Evolving Tools for Motor Drive Development

­Motor-driven products play an increasingly important role across industries and consumer markets. From electric scooters and forklifts to robotics, power tools, and smart home appliances, electric motors have become foundational components in today’s engineered systems. The evolution of these products has increased the demand for motor control that is precise, efficient, and responsive. Engineers must now navigate complex design requirements, tighter development timelines, and higher performance expectations.

To meet these challenges, it is no longer sufficient to simply select the right components. Engineers also need development tools that allow for early, accurate evaluation and rapid prototyping. These tools must support diverse control methods, accommodate different sensors and power configurations, and provide meaningful insight into real-world performance. As motor control systems become more advanced, the need for flexible evaluation environments is growing.

Meeting the Demands of Real-World Applications

Performance requirements for motor-driven systems vary by application, but most share a few common demands: smooth operation, high energy efficiency, minimal noise, and reliable performance under different loads and environmental conditions.

In electric mobility applications such as e-scooters and e-bikes, systems must deliver precise speed control, rapid acceleration, and a quiet user experience across a wide operating range. In industrial applications, fans and pumps must maintain continuous and consistent performance, often within compact and thermally constrained enclosures. Cordless tools require efficient torque delivery, compact designs, and fast response times. Home appliances add additional complexity, often operating at low noise thresholds and needing compatibility with household power constraints. Robotics applications prioritize accuracy in position and velocity control, along with adaptability to variable load conditions and environments.

Regardless of the end product, these systems place high demands on both the hardware and software involved in motor control. Engineers must validate design decisions early in the process to ensure that systems will remain stable and perform as expected once deployed. This requires evaluation platforms that can replicate realistic conditions and support a wide range of test cases.

Key Requirements for a Modern Evaluation Platform

Modern motor control development tools need to go beyond simple demonstration boards. To support fast-paced development, setup must be intuitive and efficient. In many cases, getting a motor up and running can take days, or even weeks, depending on the complexity of the hardware and software integration. A platform that allows engineers to configure a board and spin a motor in just a few hours can significantly accelerate development cycles. Reducing this early friction enables faster iteration, earlier validation, and ultimately a smoother path from concept to working prototype.

The platform should also be compatible with multiple communication protocols such as UART, SPI, I2C, and CAN, allowing integration with various microcontrollers and development environments. Support for different control methods, including trapezoidal, sinusoidal, and field-oriented control (FOC), enables teams to test performance across operating modes and match system-level goals such as noise, smoothness, or torque response.

Integrated current sensing and built-in protection mechanisms are essential for safe operation and real-time feedback. These features allow engineers to evaluate power stage behavior under load and diagnose faults quickly. Diagnostic LEDs, in-line phase current sensing, and VBUS current monitoring are all useful for early fault detection and verification of design assumptions.

Open-source firmware and access to design files make it easier to customize the platform or adapt it for more advanced use cases. Developers can experiment with new algorithms, tweak hardware settings, or simulate specific use conditions with fewer limitations. When paired with simulation tools such as LTSpice, the platform becomes a bridge between modeling and physical validation.

Finally, a modular structure offers a key advantage. Separating the inverter stage from the control logic simplifies upgrades, component swaps, and customization. This separation ensures that one platform can be adapted across different projects without extensive rework.

A Sample Platform: NEVB-MTR1-KIT1 Evaluation Kit

One example of a development platform that supports this flexible approach is the NEVB-MTR1-KIT1 introduced by Nexperia and Würth Elektronik. Designed for low- to mid-voltage motor systems, it supports a wide range of applications operating between 12 and 48 V      and can handle output power up to 1 kilowatt. The platform features a modular two-board structure with a dedicated three-phase inverter and a microcontroller board (Figure 1). It supports brushed DC, brushless DC (BLDC), and permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs).

