VOL. XX, NO.

X, 20XX, XX-XX
www.elektrika.utm.my
ISSN 0128-4428

Implementation of simple brushless DC motor

Abstract: Brushless DC motor (BLDC) is the most recent development in the long history of motor technology. Since its
inception, BLDC has seen a wide variety of applications including in hard disks, robotics and automobiles. The purpose of
this paper is to implement a simple BLDC and to explain its action using the Biot-Savart Law (BSL) and the formula for
finding the magnetic force acting on a current carrying wire. Understanding the basic electromagnetic principles behind the
action of BLDC would contribute to an engineer’s ability to design more efficient BLDC.

Keywords: Biot-Savart Law, Brushless DC motor, magnetic force

© 2020 Penerbit UTM Press. All rights reserved
Article History: received XX XXX XXX; accepted XX XXX XXX.

1. INTRODUCTION 1. Using hot glue, the magnet is stuck to the arm of

Brushless DC motor (BLDC) is a synchronous motor that the fidget spinner, one on each arm and making
converts DC electrical energy to mechanical energy. As sure that the same poles point outward. (Figure 1)
its name suggest, these motors lack the typical
commutator and brush found in brushed DC motors.
Another distinguishing feature of the BLDC is the
inversion of the typical stator and rotor configuration,
with the fixed armature winding (electromagnet) acting as
the stator, and the permanent magnet acting as the
rotor.[1]

The operation of BLDC is based on the force and

reaction between the electromagnet stator and permanent
magnet rotor. Applying DC current through the armature
winding energizes it and turns it into an electromagnet
which may repel or attract the permanent motor
Figure 1: Fidget spinner with magnets with North
depending on the relative positions of the two. To keep
pole facing outwards
the rotor spinning in one direction, it is necessary to only
turn on the appropriate coils at each phase of the motor
2. The 0.5mm enamel coated copper wire is wound
by controlling the switching of the power supply with a
into a coil of radius 3.5cm with 120 turns.
controller.
3. Sandpaper is used to remove the enamel insulation
In this paper, a simple BLDC is built and designed
at both ends of the copper coil to expose the
using easily available materials. A reed switch is used to
conducting copper within. This allows the copper
control the switching of the electromagnet.
coil to be electrically connected to the rest of the
circuit.
2. MATERIAL USED
4. The coil is glued to a cylindrical cardboard.
a. 0.5mm enamel coated copper wire
b. Fidget spinner 5. The circuit is set up according to the schematic
c. 3x N35 disc shaped neodymium magnet
(Figure 2). The photo of the actual hardware set-
d. LEDs (red and green)
up can be seen on Figure 3
e. Batteries
f. Jumper wires
6. The fidget spinner is adjusted to its starting
g. Resistors
h. Magnetic reed switch position. The arm of the spinner is slightly off the
center of the coil towards the left as shown in
3. PROCEDURE figure 4.

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Green LED Blink continuously as the

7. Main switch is turned on. Direction of the motor fidget spinner spins
spin and the behavior of the two LEDs are
observed and noted. Red LED Blink continuously as the
fidget spinner but is much
dimmer than the green
LED

5. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULT

5.1 Derivation of the force acting on the fidget

Figure 2: Schematic of the motor circuit. At the center is
the fidget spinner
spinner
In a BLDC, torque is generated by the interaction
between the magnetic fields of the electromagnet (stator)
and that of the permanent magnets (rotor). In this section,
we would attempt to use the Biot-Savart Law (BSL) to
find an approximate expression for the B field of the
permanent magnet. Using the obtained expression for B
field, we would attempt to derive the force between the
permanent magnet and the coil to explain why the motor
rotated in the observed direction.

Figure 5 shows the starting position of the fidget

spinner with the B field of the permanent magnet
superimposed. The complete expression for this B field in
all 3D space is quite complex.

