The Journey of Passion, Perfection and Extraordinary Knowledge

A great idea is borne in just a few short moments. It takes, perhaps, a bit more to document and engineer the design. Probably, a bit more to prototype. It takes a lifetime to perfect it. The experience of the journey is extraordinary, and we must share it with all. The incredible discovery of knowledge, application of that knowledge and power to change the world forever fills this journey.

We want to share our knowledge and experiences with you so your journey may be more natural.

Our online workshops are a culmination of our work in the field of motors, motor drives and power electronics for the last 30 years. Power Electronics Group has launched the most innovative and revolutionary products in the area of motors and motor drives for the previous several years.

So, We speak with the experience of having lived through each of these products from conception to manufacturing launch to continuous perfection. The mistakes were grand, the lessons were painful, the discovery of knowledge was extraordinary, and the passion and dedication were without question.

Workshops on
Motor, Inverter, Hardware,
and Firmware Design Techniques
for
Permanent Magnet Brushless Motors – A System Approach

Lessons from the Trenches

We believe that a real-world class product in motors and motor drives is not possible without knowing all four aspects of the systems in depth:

• Motor;
• Inverter;
• Hardware;
• Firmware,

And it is not that hard to learn all aspects. The needs of the hour pushed us hard to help our team of engineers to solve serious design problems. And the benefits of this learning to all were tremendous.

Engineering a world class wonder is never easy, and it requires taking prudent risks and a profound discovery and application of knowledge. Experience and hard lessons from the trenches are most valuable.

“For a Company, Cumulative Discovery of Knowledge and its Application must reach a Critical point for it to matter. The journey must be Passionate and Patient. ”

Rakesh Dhawan, Founder & CEO of Power Electronics Group LLC

Our online Courses bring a comprehensive and practical knowledge together on the motor, inverter, hardware, and firmware design techniques with a system approach. A system approach is critical because it forces engineers to evaluate problems with a 360-degree view rather than a narrow portion of it.

Only an in-depth knowledge of the motor characteristics can help develop great hardware and firmware. Knowing the limitations of hardware and firmware helps us develop an excellent motor. And no cost reduction is possible without optimizing each of these components for their best performance individually and at a system level.

Course Objectives

This Course aims at imparting knowledge of techniques for developing brushless permanent magnet motors, drives and systems. The Course has the following objectives:

• Provide the participants training on techniques for simulating, designing and analyzing brushless permanent magnet motor systems;
• Allow the participants to evaluate various tools & strategies and understand practical constraints for different approaches;
• Help the participants learn how to assess their brushless permanent magnet motor systems design procedures and determine when use of specific methods can be most effective;
• Provide the participants tools and techniques for reevaluating their current brushless permanent magnet motor systems with new tools and methods;
• Demonstrate these methods for various brushless permanent magnet motor systems;
• Provide working circuits and models.

Course Advantages

• Enhance and Advance your knowledge of brushless permanent magnet motor systems;
• Develop innovative brushless permanent magnet motor systems;
• Enhance skills of your team in the areas of brushless permanent magnet motor systems dramatically;
• Engage in more effective brushless permanent magnet motor system program management for your company;
• Significantly cut development time;
• Predict and eliminate failure rates;
• Improve quality & reliability;
• Innovate with new techniques;
• Reduce cost;
• Improve manufacturability;
• Compare several alternative solutions.

Who Should Attend

• Motor and Generator Engineers (Beginners and Advanced);
• Drive and Control Engineers;
• Application Engineers;
• Engineering Directors;
• Engineering and R&D Managers;
• Electrical Engineers;
• Power Electronics Engineers;
• System Engineers;
• Product Development Engineers;
• Embedded Engineers;
• Faculty and Students.

Module One: Fundamentals, Dynamic Modeling, Mechanical Aspects, and Simulations

Module One of the course will cover dynamic modeling of BLDC motors, motor design considerations, motor architectures, analytical design methods and introduction to space vectors. Mechanical aspects such as power transmission basics, motor selection criteria, motor mounting methods, mechanical modes of failure and thermal analysis will also be covered. Several PSpice™ simulations covering dynamic modeling will be demonstrated.

Module Two: Inverter, Hardware and Firmware Design and Detailed Design Examples.

Hardware and Firmware Design, Modeling and Simulation using VISSIM™(EMBED™ Solid Thinking) and PSpice™

Module Two of the course will focus on hardware and firmware design, power stage design, inverter and peripheral circuit design, and network for motor control systems.