The evaluation kit is designed to support both sensored and sensorless control schemes, giving engineers flexibility during development. Firmware is provided for sensored control using Hall-effect sensors, incremental encoders, and absolute encoders. For sensorless evaluation, the hardware includes onboard back-electromotive force (back-EMF) detection circuitry, simplifying the process by eliminating the need for external filters or microcontroller comparators. This design choice reduces setup complexity and makes it easier to explore sensorless control strategies using custom firmware. The kit integrates with Arduino Leonardo R3 and Nucleo form factor microcontrollers and connects easily to external systems through standard communication interfaces.

The power stage includes efficient LFPAK56 MOSFETs and integrated gate drivers. Built-in high-side and in-line current sensing provides real-time feedback for torque and speed control. Protection features such as overcurrent and undervoltage lockout reduce development risk during evaluation. An onboard DC-DC converter supplies logic and control power, allowing the entire system to run from a single input source (Figure 2).

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Figure 2: Component overview of NEVB-MTR1-KIT1 Motor Driver Evaluation kit

In addition to the hardware, the kit includes LTSpice simulation models, full schematics, a bill of materials, and layout files. Open-source firmware is provided under an MIT-style license, enabling full customization and adaptation for specific use cases or new development needs.

This type of platform is particularly useful for engineers developing products in e-mobility, robotics, consumer appliances, or industrial systems. It provides a balance of quick deployment, technical flexibility, and deep system insight, helping teams move rapidly from concept to validated design.

Spotlight on Field-Oriented Control

Among the various supported control strategies, field-oriented control (FOC) has become increasingly important in modern motor drive applications. FOC enables smoother, more precise, and more efficient motor operation, particularly at varying speeds or under dynamic load conditions. It is especially useful in high-performance applications such as robotics, electric mobility, and industrial automation.

FOC works by transforming the three-phase stator currents into a rotating reference frame. This mathematical transformation separates the torque-producing and flux-producing components of the current, allowing each to be controlled independently. As a result, the motor behaves more like a brushed DC motor in terms of torque linearity and dynamic response, while maintaining the benefits of brushless architecture.

The advantages of FOC include reduced torque ripple, lower acoustic noise, improved energy efficiency, and enhanced controllability at low speeds. These benefits make it the preferred choice for PMSMs, which are widely used in applications where performance and reliability are critical.

Implementing field-oriented control (FOC) presents meaningful challenges. It requires precise current measurement, accurate rotor position sensing or estimation, and real-time control algorithms that must be carefully tuned for each application. These requirements often deter teams from using FOC during early development phases due to the added complexity.

The evaluation kit includes the necessary hardware to support FOC, including integrated current sensing and interfaces for sensored or sensorless position feedback. This provides a solid hardware foundation for developers who want to implement and experiment with their own FOC algorithms. By removing the need for custom circuitry or board modifications, the platform allows teams to focus on developing control software and tuning system behavior rather than managing low-level signal acquisition.

When paired with external firmware and simulation tools, this type of platform helps make FOC more accessible for a range of applications, from high-efficiency consumer appliances to dynamic robotics and electric mobility systems. Its readiness for advanced control schemes like FOC makes it a valuable resource for developers aiming to optimize motor performance at a deeper level.

Aligning Tools with Development Goals

As systems continue to rely more heavily on electric motor technology, the importance of flexible and realistic evaluation environments grows. Engineers need tools that help them validate designs under real-world conditions, compare different control methods, and make informed decisions early in the process.

Platforms that offer modularity, open design access, and broad control compatibility help teams address evolving requirements. By enabling fast prototyping, reliable testing, and streamlined customization, these tools reduce development friction and increase project momentum.

No evaluation board can solve every challenge, but well-designed platforms that support a wide range of motors, control strategies, and real-time feedback bring development closer to the goal of seamless hardware-software integration. Whether optimizing performance, reducing noise, improving efficiency, or expanding product features, these tools help engineers move confidently from concept to production.

As motor technologies advance and applications diversify, engineers equipped with adaptable evaluation systems will be best positioned to lead the next wave of product innovation.

Nexperia