOTOR
LOAD
brushless servo drives.
Other components of accuracy include stiffness (compliance), transmission
error, and output smoothness. Stiffness is the amount of deflection
measured when a load is applied to the reducer. Insufficient stiffness
will result in positioning errors or torsional resonance problems. Transmission error is a measure of how accurately the motor input shaft position is translated through the reducer. Gear ratios are seldom exact
and positional inaccuracies are also caused by gear imperfections. The
torque and speed output must also be smooth and free from ripple if
the input speed and torque is smooth and ripple-free. Eccentric-type
reducers (such as harmonic or cycloidal gears) typically have output
ripple under some operating conditions; timing belts and spur, bevel,
planetary, or worm gearing are less susceptible to this characteristic.
The torque-carrying capability varies among the different types of
reducers and is usually related to the frame size within any one type
of technology. The objective is to ensure that the chosen reduction
method has ample torque-carrying capability for the application.
Some applications are light-duty and do not place heavy torque demands on the reducer. The torque-carrying capability of the reducer
should have a 25 to 50% safety margin to ensure a long life.
Finally, reliability is primarily a function of the reducer component
quality, efficiency, and the life expectancy for the reducer type. For
example, timing belts usually wear out faster than spur gears. Worm
gears, due to their sliding gear action, also usually wear out faster
than spur gears. Preloaded contact members, as found in harmonic
and cycloidal gearing, wear out faster than the other forms of gearing. Timing belt gearing should only be of the HTD type to ensure
high stiffness while V belts, non-HTD type timing belts, and chains
should be avoided with high performance servo drives.
High performance servo drives typically are applied with highvelocity loop bandwidths. In practice, a torsional resonance exists
due to mechanical compliance between the load inertia and the motor inertia. A model of this mechanical system and the open-loop frequency response is shown in Figure 24. The compliance is modeled
as a torsional spring with its inertia and damping neglected. Best
results are obtained if the torsional resonant frequency is kept as
high as practical. Torsional stiffness K of a solid round shaft is proportional to the fourth power of the diameter and inversely proportional

Your Genius. Our Drive.

17

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

Figure 25: Example of velocity and torque profile

for incremental motion application
Velocity profile

RMS velocity
Time

Torque profile

RMS torque

Generating

Motoring

Time
Motor shaft power profile
Peak motoring power

Average
motoring power

Average
generating power

Time

Peak
generating power

to the length. Therefore, torsional stiffness is dramatically

improved by selecting a motor and other mechanical transmission element with the largest shaft diameter.
A common torsional problem is improper coupling of
the motor to the load. A key-type coupling should be avoided if possible; a compression-type coupling that is clamped
as close as possible to the motor flange is best. Axial shaft
loading due to impact shocks as a result of hammering the
coupling on the shaft is absolutely not allowed, as this can
damage the motor bearings or break the encoder disc.
Finally, if some torsional resonance is unavoidable and is
affecting the servo system performance, many suppliers can
provide electronic damping schemes in the servo drives that
help minimize the torsional resonance effect.

Motion profile considerations

With the load defined, the worst-case velocity-time or
velocity-distance
profile (as in Figure 25) is analyzed to deFigure 26: Torque-speed curve of brushless system
termine the following significant information:
RMS and peak torque requirement of the motor
RMS and maximum speed requirement of the motor
Average and peak current requirement of the amplifier
Average and peak motoring power
Average and peak generating power
Arbitrary motion profiles can be defined and, along
with the mechanical system information, are used to calculate the significant sizing information. Different mechanical
parameters (such as gearing), motion profiles, and motor
choices can be quickly and easily analyzed for the optimum
selection of a motor/amplifier combination.
Sinusoidal brushless motor specifications
ElectroCraft specifies the important motor constants for
a three-phase sinusoidal back-EMF motor as:
Ke = line-to-line peak volts/KRPM
Kt = in-lb/peak phase amps
R = line-to-line resistance (Ohms)
L = line-to-line inductance (Henrys)
The peak value of the line-to-line voltage or phase amps is defined as the zero to peak value of the sine wave. For reference, the
RMS value of a sine wave is the peak value divided by the square root
of two. Also, Kt is related to Ke:
Kt = Ke/11.834 for a DC motor
Kt = Ke/13.662 for a sinusoidal current with a sinusoidal-EMF
brushless motor.
The torque-speed curve of a brushless servo system is shown in
Figure 26. The continuous operating region is defined by operating
the motor to the maximum allowable winding temperature at various
speeds and recording the output torque. The continuous torque rat-