Module two of the course will also cover two designs (motor + controller) in detail along with the design calculations, simulations, processor selection, circuit design and final performance results. Also, VISSIM™ (now solidThinking Embed) be demonstrated as a tool for firmware development along with Matlab and Simulink. BLDC motor and drives problems and solutions will be presented in detail along with driving algorithms.

Module Three: Finite Element Analysis, System Simulations, and Detailed Design Examples

Module Three of the course will cover 2D and 3D finite element analysis and simulations. Several motor designs will be considered from design specifications. MagNet™ 2D/3D Electromagnetic Field Simulation Software, MotorSolve™ and PSpice™ analysis and simulations will be demonstrated.

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Power Electronics Group (PEG) designs, develops and manufactures motors, drives, Electric Vehicles Components and High Frequency Electromagnetics for customer specific applications. PEG also offers comprehensive  analysis of motors, motion control and drive products, Electric Vehicle and High Frequency systems. PEG helps customers with optimal selection, sizing and configuration of Motion Control, Electric Vehicle and High Frequency Systems.

PEG has developed critical understanding and published on a wide range of Permanent Magnet Motors, Motor Control, Motor Drives, High Frequency Electromagnetic  Components, Electric Vehicles and Switch Mode Power Systems. PEG’s staff has co-authored over 30 publications in various refereed journals and conference proceedings and filed for several issued or pending US patents.

PEG has significant skills in the field of Motor Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Power Electronics, Analog and Digital Electronics, Software Engineering, Test Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering and System Simulation, Design and Integration.

PEG has successfully delivered Permanent Magnet motors, motor drives and battery management systems in the areas of Electric Vehicles, Electric Bicycles, Electric Scooters, Power Wheelchairs and Washing Machines. PEG has in-depth understanding of the requirements for consumer, medical, automotive and industrial systems.

PEG and PEG’s staff has extensively pursued technology beyond the traditional three-phase motors by engaging in the design of seven and five-phase radial as well as axial flux permanent magnet brushless motors.

PEG is head-quartered in the Shenandoah Valley area with significant research, development and manufacturing capability in the areas of Motors, Drives, Electric Vehicles and High Frequency Electromagnetics.

PEG has developed a unique and highly successful approach called CARE™ to product development and project management for complex technology products involving embedded systems, electro-magnetic  and electro-mechanical components and power electronics. Our CARE™ approach has four main elements –

• Clearly defined customer requirements
• Ample focus on analysis, simulation and modeling
• Rapid prototyping
• Effective project management techniques

We bring products to fruition in short time. We combine the best practical, technical and academic knowledge to bring our clients unique competitive advantages.

PEG has a strong and talented engineering team of

• Motor engineers specializing in the design of motors and high frequency magnetic components using FEA (Finite Element Analysis) as well as analytical methods;
• Electrical engineers specializing in power electronics, analog and digital circuit design;
• Mechanical engineers specializing in 3-D modeling and chassis design with die cast and CNC machined components using SolidWorks;
• Software engineers specializing in algorithm and programming for TI, ST and Microchip DSPs and Micro-controllers;
• Embedded engineers specializing in digital circuit design, Network communication  protocol implementation  (RS232, RS485, I2C, MODBUS, SERCOS, DeviceNet and Profibus), C and C++ programming;
• Layout engineers for designing printed circuit boards for harsh consumer, automotive, medical and industrial applications using PADS;
• Test engineers for designing customer-specific  test stands with National Instrument’s LABVIEW software;
• Project engineers to ensure performance, schedule and cost objectives;
• Research & Simulation engineers to further the understanding in PWM techniques, fuzzy logic, field-oriented, space vector and sensorless control methods;
• Manufacturing  engineers specializing in shorter time to production with minimum risk;

Our Vision

To bring remarkable and extraordinary value to our customers by helping them, create cutting edge technology products in the field of Permanent Magnet Motors, Motor Control and Motor Drives and Systems.

Our Mission

We are committed to the acquisition and application of state of the art knowledge, tools, methods and processes to deliver the greatest value to our customers. We are committed to protecting our customers’ interests with the highest level of integrity and ethics.

Our Core Values

• Truth: Commitment to facts.
• Promise:  Commitment to promises made.
• Honesty and Integrity: Commitment to honesty and truth by promoting transparency in all dealings.
• Fairness and Justice: Commitment to fairness and justice inside and outside the company.
• Excellence: Commitment of excellence to our customers.

POWER ELECTRONIC SIMULATIONS and PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

At PEG, we practice an integrative approach involving simulation in the complete product development cycle. It is important to understand the role of simulation in every phase of the product development cycle. Below is a summary of how simulation can be used in each stage:

1.  Concept Phase: 

During this phase, use simulation tools to verify circuit operation. One must start small using idle component models and build the system in stages. Each stage work should be saved. It is important to understand the theory and state of the art behind the circuit you are about to simulate. Without proper theoretical foundation, you will not be able to obtain useful information from simulation.

