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21 | Powering Up Electric Motor Drives In the previous article in this series, we looked at how the control of electric motors is getting more sophisticated to maximize speed, torque, and efficiency. The highlighted solutions required powerful microcontrollers processing complex algorithms to calculate exactly how much current needs to be applied to energize the electromagnets in the motor's stator at precisely the right time. Some of the most popular motor types used today would not be viable without those control methods; for example, permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) and brushless DC (BLDC) motors require extensive mathematical calculations to operate effectively. Microcontrollers are generally at their best when making intricate calculations, not delivering precise amounts of power. Although some microcontrollers integrate circuitry that can provide the necessary power, a dedicated power system is often required. In this article, we will examine the architectures and components that go into powering electric motors. Architecture The most widely used method of delivering power to the stator coils in three-phase AC and BLDC motor control designs is by using an inverter (Figure 1). In the vast majority of three-phase AC motor designs, the supply voltage is initially converted to DC, and then that DC signal is converted to the desired AC frequency and magnitude using pulse width modulation (PWM). Various types of inverters can be used depending on the topology and the number of phases in the Image Source: "nordroden / stock.adobe.com"