Grin Technologies Frankenrunner User manual

Frankenrunner User Manual
Rev 1.0
The Frankenrunner
Motor Controller
User Manual – Rev 1.0
Grin Technologies Ltd
Vancouver, BC, Canada
ph: (60 ) 569-0902
email: [email protected]
web: www.ebikes.ca
Copyright © 2022

Frankenrunner User Manual
Rev 1.0
Table of Contents
1 Introduction.........................................................................1
2 Connectors...........................................................................2
2.1 Battery Power..................................................................................................2
2.2 Motor Cable – L10 Model..............................................................................2
2.3 Motor Cable – MT Model..............................................................................3
2.4 Cycle Analyst WP8 Pl g.................................................................................3
2.5 Mains Signals Pl g..........................................................................................4
2.6 PAS / Torq e Pl g...........................................................................................4
2.7 Comm nication Port.......................................................................................4
3 Wiring Strategies..................................................................5
3.1 Cycle Analyst Based Hook p.........................................................................5
3.2 3rd Party Display Hook p.............................................................................5
3.3 Headless System..............................................................................................6
4 Controller Mounting............................................................7
5 Parameter Tuning ...............................................................7
5.1 Importing Defa lt Motor Parameters..........................................................8
5.2 Motor A tot ne...............................................................................................9
5.3 Battery Limits................................................................................................13
5.4 Motor Phase C rrent and Power Settings.................................................13
5.5 T ning the Sensorless Self Start..................................................................15
5.6 Throttle and Regen Voltage Maps..............................................................16
5.7 Field Weakening for Speed Boost................................................................17
5.8 Virt al Electronic Freewheeling..................................................................18
5.9 Motor Temperat re Sensing........................................................................18
6 Additional etails: ............................................................19
6.1 Signal Mapping.............................................................................................19
6.2 Reverse Mode................................................................................................20
6.3 Wheel Speed Sensing....................................................................................20
6.4 Combined Temp / Speed Signal...................................................................21
6.5 Independent Regenerative Braking............................................................21
7 Cycle Analyst Settings........................................................22
8 LE Flash Codes...............................................................23
9 Specifications.....................................................................25

Frankenrunner User Manual
Rev 1.0
1 Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Frankenrunner, a temporary alternative to the
Phaseunner motor controller based on Accelerated Systems Inc. ASI)'s BAC800
device.
This manual covers two production models: the Frankenrunner_L10 and the
Frankenrunner_MT. The L10 model is intended for motors already using the
L1019 connector, while the MT model employs a cable harness between the
controller and motor for accommodating various other connector standards.
Features of the Frankenrunner include:
Compact form factor
User programmable parameters for customized tuning
Wide operating voltage 24V - 72V nominal batteries)
Compatible with both Cycle Analyst and 3rd party displays
Supports Throttle, PAS and Torque sensor control
Waterproof design with potted electronics
Proportional and powerful regenerative braking
Smooth and quiet field-oriented drive
Supports thermal rollback in thermistor-equipped motors
Remote forwards/reverse input
Field weakening to boost top speed
Sensorless operation with high eRPM motors
Unlike standard trapezoidal or sine wave controllers, the Frankenrunner is a field
oriented controller that must be tuned to your motor, battery, and performance
requirements for proper operation. This process is detailed in Section 5
Parameter Tuning .
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2 Connectors
The controller has been connectorized to achieve maximum versatility with
minimal wiring, using a combination of waterproof overmolded ebike plugs for
signals and popular compact connectors for high current.
2.1 Battery Power
DC Power Pinout
The embedded plug on the back of the device provides a
reliable hookup to DC battery power through the compact
and popular XT60 plug interface.
A 30cm XT60 to Anderson cable is provided with each
device to match the Anderson standard used on many
ebike batteries.
- Warning – The controller may suffer irreparable damage if leads are hooked up in reverse
polarity. Always check the polarity of the connector before applying power.