18

ing is worst case if the motor is in free air during the

Figure 27: Per-phase model of sinusoidal brushless motor
test. ElectroCraft brushless motors are normally rated
mounted to an aluminum plate of a specified dimension. Notice that the continuous torque output of the
motor decreases as the speed is increased. Eventually the continuous torque is reduced to zero, this occurs when the BEMF voltage and winding inductance
limit the current to a level where the motor generated
torque matches the motors internal drag torque from
bearing friction and windage. The low-speed portion of the peak
Figure 28: Voltage relationships
curve is usually limited by the amplifier peak current rating; availfor sinusoidal brushless motors
able amplifier voltage usually limits the high-speed portion of
the peak torque curve. As the speed increases, a voltage limit is
reached which causes peak torque to roll off at higher speeds.
To better understand the torque-speed characteristics of the
sinusoidal brushless motor, refer to the steady state per phase
model shown in Figure 27. The voltage and current quantities are
sinusoidal and are related as shown in Figure 28.
Notice how the voltage drop across the inductance begins
to dominate as speed (or frequency) increases, which eventually
causes the peak torque to roll off as mentioned before.
By knowing the maximum available line-to-neutral motor terFigure 29: Transformer load regulation curve
minal volts, the peak torque characteristic as a function of speed
can be calculated using the per phase motor model. The maximum line-to-neutral volts can be calculated using the following
relationships. (Refer to Figure 28.)
Vbus [DC volts] = 2 x VL1-L2 [volts RMS line-to-line]
Maximum VRN [peak volts] = Vbus/3
Once completing the work to calculate the motor and amplifier requirements, the torque-speed curves are used to select the
proper ElectroCraft motor/amplifier combination.
The continuous motor torque should be available at the RMS
velocity of the motion profile. Some allowance should be made for motor Kt and Ke tolerance and for voltage drop due to low line conditions
and transformer load regulation.
Figure 25 shows the motoring and generating power for this incremental motion profile. Only the motoring power is supplied from
the AC power line, as ElectroCraft servo drives do not regenerate
power to the AC power line.
Actual AC power requirements are higher than the average motorshaft power due to power losses in the motor, drive, and transformer.
A multiplication safety factor of about two is used to account for the
losses and power factor. Many suppliers provide load regulation curves
for their standard transformers; one such curve is shown in Figure 29.
In servo applications, the peak power requirements for good
transformer voltage regulation usually require selection of a power
transformer that is oversized for continuous power requirements.
Conservatively sized motor/amplifier operates longer without failure

Your Genius. Our Drive.

19

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

Figure 30: Duty cycle characteristics

(motor only)
90
80

110%

Duty (Percent)

70

120%

60

130%

50

140%

40

160%

30

180%
200%

20
10
0

3 6 10

30

ON time (Minutes)

60 100

Motor thermal time constant = 47 min.

and reduces application problems that are caused by under sizing

the motor/amplifier combination.
Up to now, it has been assumed that the motion profile cycle time
is short compared to the motor thermal time constant. The motor
thermal time constant is defined as the time to reach 63.2% of the
rated temperature rise when rated current is supplied to the motor.
The motor thermally averages the power losses and reaches a constant steady state temperature. Some applications apply power and
remove power to the motor with cycle times that are similar to the
motor thermal time constant. In these cases, the motor temperature
will fluctuate up and down as the power is applied and removed. To
properly size these applications, duty cycle curves can be provided
for the motors as shown in Figure 30. For example, the operating
point labeled A in Figure 30 allows the motor to repetitively produce
200% continuous torque for about 6 minutes and no torque for about
24 minutes. The amplifier has a very short thermal time constant compared to the motor so the amplifier must be oversized to handle the
peak motor torque on a continuous basis in these types of overload
applications.

