VESC - Open source ESC

[Dr_T]

Below's a test drive of the VESC in my ~5.75 kg Kyosho XXL on 7S with moderate gearing. Even without any cooling fins, the FETs (relative high resistance 60V ones and only 6 total, so no "brute-force" Current sharing) stay under 65°C at ~20-25°C ambient - cooler than the motor. Maybe normal hobby ESCs could run way more efficient and be less dependent on massive amounts of FETs and cooling, if they had (better) Current control loops.

Keep in mind, the VESC is more designed for HV use, up to 12S; so the relative high kv motors on relative low Voltage (6S :)) we typically use in 1/8 scales are not optimal because of excessive Currents, but the developer is a very devoted guy and determined to make it work well, and continuously improving the firmware. One of the cool features of VESC is that the throttle directly controls the Current (so Torque) instead of the duty cycle as with normal hobby ESCs. I feel that makes the power way more linear and predictable / "doseable" compared to normal ESCs. The commutation logic is also pretty cool.

[youtube]g8K9sn5u4Ps[/youtube]