2.2 Motor Cable – L10 Model
The L10 model has a 40cm lead to a Higo L1019 connector for direct hookup to a
compatible motor. This length is sufficient to reach a rear hub motor with the
controller mounted on the seat-tube, or to a front hub motor with the controller on
the stem. Both 60cm and 100cm L10 extension cables are available when
longer lengths are required.
L10 Motor Plug Pinout
The Higo L1019 cable has three
motor phase pins capable of 80
amps peak, along with 7 small
signal wires for Hall position, speed
encoder, and motor temperature.
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2.3 Motor Cable – MT Model
The motor connection on the MT model uses an MT60 plug for the 3 phase
power, and both 5 pin and 2 pin JST-SM plugs for Hall sensor and temp/speed
signals. These leads coming from the controller are short, with an expectation
that a separate cable harness will be employed to reach the motor terminals.
Motor Harness Phase Pinout
The MT60 connector supports 3 phase
power in a single plug. These connectors
can be readily soldered for making custom
harnesses.
Motor Harness Hall Pinout
The 3 Hall signals and 5V Hall power are
provided through the 5 pin female JST-SM
connector. This is a user crimpable plug.
Motor Harness Signal Pinout
If the motor has a temperature and/or wheel
speed sensor, these signals can be passed
to the controller via the 2-pin plug. Both of
these signals must be referenced to the Hall
ground pin.
2.4 Cycle Analyst WP8 Plu
WP8 Pinout
The connector for the Cycle Analyst cable uses
the waterproof 8-pin Z812 Higo standard.
This connector taps into the controller's shunt
resistor for analog current and power sensing,
passing through the motor's speed and
temperature signals as well. It commands the
controller via the throttle line.
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2.5 Mains Si nals Plu
Mains Pinout
An alternate interface is provided via the 9 pin
Mains cable. This uses uses the Signal D 1109
Connector from Cusmade, and supports
conventional ebike wiring strategies for 3rd party
display consoles. It shares many signals with the
CA-WP plug, but rather than using the shunt
resistor for current sensing, it has TX and RX pins
that communicate digitally to the display.
2.6 PAS / Torque Plu
PAS Pinout
Finally there is a 6 pin HiGo MiniB Z609 plug for
connection of a PAS sensor or Torque Sensor.
Note that the PAS 2 pin shares the same signal as
the Fwd/Rev input of the Mains cable, and can be
configured for either function. See section 6.2 )
2.7 Communication Port
A TRRS jack embedded in the controller can be used for connecting to a
computer, Android smart phone, or potential Bluetooth dongle future product).
The communication standard uses a 0 to 5V level serial bus. Grin produces a 3m
long TTL->USB adapter cable to connect the unit with the USB port of a standard
computer. This is the same communication cable used with the Cycle Analyst
and Satiator products. Third party USB->Serial cables, such as FTDI’s part
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number TTL-232R-5V-AJ are also compatible.
An additional USB-OTG adapter is needed when connecting to an Android
smartphone via the phone's smaller Micro USB or USB-C port.
3 Wiring Strategies
The Frankenrunner can be hooked up to the controls of an ebike system in one
of three ways. It can be connected under the full control of a V3 Cycle Analyst,
under the control of a 3rd party display, or “headless” with no display at all.
3.1 Cycle Analyst Based Hookup
The setup using the latest V3 Cycle Analyst CA3-WP) provides the most
versatility with mode presets, customizable PAS behavior, advanced regen
features, and easy performance adjustments on the road. In this arrangement, all
throttle, ebrake, and PAS or torque sensors are plugged in directly to the Cycle
Analyst. The Cycle Analyst is responsible for determining the desired ebike
behavior and sending a suitable throttle command to the controller.
The 6 pin PAS plug of the controller is typically not used in this arrangement
except as a possible Fwd/Rev input source. The 9 pin Mains cable either can be
left unterminated, or it can be used as a power tap for running rear lights, using a
9 to 2 pin Power Adapter cable.
3.2 3rd Party Display Hookup
The Frankenrunner can be used with certain third party displays from King
Meter, Star-Union, Bafang etc.) that communicate using the KM5s digital
protocol. This is achieved with a 9 pin Mains cable harness which splits out the 9
signals into separate plugs for throttle, display, ebrakes, and front light, along
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with an optional) PAS or Torque sensor hooked up to the 6 pin PAS plug as
well.
