FreeDrive is an open-source motor controller board based on a JLCPCB friendly VESC6 75V/300A so-called "driverless" design with individual gate drivers for all three phases. It is powered by an STM32F405 MCU and is capable of running FOC at high power and voltages.

FreeDrive is a motor controller designed for FOC (Field Oriented Control) and HFI (High Frequency Injection), a sensorless teqnique enabling full torque at zero speed without sensor feedback. The hardware is separated in 3 sub-modules which are assembled using standard pin headers.

POWER BRIDGE	MCU	SUPPLY
3 phase power bridge	STM32F405 FREEPILL	+12,+5V,+3V

The board is intended for "small" electric vehicles like Skateboards, OneWheels, Bicycles, Robotics, Boats, and is designed in sub-modules as a reference design for further development.

The standard design includes 12 mosfets, but it will also work with just 6 fets. You choose.

• 75V/300A continuous rating
• 18s battery voltage rating
• 3-phase FOC motor control
• 4-layer pcb design with individual gate drivers for all three phases
• STM32F405 MCU
• USB-C
• CAN, 5 mbps
• Onboard IMU
• Momentary on/off switch connection via 4-pin jst connector
• Led data pin for programmable LEDs
• Compact design with fets mounted on the bottom side
• 12V for gate drivers, 5V for CAN and IMU, and 3.3V for MCU and op-amped current-sense amplification
• Cheap and up-to-date with cheapest and well stocked components available for ordering at JLCPCB and LCSC
• Dimensions of assembled board: 65 x 78 mm

FreeDrive thread on esk8

Advantages of separation into modules?

• Suitable for further development by DIY people
• Compatibility with other FOC projects
• Understanding of FOC HW is easier
• HW development is cheaper
• Debugging is easier

Disadvantages

• Assembly takes longer time. You need to solder 46 pinheader pins manually

In the /production folder there is a guide for the ordering procedure.

Below is an image of the whole kit needed for assemble. The guide for the assembly procedure is in the /production folder.

Use the VESC Tool to configure the motor controller according to your specific motor and application requirements.

Contributions to The FreeDrive project are welcome and encouraged. If you have any suggestions or improvements, please open an issue or a pull request on the GitHub repository.

If you find this project useful and would like to support bread-and-butter for very time consuming development and maintenance, you can donate 1$ to the creator via PayPal.

FreeDrive is released under the CERN Open Hardware License (OHL), developed by the European Organization for Nuclear Research. In short, it is a permissive license that allows anyone to use, modify, and distribute the licensed hardware, as long as they provide attribution to the original creators and distribute their modifications under the same license.

FreeDrive is built on the work of the VESC project and the contributions of its developers and contributors. Many thanks to mxlemming (aka David Molony) and crinq on the vesc forum on discord for their careful review and advice. Also this project is inspired by the format and concept of the MP2 by badgineer and the Cheap Focer2 by shaman.

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