Figure 3: Photo of the hardware set up

Figure 5: Top view magnetic field of the permanent

magnet (left) and a close up look (right)

However, the problem can be simplified and still gives

useful insight on the force between the coil and the
magnet. The following simplifications are made:

Figure 4: Fidget spinner starting position is 1) Find the B-field of the permanent magnet along
slightly to the left of the center of the coil. the z-axis only using BSL

2) Find the force due to the B field that acts on a

4. RESULTS AND OBSERVATION section of the coil, dx that falls directly on the z-
axis of the magnet as shown in Figure 6 and 7.
Video of the demonstration can be seen on this link: The rest of the coil is ignored since they are not on
https://youtu.be/x2NvPI0llv8 . The observation of the the z-axis.
experiment is summarized in Table 1.
3) The force exerted on the coil by the magnet, FC is
Table 1: Summary of observation equal and opposite of the force exerted on the
magnet by the coil, FM.
Component Observation
Fidget spinner Spins in the anticlockwise
direction when main switch
is turned on

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From equation 1, the magnetization vector, M is found

by setting H to 0 and B=Br

⃑ = 𝜇(𝐻
𝐵 ⃑ +𝑀
⃑⃑ )
⃑⃑⃑⃑𝑟 = 𝜇𝑀
𝐵 ⃑⃑ 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑, 𝐻
⃑ =0
⃑⃑⃑⃑𝑟
𝐵
⃑⃑ =
𝑀 (2)
𝜇

The bound surface current density of a disc shaped

Figure 6: The section of interest on the coil is the one that permanent magnet, Kb is given below. Refer figure 9.
falls on the z-axis of the magnet. Current direction
denoted using dot and cross convention. ⃑⃑⃑⃑𝑏 = 𝑀⃑⃑ × 𝑎
𝐾 ̂𝑛 (3)
⃑⃑⃑⃑
𝐵𝑟
= 𝑧̂ × 𝑟̂
𝜇
⃑⃑⃑⃑𝑟
𝐵
= ∅̂ (4)
𝜇

Figure 7: Redrawing figure 6 but focusing only on a

single loop.

To find the B field at a point on the z-axis along the

⃑⃑
magnet, we begin by finding the magnetization vector, 𝑀 Figure 9: Illustration of the Kb of a permanent magnet in
of the permanent magnet. Starting from the general phi direction
expression for the B field of a material:
Using BSL, the BZ field at certain point, z along the
⃑ = 𝜇(𝐻
𝐵 ⃑ +𝑀
⃑⃑ ) (1) axis of the magnet can be determined as follows. Refer
⃑⃑ 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 figure 10.
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑀
⃑ 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝐻

A permanent magnet retains a residual B field even in

the absence of an external H field as shown in figure 8.
This residual field is known as remanence, which is
denoted as Br .

Figure 10: Quantities used in calculating the B field along

the z-axis of the magnet

Figure 8: B-H curve of ferromagnetic material Starting with the BSL formula for surface current
element [3]:
The Br value of a typical N35 neodynium magnet is ⃑ 𝑑𝑆 × 𝑅⃑
𝐾
1170mT which is obtained from the datasheet [2]. 𝐻𝑧 = ∫
4𝜋𝑅3

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𝐵𝑟 ̂
[−𝑎 𝑟̂ + (𝑧 − 𝑧 ′ )𝑧̂ ]
𝜇 ∅ ×
=∫ 3 𝑑𝑆 𝑑𝐹𝑐 = 𝐼𝑑𝑙 × 𝐵𝑧
4𝜋[𝑎2 + (𝑧 − 𝑧 ′ )2 ]2
−𝐿 2𝜋
= 𝐼𝑑𝑥 (−𝑥̂) × 𝐵𝑧 𝑧̂
𝐵𝑟 1
= 𝑎 𝑧̂ ∫ ∫ 3 𝑎 𝑑∅ 𝑑𝑧′ = 𝐵𝑧 𝐼𝑑𝑥 𝑦̂
4𝜋𝜇 0 0 [𝑎2 + (𝑧 − 𝑧 ′ )2 ]2
𝐵𝑟 𝐼𝑑𝑥 (𝑧 + 𝐿) 𝑧
𝐵𝑟 𝑎2 (𝑧 − 𝑧 ′ ) 1
−𝐿 = [ − ] 𝑦̂
2 √(𝑍 + 𝐿)2 + 𝑎2 √𝑧 2 + 𝑎2
= 𝑧̂ (2𝜋) [ 2
∗ ]
4𝜋𝜇 𝑎 √(𝑧 − 𝑧 ′ )2 + 𝑎2 0