All the key control signals throttle, ebrake, PAS/Torque) go directly to the
Frankenrunner and not the display, so additional controller parameters must be
set up to achieve desired control response. The display has the on/off power
control and up/down settings to set the assist level, but otherwise plays a passive
role in the actual system behavior.
In this wiring approach, the WP8 Cycle Analyst plug is not needed, but it can be
used as a convenient tap point to power a rear bike light as well.
At present Grin only provides support for this third-party display hookup to OEM
customers, and does not offer support or the components for this at the retail
level. Configuration and additional controller settings will be detailed in a
separate document to this manual.
3.3 Headless System
Finally, the Frankenrunner can be run with only a throttle on the Mains plug, or a
PAS / Torque sensor plugged into the 6 pin PAS plug. In these arrangements, it
is essential to wire up the on/off power switch on either the WP8 plug or the
Mains connector for the controller to turn on.
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This minimal approach with a PAS sensor does not provide for any means to
adjust the assist level outside of reprogramming the controller, and for that
reason has limited usefulness. A display unit with up/down buttons is required in
order to vary the amount of assist while riding.
4 Controller Mounting
For optimal performance, the Frankenrunner should be installed such that the
finned heatsink is exposed to airflow to keep the controller cool. This placement
will noticeably improve the maximum power at thermal rollback compared to a
controller that is in still air.
The controller casing includes two
threaded M5 holes 60mm apart on
the narrow edge to facilitate
installation. Grin offers a tube
mounting bracket that
converts this into a channel
that securely attaches to
bicycle tubing with either zip ties or hose
clamps.
5 Parameter Tuning
If you purchased the Frankenrunner as part of a complete conversion kit that
includes a battery, a motor, and so on, the controller should be pre-configured
and no tuning of the parameters should be necessary. This section can be
skipped entirely.
If you bought the Frankenrunner separately, or are changing your set-up, you
should configure the controller to your motor and battery pack once it is installed
and connected on your bike. You will need a computer, a TTL-USB programming
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cable and the V1.7 or later Phaserunner Software Suite. The V1.6 and earlier
software releases will give an “unrecognized device” error message.
This software is available for Linux, Windows, MacOS and Android from our
webpage:
http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/phaserunner.html
Please Note: hen configuring your Frankenrunner via the software suite, it is
essential that your bike is propped up so that the powered wheel can rotate
freely, both forwards and backwards. ith a rear hub motor, also ensure that the
cranks can rotate freely.
With the Frankenrunner powered on, plug in the TTL->USB cable from your
computer to the device. After launching the Phaserunner software, select the
COM port associated with the USB cable and you should see “Frankenrunner is
connected” on the top.
If you see “Controller is not connected,” check that the selected serial port is
correct and that the USB->TTL device shows up in your device manager as a
COM port Windows), ttyUSB Linux), or cu.usbserial MacOS).
If your system does not recognize the USB serial adapter, or has frequent COM
timeouts, then you may need to download and install the latest virtual COM port
drivers directly from FTDI:
http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
During the setup process we recommend having the controller powered by a
battery pack and not a general power supply, as electrical noise from power
supplies can interfere with stable communication.
5.1 Importin Default Motor Parameters
The Phaserunner Software Suite comes equipped with default settings for many
common motors. With your Frankenrunner connected, click on “Load Default
Parameters” and select your motor’s manufacturer and model number from the
new window. Clicking on “Apply” will return you to the “Basic Setup” tab with all
the motor’s parameter-fields populated to their correct values.
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Install these new settings to the Frankenrunner via the “Save Parameters”
button.
Apply some throttle and your motor should run smoothly. If it does, you can now
skip over the “Motor Autotune” section, and continue with “Battery Limits.”
If your motor is not listed on the “Import Defaults” window, try choosing
“Download Latest Defaults from Grin” and follow the prompts. If your motor
model is still not listed, proceed to the “Motor Autotune” section that follows.
