High-voltage ESCs electronic speed controller

The high-voltage ESC range from Plettenberg Elektromotoren is a group of electronic speed controllers for brushless DC (BLDC) motors, designed and built in Baunatal, Germany. Within the ESC category it covers controllers rated up to 400 V and up to 350 A, and it is meant to be combined with Plettenberg motors as one drive system for uncrewed aircraft and other demanding electric drives.

The controller regulates the electrical power the motor receives from the battery or other source according to a command signal from the flight controller or vehicle computer. The maker develops the embedded software in house and can tailor it to the application, and every controller is optimised for weight and power-to-weight ratio. Plettenberg recommends using its motors and ESCs together as a system, because the controller is matched to the high pole motor design and the pairing gives the highest system efficiency.

Two members of the 400 V class illustrate the figures. The MST 400-133 is air cooled, weighs 2,280 g, measures 238 x 135.5 x 96 mm, delivers up to 47 kW continuous power, supports 90 to 370 V and 133 A, with 180 A for a maximum of 2 seconds. The MST 400-200 WK is water cooled, weighs 2,000 g, measures 238 x 135 x 66 mm (83 mm with water connectors), delivers up to 70 kW continuous power, supports 30 to 370 V and 200 A, with 220 A for a maximum of 2 seconds. Both have an electric RPM limit of 240,000 1/min. Air cooling suits installations with airflow, while the water-cooled version suits packaged installations with a cooling loop.

For integration, both controllers use an RS232 interface plus either CAN bus 2.0, PWM or analog command input. The standard protection class is IP 53, with higher classes possible, and the housing is described as robust for harsh environments. Plettenberg's engineering team supports system integration, including ESC configuration, ideal power supply and thermal management, and tailors controllers to the customer's application.

Other models of the range include the MST 35-45, 60-80, 60-130, 60-260, 60-290, 80-240, 80-350, 140-200 and 140-250 WK. Typical applications are electric propulsion for uncrewed aircraft and eVTOL, high-power drive systems, and robotic, industrial and laboratory drives.