Brushless amplifier dissipative shunt

The final consideration in sizing the amplifier concerns the dissipative shunt regulator shown in Figure 21. Braking the motor returns energy stored in the rotating mechanical mass to the amplifier
power supply. Because the power supply is not able to regenerate
this energy back to the AC input supply, the power supply capacitor
is charged up beyond its normal level. If the excess braking energy is
low, then the capacitor may be able to absorb the excess energy and
simply return it to the motor during the next motoring period. However, if the excess energy is high, then a clamp circuit is used to limit
the bus voltage to a safe level and to dissipate the excess energy as
heat in a power resistor.
The shunt regulator is specified to handle a peak power and a
continuous power. If the peak power is exceeded, then the clamp circuit will be unable to limit the voltage to a safe level and the amplifier
turns off. In practice, if peak shunt power is being exceeded, check to
see if the current limit can be lowered or if the deceleration time can
be lengthened. Applications that frequently stop and start with high
inertia and high speed should be studied closely to see if continuous shunt power is exceeded. Vertical applications with a gravity load
(especially ones without any form of counterbalance) must be very
carefully considered as to continuous shunt power.
ElectroCraft drives have the ability to add external shunt resistors
that extend the continuous and peak shunt power of the system. Figure 25 shows the generating power for an incremental motion profile: Actual dissipated power is less than the regenerated motor shaft
power due to motor losses, amplifier losses, and energy absorbed by
the bus capacitor.

20

Electrical noise considerations

Perhaps no other subject discussed so far in this handbook is
as misunderstood as electrical noise. Nothing strikes fear in the industrial equipment user more than being told by the drive vendor,
You have a noise problem. While the subject is complex and the
theory can (and does) easily fill books, this section provides some
guidelines that can minimize noise problems.
The majority of installations exhibit no noise problems. However,
filtering and shielding guidelines are countermeasures if problems
arise. In contrast, grounding, bonding guidelines combined with
good panel layout are simply good practice and should be followed
in all installations.
There are two characteristics to electrical noise: the generation or emission of electromagneticPLCinterference
(EMI), and the reor
Position
Drive
Motor
Load
host
sponse, or immunity to EMI. The degree
tocontroller
which aamplifier
device emits
no
computer
EMI, and is immune to EMI, is called the devices electromagnetic
Feedback
compatibility.
Figure 31 shows the commonly used EMI model. The model consists of an EMI source, a coupling mechanism, and an EMI victim.
Devices such as servo drives and computers (which contain switching
power supplies and microprocessors) are EMI sources. The mechanisms for the coupling of energy between the source and victim are
conduction and radiation. Victim equipment can be any electromagnetic device that is adversely affected by the EMI coupled to it.
Equipment immunity is primarily determined by its design, but
how one wires and grounds the device is also critical for EMI immunity. Therefore, selecting equipment designed and tested for industrial environments is paramount. Selecting equipment that is certified or designed to meet industrial immunity standards is a good
start. Laying out the electrical panel in Clean and Dirty zones to
segregate motor power wires from sensitive analog inputs etc. will
cost very little in planning time compared to the cost of sending an
engineer to site to find an intermittent EMI event.
Another tip: In industrial environments, use encoders with differential line driver outputs rather than single-ended outputs, and use
digital inputs/outputs with electrical isolation, such as those provided with optocouplers.
Reconsider Figure 31. This EMI model provides only three options to eliminate the emission problem. The EMI source could be
reduced, which in the case of servo drives would require slowing
power semiconductor switching speeds. However, this degrades
drive performance with respect to heat dissipation and speed/
torque regulation.
Another possibility is to harden the victim equipment, which may
not be possible or practical. The final and most realistic solution is
to reduce the coupling mechanism between the source and victim
with filtering, shielding, and grounding.

Figure 31: EMI soure-victim model

Conducted EMI
EMI source

EMI victim

Radiated EMI
EMI victim

Your Genius. Our Drive.