𝐵 (𝑧 + 𝐿) 𝑧
⃑⃑⃑⃑𝑧 = 𝑟 [
𝐻 − ] 𝑧̂ From the above expression, it can be observed that for
2𝜇 √(𝑍 + 𝐿)2 + 𝑎2 √𝑧 2 + 𝑎2 the particular section, the force on the coil is in the +y
direction. According to Newton’s third law, the force on
𝐵𝑟 (𝑧 + 𝐿) 𝑧
⃑⃑⃑⃑𝑧 =
𝐵 [ − ] 𝑧̂ (5) the permanent magnet, dFM is equal and opposite to dFC
2 √(𝑍 + 𝐿)2 + 𝑎2 √𝑧 + 𝑎2
2
(-y direction).

𝐵𝑟 𝐼𝑑𝑥 (𝑧 + 𝐿) 𝑧
Equation 5 is a well-established formula for finding the 𝑑𝐹𝑀 = [ − ] (−𝑦̂)
2 2
√(𝑍 + 𝐿) + 𝑎 2 √𝑧 + 𝑎2
2

flux density, B at a point on the axis of cylindrical disc

magnet [4]. It is this tangential force on the permanent magnet in
the -y direction that exerts a torque that spins the fidget
spinner in the anti-clockwise direction.
Finally, to determine the force acting on the current
element, 𝐼𝑑𝑥 in Figure 11, we assumed that the Since the coil consists of N loops, the total tangential
force acting on the permanent magnet due to the dx
permanent magnet is very close to 𝐼𝑑𝑥, and that 𝐼𝑑𝑥 falls
section of the coil is:
directly on the z-axis above the center of the disc shaped
magnet. (𝑧+𝐿)
𝑁𝐵𝑟 𝐼𝑑𝑥 𝑧
𝑑𝐹𝑀(𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙) = [ − ] (−𝑦̂) (6)
2 √(𝑍+𝐿)2 +𝑎 2 √𝑧 2 +𝑎 2

It is worth noting again that equation 6 is only the

force due to the interaction between a tiny section of the
coil, dx and the permanent magnet. Finding a complete
description of the force would requires the complete B
field expression in x,y and z directions followed by an
integration of dFC along the entire the length of the
circular loop. Although equation 6 does not provide a
complete description of the force, it does prove the
existence of a tangential force that would spin the motor.

5.2 Magnetic reed switch as position sensor

Figure 11: Finding the force on the coil, FC and FM
It is important to note that the direction of FM changes
depending on the position of the fidget spinner. For
example, if we consider another instance in which the
permanent magnet is approaching from the right of side
the coil as shown in Figure 13, the direction FM opposes
the direction of the spin of the magnet. Thus, it is
necessary to turn off the current in the coil at this
instance.

Detection of the position of the fidget spinner is

Figure 12: Top view of figure 11
With these assumptions, the force acting on that tiny
section, dx of the coil, dFC is given by:
achieved by the use of a magnetic reed switch. The reed
switch is a switch that closes and allows current flow
when a magnet is brought into close proximity. The reed
switch is placed relative to the fidget spinner as shown in
figure 14. This ensures that current flows in the coil and
repel the permanent magnet only in this particular
position.

