Development of a Practical Low-Cost μC based Brushless DC Motor Controller using Proteus

Simulation, design and prototype construction of a low cost three phase permanent magnet (PM) brushless DC (BLDC) motor controller for low power applications is studied in this paper. The drive circuitry is based on the PIC16F877A microcontroller (μC), which –among othersperforms pulse width modulation (PWM) control for a 6-step, 120-degree trapezoidal PM BLDC motor drive. The specific processor is a widely used one and its characteristics are judged excellent in conjunction with its low cost. The prototype controller developed can perform rotation direction control, commutation sequence, speed control and reading Hall sensor signals. The controlling technique chosen is a “sensored type” one. The main reason for that, except control simplicity is the need for both low-speed and high-speed applications. The application of Proteus Virtual System Modelling (VSM) software is also introduced in the paper. This software is used as a real-time simulation tool, in order to verify the performance of the BLDC motor drive, prior to its hardware implementation. Through virtual simulation of all the components used, the relevant results can be analyzed and monitored. Verification of the experimental results and validation of the simulated circuit has been done through the comparison of the results.