Also, for majority of the engineers, a process methodology or steps to design must include simulation. Simulation is most effective when the circuit behavior is not well understood and one can construct several what-if scenarios or use simulation to build a repertoire of questions to be answered about the design problem at hand. Simulation effectiveness improves with experience and time. An engineering department must be dedicated to it. As with any other skill, to yield simulation as a potent competitive weapon, one must spend significant time and resources to hone it. A frivolous relationship or experimental tinkering with simulation tools will not yield any fruitful results.

2. Design Phase: 

During design phase, as you begin to transform your work into schematics, one must pay careful attention to component selection and component models can be incorporated (especially in Spice based tools) one at a time.

Do not be too ambitious to incorporate a host of models at one time. Also realize that incorporating each component model is never required. One must be quite prudent in incorporating essential component models. Just remember Pareto’s principle – 20% or less determine 80% or more of the outcome. This must always be kept in mind

3. Prototype Phase: 

During this phase as prototypes are built, one must pay careful attention to collecting data during incoming inspection (mechanical variables) and testing (electrical variables). Here, we always recommend to use the  suppliers who would also build production units. It is important to do so to understand supplier capabilities and process variations.

4. First Article Phase: 

During this phase as First Articles are built, one must pay careful attention to collecting data during incoming inspection (mechanical variables) and testing (electrical variables). During this phase, use statistics to understand variable distributions and correlation between various parameters. These correlations may change from the prototype stage.

It is important to start forming new hypothesis can tremendously expedite the whole product development cycle. During this phase, PEG strongly recommends using statistics to understand variable distributions and correlation between various variables.  It is important to start forming hypothesis on what could be troublesome variables which are going to effect the performance. Those variations must be incorporated into Simulations to re-characterize  the system and understand overall performance variations.

5. Pre-Production/Production Phase: 

During this phase as Pre- Production or Production units are built, one again must pay careful attention to collecting data during incoming inspection (mechanical variables), in-process inspection (mechanical and electrical variables) and final testing (electrical variables). During this phase, we use statistics to understand variable distributions and correlation between various parameters.

These correlations may change from the earlier phases. It is important to start forming fresh hypothesis on what could be troublesome variables which are going to effect the system performance. Those variations must be incorporated into Simulations to re- characterize the system and understand overall performance variations. This is the process of continuous improvement and PEG’s integrated approach, if followed rigorously, yields not only superior products but also strong infrastructure capabilities.

There is always an “Edison approach” to design. With this approach, you will need to spend countless hours and follow rigorous and scientific method of design of experiments as well as truthful collection of data. “Edison approach” is simply too expensive and unaffordable in today’s world. Nevertheless, with enough money and time, such approach is always possible.

LTSpice and PSpice are great tools for Power Electronic circuits barring their annoying and most irritating convergence problems. These convergence problems are a great waste of time and a source of frustration. However, there has been a steady rise in the tools and techniques in the Spice arena, especially for the Power Electronics and Motor Control areas. Spice and other available tools expertise can be wielded effectively in launching new products through short product development cycles. By no means, is PEG claiming that Spice expertise in Power Electronics alone is sufficient to cut the time from concept to production.  However, it is an important tool to have in the bag.

For Power Electronics Circuits, PEG recommends the following approach to using Spice during  the Concept Phase only:

• Before you build your own circuit model, search to see if similar circuits are available in the public domain. A great engineer always builds her/his work on what is already available. Do not reinvent the wheel.
• Always start with the most idle circuit model of components. Simplicity is the key. Sub-circuits are great in ensuring that small parts of circuits can be made to work first. It is always prudent to use simple, well-tested models.
• Now, transient analysis using idle components will get you only so far. Small Signal modeling is an important step in being able to overcome convergence problems as well as understand the circuit behavior fully. This technique requires state space averaging and is most vital in simulating Power Electronic circuits. PEG specializes in small signal modeling of the Power Electronic circuits and if you run into hot waters using this technique, we are happy to help.
• Control loop compensation is not a  simple matter for most of the Power Electronic circuits. However, the compensator can be easily designed using the small signal modeling techniques.
• Once the above steps are followed and we have a working simulation, we can begin to run various what-if scenarios to understand the circuit behavior in time domain as well as frequency domain.

Toll Free : (877) 748 – 0148

Email: info at powerelectronicsgroup.com

311 Emerson Ln Harrisonburg, VA 22802

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