5.2 Motor Autotune
Basic Setup tab
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The Autotune routine can automatically detect motor parameters like the motor
speed constant kV), resistance of one motor phase to neutral Rs), and the
inductance of motor phase to neutral Ls).
The start of the Autotune process asks for your best guess of the motor’s kV in
rpm/V, as well as the number of pole pairs in the motor. The firmware uses these
initial parameters for determining the test current frequency.
The Autotune routine will usually work fine even if your initial guess for the kV
value is incorrect. Most ebike hub motors fall within 7-12 rpm/V and an initial
guess of 10 will usually work.
The effective pole pairs is a count of how many electrical cycles corresponds to
one mechanical revolution of the motor and must be set correctly. The
Frankenrunner needs this information to correlate it’s electrical output frequency
with the wheel speed. In a direct drive DD) motor, it is the number of magnet
pairs in the rotor, while in a geared motor you need to multiply the magnet pairs
by its gear ratio. The following table lists the effective pole pairs for many
common motor series.
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Table 1: Effe tive Pole Pairs of Common DD and Geared Hub Motors
Motor Family # Pole Pairs
Crystalyte 400, Wilderness Energy 8
BionX PL350 11
Crystalyte 5300, 5400 12
TDCM GH 16
Crysatlyte NSM, SAW 20
Grin All Axle, Crysatlyte H, Nine Continent,
MXUS and Other 205mm DD Motors
23
Magic Pie 3, Other 273mm DD Motors, RH212 26
Bafang BPM, Bafang CST 40
Bafang G01, MXUS XF07 44
Bafang G02, G60, G62 50
Shengyi SX1/SX2 72
eZee, BMC, MAC, Puma, GMAC 80
Bafang G310, G311 88
Bafang G370 112
For motors not listed, either open the motor to count the magnets pairs and gear
ratio), or count the number of Hall cycles that take place when you manually turn
the wheel one revolution. You can monitor the number of Hall transitions via the
“Dashboard” tab of the software suite.
Once the “kV” and the “Number of Pole Pair” values are entered, launch the
“Static Test.” This test will produce three short buzzing sounds, and determine
the inductance and resistance of the motor windings. The resulting values will be
shown on the screen.
Next, launch the “Spinning Motor Test” which will cause the motor to rotate at
about half speed for 15 seconds. During this test, the controller will determine the
actual kV winding constant for the hub, as well as the pinout and timing advance
of the Hall sensors if they are present. If the motor spins backwards during this
test, check the box “Flip Motor Spin Direction on Next Autotuning?” and relaunch
the “Spinning Motor Test.”
During the spinning test, the Frankenrunner will start the motor in sensorless
mode. If the motor fails to spin and just starts and stutters a few times, adjust the
sensorless starting parameters as described in section 5.5, “Tuning the
Sensorless Self Start,” until the motor is spinning steadily. If the spinning test
detects a valid Hall sequence, the final screen will show the hall offset, and that
the “Position Sensor Type” is “Hall sensor start and sensorless run.”
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5.3 Battery Limits
Basic Setup tab
With the controller mapped to your motor and spinning correctly, you should now
set the battery voltage and current settings to appropriate values for your pack.
Set “Max Battery Current” to a value that is equal to or less than the battery’s
discharge current rating. Higher battery currents will result in more power, but
can also stress the battery cells, resulting in shorter battery life. Excessively high
values can cause the BMS circuit to trip, shutting down the pack.
We recommend setting “Max Regen Voltage Start)” to the same value as the full
charge voltage of your battery, with the “Max Regen Voltage End)” to about 0.5V
higher than full charge. This will ensure you can do regen even with a mostly
charged battery.
The “Low Voltage Cutoff Start)” and “Low Voltage Cutoff End)” values can be
set just above the BMS cutoff point of your battery. If you are using a V3 Cycle
Analyst, we recommend leaving these values at the default 19.5/19.0 volts and
use the CA3’s low voltage cutoff feature instead. That way you can change the
cutoff voltage without a computer if you ever need to swap batteries.
