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Looking for xESC2040? It was moved to its own repo HERE.

xESC2

The xESC2 is an easy to use, low cost electronic speed controller (ESC) design for brushless DC (BLDC) motors. It can drive BLDC motors in sensored and sensorless modes. The controller supports FOC control mode. The firmware is based on the open source VESC firmware and implements torque, speed and position control. The current state of the motor controller (current, voltage, speed, position) can be read back through a serial interface.

This ESC was designed from ground up to be suited for robotics use:

• It has pin headers to make it easy to integrate into existing designs.
• It is small compared to a VESC
• It is much cheaper than a VESC
• It is much lower power than a VESC (but enough to drive robots)

I also have a customized ROS driver for this ESC.

To-Do

• [ ] Add an emergency shutdown pin to the design.
• [ ] Add pinout to the silkscreen if enough space

Comparison

But how does the xESC compare to other brushless ESCs on the market? Is it the right ESC for your current needs?

	xESC2 mini (this repo)	xESC	xESC2	VESC 6	Cheap Hobby ESCs
Technical Data
Intended Use	Robotics	Robotics	Robotics	Electromobility	RC Cars / Planes
Max Current (continuous)	10A / 40V	10A / 40V	10A / 40V	>80A / 60V	Depends on Model
Size	50x30 mm	60x30 mm	85x42 mm	75x70mm	Depends on Model
Supported Firmware	xESC2 firmware (VESC based)	xESC firmware (SimpleFOC based)	xESC2 firmware (VESC based)	VESC firmware	/
Open Source	HW+SW	HW+SW	HW+SW	SW	/
Features
Interfaces	USB, UART, CAN, PWM, Analog	UART, PWM	USB, UART, CAN, PWM, Analog	USB, UART, CAN, PWM, Analog and more	PWM only
Motor Commutation	FOC	BLDC	FOC	FOC	BLDC
Control Modes	Current, Position, Speed	Current	Current, Position, Speed	Current, Position, Speed	None
Sensored	✅	✅	✅	✅	Some
Feedback Channel	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Low Cost Design	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
BEC (internal 5V regulator)	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
Pin headers for easy connection to PCBs	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Status	Working Prototypes	Obsolete	Working Prototypes	Mass Production	Mass Production

PCB Design

Front	Back

Firmware Features

The xESC2 firmware is based off the current version of the VESC firmware. Therefore it is able to do everything you’d wish your brushless ESC had. Including: FOC, speed control, current limiting, …

Where can I buy one?

The xESC2 mini is officially not for sale (yet), since I don’t really have the capabilities to produce larger quantities right now (I’m making some for my own robotics projects at the moment). However if you really like to get your hands on them, just message me (e.g. open an issue or something).

You can, of course build your own ESCs (that’s kind of the idea to open source it 😉), but please don’t mass produce the design and sell them without my permission.

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Feel free to use the design in your projects, but don’t try to sell the design or products based on it without getting my consent first.