How Drone Motors, ESCs, Propulsion Systems Work?
As the drone industry starts to gain more and more popularity, the several components that make the drone able to fly are developing to offer greater results and a better flying experience for every drone pilot. The motors play a vital role for every drone, and by having the best drone motors, ESCs, and propulsion systems on your drone, you will not only get a longer flight time, but you will also get away with better flight stability and a faster flight. By following this article, you will get the opportunity to know and become aware of How Drone Motors, ESCs, Propulsion Systems Work, what drone motors do, and how good they perform.
By being aware of these important aspects, you will see the difference between every motor on the market. Because of that, next time you are thinking about purchasing a drone, you will choose it more wisely.
So let’s begin.
What Drone Motors Do
Talking about the drone motors’ functionality, we can say that they have one of the most important roles for a drone. They are also an integral part of how drones work.
Drones that features more rotor arms are the most popular ones, each rotor receives the power from an individual motor. These motors’ role is to create the spinning motion to their propellers, which helps provide the lift.
More than that, the drones also rely on their propellers to control their direction. The drones obtain a directional bias that gives them the ability to move in any direction simply by varying their rotation rate.
This sophisticated control is offered by the ESC module of each motor, which adjusts each propeller’s ratio speed to move in the intended direction.
Types of motors
If you did a little research about drones before, for sure, you heard about the terms brushed and brushless motor. These two are the motors that are usually used for every drone. Down below, we are going to present each one of these two motors’ specifications in detail. So, you can understand how they work and also which one of them is better.
The brushed motors
The brushed motors are the traditional ones. They are not a new invention, but their importance is critical. These motors represent the foundation of the standard motor technology. Two important parts make the motor work, the stator, and the rotor. The stator being that component that stays stationary while the rotor is the one that rotates.
Inside a brushed motor, you will find a stator that surrounds a rotor located in the center, and it is lined with two magnets of opposing polarity. The rotor’s movement is created by the contact between the rotor’s brushes and a current supply, creating a magnetic field.
The biggest disadvantage of brushless motor technology is the need for the commutator to contact the current supply. A lot of friction between the current supply and brushes is created due to its rapid rotation. It creates a lot of heat, meaning that the lifespan of the brushed motors becomes limited.
The brushless motors
The brushless motors are the alternative to the brushed ones and they were invented in the 1960s. They came with several design changes having the stator located in the center. It is surrounded by the rotor that lines with a set of magnets.
By being made of several pairs of electric coils the brushless motor is able to create its own magnetic field. The stator creates a magnetic field by being supplied with a current to these coils. The rotation is created when the magnets of the surrounding rotor interact with the magnetic field created.
The advantage of these brushless motors special is that there is no contact between the stationary and the rotating components. With the lack of friction between the components, there is no energy wasted as heat, creating a more efficient process.
Without any heat generated, the brushless motors diminish the risks of overheating and operate for a longer period of time. And because of that, almost every professional drone on the market features brushless motors.
The brushless motors are only more resistant in time and more efficient, but they also are quieter than the brushed ones.
Drone’s Electronic Speed Controllers – ESC
Another important component for every drone is its electronic speed controllers. The ESC is an electronic circuit that regulates and controls the acceleration, speed, and deceleration of the drone motors. A larger number of ESCs provide dynamic braking and reversing of the motors as well.
The latest ESC models are using Field Oriented Control algorithms in order to get a higher precision control and more responsiveness of the motor. This FOC can also be installed on the ESC hardware.
Drone’s propulsion systems
The main action of pushing the drone forward by sending the air behind it is taken by the propellers, helped by the motors as well. The propellers’ main purpose is to pull the air into them and push it out, offering the drone the ability to fly. The same process works when the drone is going vertically up pushing the air below the drone.
In order to direct the drone, the propellers have to push the air in the opposite direction the drone has to go.
Propellers come in a large variety of models with different designs and sizes for different drone models. All of them having the same purpose, to make the drone fly. Many high-quality propellers on the market made out of Ultra Carbon Pro offer great stiffness and strength.
One important factor which determines how fast the propeller moves the drone and also how much force it is needed in the process is the pitch angles. The overall size and the angle of the propeller affects the thrust and the speed of the drone as well.
