Recently it has come to my attention that there are some simplefoc shields on aliexpress. And I just wanted to let you know that it is not simplefoc who are selling them but I am actually very happy that they have started to come to these sites. I think this is a great way for these and similar boards to become mode accessible!
So I wanted to ask if someone of you guys has ordered one of these boards and if they are in good working condiiton. From the images some of the listings look great and the other not so much : aliexpress site
Iād like to add the links to the docs but Iād like to be sure that thy work well before I do that
These ones look good for example but the description is a bit off
It definitely work well because it it\s totally based on your design without any modification. And it become more popular in China, many people had replaced it with ODrive and Vesc, because it is simple to use and cheaper.
I know many people are selling the simpleFOCShileds in China, but as I known people who bought it just for trying to see what is BLDC and what is FOC till now, not used it in actually projects, because it is more difficult to use than Stepper motor since it does not has the standard interface for existing projects. And it is not easy find a suitable BLDC motor and a project, and it is more expensive than stepper motore too. Iāve added a CAN bus to simpleFOC and plan to add step/dir interface soon later, if it has that 2 interfaces it will be more popular.
In its current form, SimpleFOC is like a toolkit - perfect for learning about BLDCs & FOC, and testing motor control with different MCUs - i.e. its for people who want to deal with the āinsideā of an ESC.
But for someone who just wants to get on with a project involving motors, a more ācompleteā (and therefore more opinionated) solution like ODrive or VESC is easier to use. So I think what it needs to be really easy to use is a firmata type approach - a finished firmware with the control side solved and documented protocols for things like CAN and step/dir, PWM or I2C control.
So that solves a slightly different problem, in the end, and addresses a different audience - one which is already served by the solutions mentioned. But the way in which SimpleFOC is growing, I have the feeling a āSimpleFOC firmataā is not far away.
Thank you very much for your information about firmata which I never heard before, after a glance it seems very suitable to be used in such sitiuation.