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Figure 13: A spinning fidget spinner going in the anti-
clockwise direction. At this instance, FM would be in the
opposite direction if there is current in the coil. So current
must be turned off.
Figure 14: In this position, reed switch is CLOSED to
allow current to flow through the coil. Direction of FM is
same as direction of spin.
In other positions such as the one shown in figure 15,
reed switch is opened and no current flows through the
coil. Thus no force is exerted on the fidget spinner.
However, the spinner would continue to spin in the same
direction due to its inertia.
Figure 15: Reed switch is OPEN because away from
magnet. No current flow in the coil.
5.3 Diode as precaution against inductive flyback
The copper coil behaves as an inductive load. It has a
5
certain inductance given by:
As the fidget spinner spins, the reed switch is closed
and opened rapidly. When the reed switch is opened,
current flow does not stop instantaneously, but follows an
exponential decay given by equation 8. To maintain the
current flow, the inductance of the coil generates a large
flyback voltage across the air gaps at the contact of the
reed switch. [5] This voltage spike creates spark that may
damage the contacts of the reed switch (figure 16).
𝑡 𝐿
𝐼(𝑡) = 𝐼0 𝑒−𝜏 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜏 = (8)
𝑅
Figure 16: Mechanism of flyback voltage generation.
Typical resistance in across the contacts of open reed
switch is 1010Ω.
The solution to this problem is a diode connected in
parallel to the coil to provide a low resistance pathway for
the flyback current to dissipate safely (figure 18). For this
experiment, the red LED is used as the flyback diode.
When reed switch is closed, current flows through the
coil (figure 17). The red LED is reverse biased, and does
not allow current through it. Red LED is off at this
instance.
As the fidget spinner spins and the magnet moves
away, the reed switch is opened (figure 18). This stops
the main current flowing through the coil. However, the
inductance of the coil generates a flyback current that
flows through the red LED, lighting it up.
The flyback current generated by the inductor lasts for
an average of 5 Using equation 7, and given coil
dimension of 0=1.75cm, d=0.5mm, and N=120, the
inductance of the coil in this experiment is estimated to
be 22.8H. Since  is proportional to L, and L is of the
order of 10-6, we would expect the flyback current to
 First Author Full Name et al. / ELEKTRIKA, XX(X), 20XX, xx-xx
dissipate very quickly. This explains why the red LED is
much dimmer than the green LED, since the former is
powered by the inductor flyback current.
Figure 17: When reed switch is closed, green LED is OFF
indicating that the main current is flowing through the
coil. Red LED which is the flyback diode is also OFF
(reverse-biased).
Figure 18: Red LED as flyback diode lights up when reed
switch is opened. Main current from the battery flows
through the green LED and lights it up
5.4 Advantages and Applications of Brushless DC
motor
The key advantage of the BLDC is the lack of a physical
brush and commutator. Thus, it does not experience the
wear and tear issue so often found in brushed DC motor.
The absence of friction between the brush and the
commutator contributes to a longer lifespan, more quiet
operation and higher overall efficiency in the BLDC.
In addition, the lack of commutator and brush in
BLDC results in a smaller and lighter motor that is easier
to connect. Furthermore, BLDC do not experience
electrostatic discharge (ESD) at the commutator.
The many advantages of brushless DC motor has led
to its application in many fields such as automobile,
office equipment, hard disks, factory automation, and
medical equipment. Figure 19 highlights the use of
BLDC in automobile.
Figure 19: Application of BLDC in Automobiles.
Source: http://www.sunflowmotor.com/application-
29.html
6. CONCLUSION
The operation on brushless DC motor is presented. The
hardware structure including enamel coated copper wire,
fidget spinner, magnetic reed switch, three neodymium
magnet and communication interface is well developed
and tested. The result is able to validate the theoretical
analysis. Advantages and applications of brushless DC
motor have been discussed in this paper too.
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, we would like to thank Dr Mohd
Rashidi Salim for his guidance during the project. We
would also like to thank every team members for their
contribution to the project.
Team member Contribution
Ho Zheng Han Perform experiment
Lee Min Jia Video editing
Lok Zheng Hao BLDC introduction and theory
write-up
Lim Shi Qi Written report compilation
Tsai Keoh Sing BLDC application write-up
Foo Jia Qian BLDC result analysis
8. REFERENCES
[1] A.M. Welekar & A.A Apte, "Development of
Brushless DC Motor Drive," IOSR Journal of
Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Retrieved
July 03, 2020, from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cfdf/1f30c2617212
82a3d982911900bea64640d9.pdf
[2] Eclipse Magnetics Ltd. “Neodynium Iron Boron
Magnets Datasheet,” Retrieved June 28, 2020, from
https://www.eclipsemagnetics.com/media/wysiwyg/
datasheets/magnet_materials_and_assemblies/ndfeb
_neodymium_iron_boron-
standard_ndfeb_range_datasheet_rev1.pdf
[3] M. N. O. Sadiku, Essentials of Electromagnetics.
Shah Alam, Selangor: Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd, 2017,
pp.294-377.
[4] IBSMagnet. “Permanent Magnets, Materials and
Magnet Systems,” Retrieved June 28, 2020, from
https://www.ibsmagnet.com/pdf/en/ibs_e.pdf
[5] Inductive Flyback and Flyback Diode.
Retrieved July 01, 2020, from
https://learn.digilentinc.com/Documents/390