Hardware

The inverter consists of three distinct electronic circuit boards, power electronics, heatsink and a waterproof case. On the following pages the theory of operation and the circuit boards are discussed.

  • "Black box" view of the inverter

    Theory of Operation

    In principle, an inverter is a rather simple device. The incoming DC voltage is distributed over 3 "bridges" each of which modulates the DC voltage to a sine wave with variable phase, amplitude and frequency. Read here about the details.

  • Populated Mainboard

    Main Board Version 2

    The version 2 mainboard is almost pin-compatible with the version 1 main board. It adds CAN communication, support for quadrature encoders, desat signalling support and many other feature improvements.

  • Main board

    Main Board Version 1

    The main board is the heart of the inverter system. It contains all the intelligence that is needed to convert the users inputs into motor shaft movement.

  • Voltage Sense Board

    Sense Boards

    The sense boards provide the inverter with values for the DC link voltage, heat sink temperature and two phase currents.

  • gate_driver.jpg

    Gate Driver

    The gate drivers convert the logic level PWM signals to a bipolar signal that can be used to drive the gate of power semiconductors. They also isolate the power section from the control section.