21

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

Filtering

Figure 32: AC line filter installation

As mentioned, high-frequency energy can be coupled

between circuits via radiation or conduction. The AC power
Conducted
Drive
EMI
wiring is one of the most important paths for both types of
AC line
Conducted
Drive
coupling mechanisms. The AC line can conduct noise into the
EMI
Radiated EMI
drive from other devices, or can emit conducted noise directly
Filter
Radiated
into other devices. It can also act as an antenna and transmit
AC line
EMI
Conducted
Filter
Radiated EMI
EMI
or receive noise between the drive and other devices.
One method of improving the EMC characteristics of a
drive is to use an isolation AC power transformer to feed
the amplifier its input power. This minimizes inrush currents
Figure 33: Single-point ground types
on power-up, and provides electrical isolation. In addition,
Circuit
Circuit
Circuit
Circuit
Circuit
Circuit
One
Three
Two
Two
One
Three
it provides common mode filtering, though the effect is limited in frequency by the inter-winding capacitance.
Note: Common mode noise is present on all conducSeries connection
Parallel connection
tors referenced to ground while differential mode noise is
present on one conductor referenced to another conductor.
An alternative is to use AC line filters to reduce the conducted EMI emitting from the drive. This allows nearby equipment to
operate undisturbed. In most cases, an AC line filter is not required
unless other sensitive circuits are powered off the same AC branch circuit. The basic operating principle is to minimize the high frequency
power transfer through the filter.
An effective filter achieves this by using capacitors and inductors
to mismatch the source impedance (AC line) and the load impedance
(drive) at high frequencies.
The machine builder is responsible for the suitability of the filter
selection in a specific application.
Selection of the proper filter is only the first step in reducing conducted emissions. Correct filter installation is crucial to achieving both
EMI attenuation and to ensure safety. All of the following guidelines
should be met for effective filter use.
Poor setup

Good setup

1. The filter should be mounted to a grounded conductive surface to

establish a high frequency (HF) connection to that surface. To achieve
the HF ground, the surface interface between the filter and structure
must be free of paint or any other insulator. This may require paint
removal from the inside of a cabinet. A wire should not be used to
ground the filter because it will act as an antenna when ground currents are present.
1. The filter must be mounted close to the drive input terminals. If
the distance exceeds 1 ft, then a strap should be used to connect the
drive and filter, rather than a wire.
2. The wires connecting the AC source to the filter should be shielded
from, or at least separated from, the wires (or strap) connecting the
drive to the filter. If the connections are not segregated from each other, then the EMI on the drive side of the filter can couple over to the

22

source side of the filter, thereby reducing, or eliminating the filter

Figure 34: Encoder shielding method
effectiveness. The coupling mechanism can be radiation, or stray
for brushless servomotors
Amplifier
capacitance between the wires. The best method of achieving
Brushless motor
this is to mount the filter where the AC power enters the encloEncoder cable
sure. Figure 32 shows a good installation and a poor installation.
Motor
case
Shield
When multiple power cables enter an enclosure, an unfiltered line can contaminate a filtered line external to the enclosure. Therefore all lines must be filtered to be effective.
The situation is similar to a leaky boat. All the holes must
Figure 35: Motor power winding methods
to minimize noise emissions
be plugged in order to prevent sinking.
Amplifier
WARNING: The filter must be grounded for safety beBrushless motor
Twisted together
R
fore applying power due to the leakage currents. Failure to
R
S
S
T
properly ground the filter can be hazardous.
T
Motor case
Chassis
The only reasonable filtering at the drive output termiTo single point
earth common
nals is the use of inductance. (Capacitors would slow the
Amplifier
Brushless motor
output switching, and deteriorate the drive performance.)
Twisted together
R
A common mode choke can be used to reduce the HF
R
S
S
T
T
voltage at the drive output to reduce emission coupling
Motor case
Chassis
through the drive back to the AC line. However, the motor
To single point
Shield
earth common
cable still carries a large HF voltage and current. In fact,
Common mode choke
(10 to 20 turns on common
motor cable length directly affects the amplitude and freferrite toroidal core)
Amplifier
Brushless motor
quency of emissions on the AC line. Therefore, it is very imTwisted together
R
R
portant to segregate the motor cable from the AC power
S
S
T
T
Motor case
cable, or to use a shielded motor cable. For applications
Chassis
To single point
where long motor cables are required, the need for AC line
earth common
filtering increases. More information on cable shielding
and segregation is contained in the section on shielding.

