HBC series electronic speed controller

The HBC series is a family of electronic speed controllers from MGM COMPRO for brushless motors in electric aircraft, and this entry is described with the data of the HBC 12026-3. It drives inrunner and outrunner BLDC and PMSM motors, with or without Hall sensors, and is intended for eVTOLs, UAVs, electric aircraft, marine and military vehicles and other applications where power density and low mass matter.

The key power figures of the HBC 12026-3 are a continuous power of 3.12 kW and a peak power of 3.9 kW. The continuous current is 120 A under nominal conditions (100 % motor PWM, 8 kHz, 25 C), and the short-time current is 150 A. The supply range is 6 to 26 V, with support for 6 to 18 NiCd or NiMH cells, 2 to 6 Li-Ion or Li-Po cells, and 3 to 7 A123 cells, as well as lead-acid cells and other supplies. On-state FET resistance is typically 2 x 0.4 mOhm, and efficiency reaches up to 99 %, which reduces the heat that must be removed from the housing. The electronics are fed from an external source of 6 to 26 V. The controller weighs about 77 g with power cables, or about 48 g without them.

Motor control is configurable. The motor PWM frequency is programmable from 8 to 32 kHz and throttle resolution is 2048 steps. The maximum speed is 250,000 rpm for a 2-pole motor. Operating modes include direct PWM, constant rpm and battery discharge compensation, plus regenerative braking, reversing of rotation, current limiting and a sleep mode with zero power consumption.

Control and communication options are PWM, voltage, potentiometer, logic and data signals, with CAN, RS-232 (TTL) and RS-485 buses. Auxiliary inputs and outputs, indicators and external displays can be connected. Further features are galvanic insulation, battery management system support, online firmware update and configuration from a PC running Windows or macOS.

Cooling can be by air, liquid or a cooling plate, with options such as a ribbed heatsink, one or two water coolers and a fan, each listed with its added mass. The operating temperature is 0 to 40 C with derating, and humidity up to 90 % without condensation.

Protection and diagnostics include an emergency stop function, safety disconnection, hardware support for voltage, current and temperature fuses, monitoring of all phases and the DC bus, and protection against loss of the control signal. The controller logs voltages, rpm, currents, temperatures, warnings and errors internally, supports real-time monitoring from a PC, and indicates status with LEDs or over the buses.