What’s a controller?
A controller is utilized to connect all power parts of an e bike together. Things such as the battery, pedal-assist, display, throttle, motor, and different sensors. The controller essentially functions as the “heart” for the e bike.
It will take power out of the battery and directs it with the motor. By twisting the throttle, the person is able to regulate the capability which has been delivered to the controller, in turn, this, regulates the pace of the e bike.
As a rule, most controllers have a sealed shielding box, as they’re positioned available on a bicycle, nonetheless, several controllers are mounted inside of the frame and secret away.
Controllers can be divided based on a number of criteria:
By engine type
Brushless DC motor controllers
Most likely the most widely used type of controllers plus motors among e bikes is BLDC (Brushless DC Motors). These’re the brushless motors with everlasting magnets.
They are fairly reliable, have quite high efficiency and simple and easy design. Everything is very easy with them, operation, manufacturing, service.
Controllers of this particular type typically have three phases which are managed by the set of secrets, and also a minimum of two transistors (key or MOSFET) a phase. Thus, it has six, twelve, eighteen keys appropriately (multiple of six).
Brushed DC motor controllers
Motors of this kind have a collector and long lasting magnets. The design of theirs is significantly simpler, actually, it is only a set of keys which change the present that’s furnished on the engine. Less current – much less power, much more current – much more power, very much from rocket science in case you consult me.
This type of controllers is mainly used on tiny electrical vehicles like scooters, e-bikes, pedelecs, electric bicycles, and various other light EV.
Obviously, you will find some other types of controllers, though they’re rather rare and usually used by e bike enthusiasts and intense DIY hobbyists. For a typical person who really wants to have an electrical bike, it’s ordinarily DC or BLDC.
By functionality
As stated earlier, DC controllers are generally easy and do not have a broad range of functions, thus, there is no reason for discussing them here. Let us look much more carefully at BLDC controllers.
BLDC controllers for motors with Hall sensors
Hall sensors are fairly simple devices which are based upon the Hall effect. They determine the role of the rotor distant relative to the stator. The rotor stands out as the rotating part of the stator as well as the motor is the fixed component.
Hall sensors usually also known as “rotary encoders”, since they determine the role of the rotor.
So why do we want the? Let us find out. If the rotor has moved we have to make a particular winding on to drive the rotor once again. Thus, the Hall sensor essentially determines the actual moment whenever we have to drive the rotor.
Here is a weird analogy coming to mind which will help you understand what is happening there. Consider you are walking past the group of individuals and each one pushes you forward. When the following person views you, they stretch out the hand of theirs and drive you forward. About the same task is occurring in the motor.
The price
Similarly to every various other electronic device you’ll see on the store shelves, today you are able to find controllers ranging from pretty inexpensive to the priciest ones.
You are able to purchase a cheap easyfit ebike controller at a cost of around £20-60. The costlier ones are going to cost you between £200-500.
Generally, cheap controllers do not have any settings and also have minimum connections.
Programmable controllers
Several of the controllers allow altering the settings of theirs programmatically. They’ve the capacity to hook up to a laptop by Bluetooth or USB. In general, the wired connection is desired, since it really works much more reliably and it is more affordable.
Right after connecting the unit into the computer, we instantly get an entire selection of options. For instance, we can:
set a cap on speed
configure the strength limits
adjust the torque
enable/disable the pedal assist adjust several speeds etc.
plus more…
Therefore, as you are able to see this kind of controllers is ideal for all those passionate e bike hot rodders around.
Controller hot rodding
Inevitably, some e bike enthusiasts decide they really want more strength and speed out of the motors of theirs. There is an entire community of individuals that take inexpensive controllers and alter them to get much better characteristics.
You are able to get quite a good performance increase by making little controller modifications.
For instance, far more amps are going to allow you to drive much more confidently on hilly terrain and also boost speed. Higher voltage is going to get you higher top speed and also much better acceleration in top of the speed range.
Nevertheless, when performing this, you are able to enter the situation whenever the controller will basically blow up, or maybe the motor can become extremely warm and eventually die. Not quite a picture right?
But hey, who does not like doing entertaining experiments, you just don’t know, perhaps it will still give a good life after modification.
Some suggestions about picking out the best controller
it is well worth talking that in case you are not a seasoned builder and do not have sufficient expertise in this specific region, then It is advisable to purchase a controller as a component of the system (controller motor). In this situation, the controller is matched to the motor and so they are going to work seamlessly together.
Another advice here is going to be trusting various other people’s experiences. If the controller is nicely made and doesn’t have a lot of registered faults or bad reviews online, next you can safely put it to use.
Furthermore, in case you’ve close friends that are in the bikes repair company, go to them and get if they’d to fix this particular kind of controllers before or perhaps if there was some issues with them. This may provide you with some useful hints before purchase.
Selecting a controller for a certain motor
When you are selecting a controller for a certain engine, then check that the controller matches or perhaps has actually somewhat more energy compared to the engine. In case the controller is programmable, then this potential could be restricted when needed.
By doing that, you will decrease the heating of the controller and make the operation of its much more steady, that in result will improve the reliability of the product.
Vital Note: the controller’s voltage rating should match your motor and battery.
In case you purchase a non programmable controller, ensure it is power and voltage coupled with the energy and voltage of the engine. If the engine voltage is 36V, then the voltage of the controller ought to be 36V too.
Phase and also battery currents
Here is another moment that can be overwhelming for newbies when selecting the controller.
The phase present and also the current from the battery must be strictly distinguished. These’re two things that are various. The phase current is attached to the motor and yes it can get so much greater compared to the battery current.
Consider for instance a welding machine. It normally takes 10A from the system and offers all 120A at the result. The controller functions by the very same principle. It is able to take 50A from the electric battery, and also give 100A on the motor. Consequently, it is important to differentiate between battery and also phase currents.
When selecting a controller for the particular engine, you have to check out the stage current of the controller as well as the motor existing match. Or else, when a big current is furnished, the motor is going to heat up far more plus more apt to be unsuccessful.
If the engine overheats, the varnish coating on the wires starts to forfeit the properties of its. This causes a brief circuit as well as the motor begins to warm up quickly and malfunctions.
Thus, for non programmable controllers, the stage current of the controller should clearly match the motor present. Then this configuration is going to be great and won’t result in the failure of specific components.
The real difference between sine and square wave controllers
Maybe you have seen discussions about sine and square wave controllers. They differ in the stage voltage waveform. The very first is rectangular, the 2nd is sinusoidal.
It is really hard to say what type is much better because the perfect waveform depends upon the controls itself, and they are all quite different. Ideally, this stage must be taken into consideration by the controls manufacturer, though it is not likely that they will be carrying this out.