Grounding
High-frequency (HF) grounding is different from safety grounding.
A long wire is sufficient for a safety ground, but is completely ineffective as a HF ground due to the wire inductance. As a rule of thumb,
a wire has an inductance of 20 nH/in., regardless of diameter. At low
frequencies it acts as constant impedance; at intermediate frequencies as an inductor; and at high frequencies as an antenna. The use
of ground straps is a better alternative to wires. However, the length
to width ratio must be 5:1 or better yet 3:1 to remain a good high
frequency connection.
The ground systems primary purpose is to function as a return
current path. It is commonly thought of as an equipotential circuit reference point, but different locations in a ground system may be at different potentials. This is due to the return current flowing through the
ground systems finite impedance. In a sense, ground systems are the
sewer systems of electronics and as such are sometimes neglected.
The primary objective of a high frequency ground system is to provide a well-defined path for HF currents, and minimize the loop area of
the HF current paths. It is also important to separate HF grounds from
sensitive circuits grounds. A single-point parallel-connected ground

Your Genius. Our Drive.

23

Handbook and Application Guide for

High-Performance Brushless Servo Systems

Figure 36: Conversion tables for motion and loads

EQUATIONS FOR STRAIGHT-LINE MOTION WITH CONSTANT ACCELERATION

v t = v i + at

Velocity

xt = xi +

1
2

(v i + v f )t

v 2f = v i2 + 2a( x f x i )
Trms =

Time

Torque

T1

t1 + t 2 + t 3 + t 4

where x f = Final position

T2
t1

T12 t1 + T22 t 2 + T32 t 3 + T42 t 4

t2

x i = Initial position

T4

T3

t3

t4

v f = Final velocity

v i = Initial velocity
a = Acceleration
t = Time

AREA, VOLUME, AND INERTIA FOR COMMON SHAPES

D = 2r

Do = 2ro

system is recommended. Figure 33 shows

single-point grounds for both series (daisy
chain) and parallel (separate) connections.
A ground bus bar or plane should be
used as the single point at which circuits
are grounded. This minimizes common
(ground) impedance noise coupling. This
ground bus bar (GBB) should be connected
to the AC ground, and if necessary, to the
enclosure. All circuits or subsystems should
be connected to the GBB by separate connections. These connections should be as
short as possible, and straps should be used
if possible. The motor ground conductor
must return to the ground terminal on the
drive, not to the GBB.

Shielding and segregation

The primary propagation route for EMI

emissions
from a drive is through cabling.
Aend = r 2
(
)
Aside = L h
The
EMI
radiating
from the drive enclosure
V = Aend L
V =Lhw
itself drops off very quickly with distance.
mD2 Wr 2
W
=
J=
(
)
(
)
J=
(h 2 + w 2 )
8
2g
The cables conduct the EMI to other devic12g
L r 4
es, and can also re-radiate the EMI. There=
(
)
2g
fore, cable segregation and shielding can
r = Radius (in.)
be important to reducing emissions. Cable
3
2
V = Volume (in. )
J = Inertia (in./lb/sec )
g = Gravity (386 in/sec 2 )
shielding can also increase the level of imL = Length (in.)
m = Mass (lb/m)
= Density (lb/in.3 )
munity of a drive.
h = Height (in.)
W = Weight (lb)
A = Area (in.2 )
w = Width (in.)
D = Diameter (in.)
The following suggestions are recom = 3.14
mended for all installations, because they
are inexpensive to implement.
Signal cables (encoder, serial, analog) should be routed away from
CHART ON BOTTOM OF ORIGINAL
PAGE 33 DOES NOT HAVE UNITS
the motor cable and power wiring. Separate steel conduit can be used
WILL OMIT UNLESS UNITS ARE PROVIDED
to provide
shielding between the signal and power wiring. Do not
(looks to be friction coefficients,
etc.)
ARTIST: PLEASE LEAVE THIS NOTE IN FOR AUTHORS
route signal and power wiring through common junctions or raceways.
Signal cables from other circuits should not pass within 1 ft of the drive.
The length of parallel runs between other circuit cables and the
motor or power cable should be minimized. A rule of thumb is 1 ft of
separation for each 30 ft of parallel run. The 1-ft separation can be
reduced if the parallel run is less than 3 ft. Cable intersections should
always occur at right angles to minimize magnetic coupling.
Do not route any cables connected to the drive directly over drive
vent openings. Otherwise, the cables will pick up the higher levels of
emissions leaked through the vent slots.
If you are constructing your own motor cable, a four-conductor
cable should be used, with the four conductors twisted. The ground
conductor must be attached to the motor and drive earth terminals.
The encoder mounted on the brushless servomotor should be
W

