KDE-UAS85UVC electronic speed controller

KDE-UAS85UVC is an 85 A electronic speed controller (ESC) from KDE Direct, part of its UAS UVC series for brushless motors in multirotor and other unmanned aircraft. It controls the power fed to a brushless propulsion motor, accepting a throttle command from the flight controller and returning telemetry over CAN.

The controller is intended for commercial and industrial multirotor platforms operated in harsh environments, where its IP66 ingress protection and rugged aluminum 6061-T6 case allow all-weather operation. It has an internal 32-bit MCU, a proprietary control algorithm with dynamic advance timing from 12 to 30 degrees and an adaptive refresh rate of 50 to 600 Hz, with startup tuned for smooth motor synchronization.

For the integrator the main figures are as follows. The supply range is 14.8 V (4S LiPo) to 60.9 V (14S LiHV). Continuous current is 85 A for 180 s and peak current is 175 A for 5 s, which corresponds to a maximum continuous power of 4,405 W and a peak power of 9,065 W for 5 s. The maximum speed is 360,000 rpm electrical (2-pole). Mass is 110 g, or 150 g with wires and bullet connectors, and the size is 46 mm wide by 71 mm long. Continuous ratings require airflow of at least 5 mph across the heatsink; an overtemperature protection limits maximum rpm until the temperature falls, and the maximum case temperature is 95 degrees C.

Interfaces: the control lead is opto-isolated and the CAN bus port is not isolated. The PWM input has an automatic recognition algorithm and is factory calibrated. CAN telemetry supports KDECAN and DroneCAN and reports voltage, current, temperature, throttle and electrical rpm; data are logged to onboard EEPROM and downloaded through a micro-USB connection, with the KDE Direct Device Manager used for programming. There is no internal BEC, so a separate supply is needed for the flight controller and peripherals. The power leads are 12 AWG, the motor leads 13 AWG and the control lead 22 AWG, and the maximum DC wire length is 12 inches before added capacitance is needed.

Operating features include regenerative braking, temperature-controlled synchronous rectification, active monitoring of voltage, current, temperature and stall, an active anti-spark circuit to protect connectors and automatic throttle calibration. The maker states that the product is not NDAA compliant, which matters for buyers with procurement restrictions.