24

Di = 2ri

Aend = Do2 Di2

4
V = Aend L
m
W
J = Do2 + Di2 =
ro2 + ri2
8
2g
L
=
ro4 ri4
2g

connected to the amplifier with a

Figure 37: Conversion tables for motion and loads
cable using multiple twisted wire
pairs and an overall cable shield
Conversion of length
Otherwise noise on the encoder
signals can cause drive faults in
the drive.
If EMI problems persist, additional counter measures can be
attempted. Here are several suggestions for system modifications.
Placing a ferrite donut around
a signal cable may help. The ferrite
Conversion of torque
attenuates common mode noise
but does nothing for differential
mode noise. Connecting cable
shields directly to the drive chassis instead of the cable connectors
can reduce the effect of external
EMI on the drive operation.
Use a shielded motor cable
terminated at the circular section
Conversion of moment of inertia
at both ends. The shield should
be connected to the drive earth
terminal, or chassis at the drive
end, and the motor frame at the
motor end. The coaxial configuration provides magnetic shielding,
and the shield provides a return
path for HF currents, which are capacitively coupled from the motor
windings to the frame. If power frequency circulating currents are an
issue, a 250-VAC capacitor should be used at one of the connections
to block the 50/60 Hz currents, but pass the HF currents. Figure 35 illustrates all the motor cable options discussed in this section.
Suppress each switched inductive device that is near the servo
amplifier. This includes solenoids, relay coils, starter coils and AC motors (such as motor driven mechanical timers). DC coils should be
suppressed with a freewheeling diode connected across the coil in
the non-conducting direction. AC coils should be suppressed with RC
filters: A 220 ohm 1/2 watt resistor in series with a 1/2 microfarad, 600
volt capacitor is commonly used.

for various units

Note: This handbook section presents some guidelines that can minimize noise problems.
However, equipment EMC performance must meet regulatory requirements in various parts of
the world, specifically in the European Union. It is the responsibility of the machine builder to
ensure that a machine meets the appropriate requirements as installed.

Your Genius. Our Drive.

25

ElectroCraft, Inc. is a global provider of fractional-horsepower

motor and motion control solutions for both industrial and commercial applications. Capitalizing on many years of experience
has resulted in a broad family of motor and motion control components available. ElectroCraft products include:

Sinusoidal brushless servomotors utilizing either the high energy
product neodymium iron boron permanent magnets for the lowest rotor inertias or the cost-effective ferrite permanent magnets
for medium rotor inertias.
Digital sinusoidal brushless servo amplifiers designed to provide todays OEM with maximum brushless servo performance at
the lowest possible cost. The ACE500 Series utilizes the latest in
DSP-based drive design architecture to provide software selectable torque, velocity, and position mode (optional) operation.
Sine wave commutation using encoder feedback provides smooth
torque at low speeds for demanding motion control requirements
found in robotic, direct drive, and linear motor applications.
Cost effective analog and two-quadrant brushless DC speed
controls. These drives include ramp generator and braking functions for controlled acceleration and deceleration. Mode of operation is set by simple DIP switches.
All of the above components can be combined from a single
manufacturer to produce high performance motion control
systems for a variety of automation tasks. Typical applications
include machine tools, EDM machines, coil winding equipment,
medical equipment, press feeders, thermoforming machines,
robotics, automotive assembly and machining equipment,
postal sorting machines, material handling equipment, packaging equipment, and other types of specialty machines requiring
precise control of torque, velocity and position.
ElectroCraft is headquartered in Dover, New Hampshire with
operations in the United States, Europe, and Asia.