If you are setting up a system with regenerative braking and have a BMS circuit
that shuts off if it detects excessive charge current, you will also need to further
limit the “Maximum Regen Battery Current” to a value lower than the BMS trip
current. Otherwise it's not usually an issue with modern lithium cells to have short
duration peak regen current levels of 2C, ie double the battery amp-hours.
5.4 Motor Phase Current and Power Settin s
Basic Setup tab
In addition to regulating the current flowing in and out of the battery pack, the
Frankenrunner can independently control the maximum phase currents that flow
to and from the motor. It is the motor phase current that both generates torque
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and causes the motor windings to heat up. At low motor speeds this phase
current can be several times higher than the battery current you see on a Cycle
Analyst.
The “Max Power Limit” sets an upper limit on the total watts that will be allowed
to flow into the hub motor. This value has a similar effect to a battery current limit,
but it is dependent on voltage. A value of 2000 Watts will limit battery current to
27 amps with a 72V pack, while allowing over 40 amps with a 48V pack.
“Max Phase Current” determines the peak amps, and hence torque, put through
the motor while accelerating at full throttle assuming no other limits are reached.
The “Max Regen Phase Current” value directly sets the peak braking torque of
the motor at full regen. If you want a strong braking effect, then set this to the
same value as the forward phase current limit. If the maximum braking force is
too intense, then reduce its value.
The following graph illustrates the interplay between motor phase current, battery
current, and motor output power for a typical setup. When riding at full throttle,
low speeds will be phase current limited, medium speeds will be battery current
limited, and high speeds will be limited by the voltage of your battery pack.
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5.5 Tunin the Sensorless Self Start
Advanced Setup
If you are running in sensorless mode, then you may need to tweak the
sensorless self start behaviour.
When a brushless motor is run
without Hall sensors and started from
a complete stop, the motor controller
attempts to ramp up the motor’s rpm
to a minimum speed so that it can
latch onto the rotation closed loop).
It does this by first injecting a static
current into the phase windings to
orient the motor into a known
position. The controller then rotates
this field faster and faster until
reaching the “Autostart Max RPM”
value.
As initial values, set the “Autostart Injection Current” to half your maximum phase
current, an “Autostart Max RPM” between 5% to 10% of the running motor rpm,
and an “Autostart Spinup Time” anywhere from 300 to 1500 milliseconds,
depending on how easily the motor can propel the bike up to speed.
On bikes that you pedal to help get you underway, a short 200 to 300 millisecond
ramp will often work best, while a much longer ramp is required if you need to
start moving without pedaling.
If you feel the motor repeatedly trying to start when applying throttle, the
“Autostart Spinup Time” may be too short, or the “Autostart Max RPM” may be
too low. You may also generate faults such as “Instantaneous Phase
Overcurrent.” To correct this particular fault, try increasing either the “Current
Regulator Bandwidth” or the “PLL Bandwidth” parameters, or both. These
parameters are found under “Feedback Bandwidth Tuning” on the “Basic Setup”
tab.
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5.6 Throttle and Re en Volta e Maps
Advanced Setup tab
With most ebike controllers, the throttle signal controls the effective voltage and
hence unloaded rpm of the motor. With a Frankenrunner, however, the throttle is
directly controlling the motor torque.
If you pick the motor off the ground and give it just a tiny amount of throttle, it will
still spin up to full rpm as there is no load on the motor. People sometimes
mistake this behavior as an all-or-nothing throttle response. If you apply partial
throttle while riding, you will get a proportional torque from the motor which will
stay constant even as the vehicle speeds up or slows down. This is different from
standard ebike controllers, where the throttle more directly controls motor speed.
By default, the Frankenrunner is configured so that active throttle starts at 1.2V,
and full throttle is reached at 3.5V, which is broadly compatible with Hall Effect
ebike throttles. The same signal for the throttle is also used to control
regenerative braking see Section 6.1 Signal Mapping).
The regen voltage is mapped by default so that regenerative braking starts at
0.8V and reaches maximum intensity at 0.0V. This way there is no overlap
between the throttle region and the braking region and a single wire can control
both ranges.
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5.7 Field Weakenin for Speed Boost
Basic Setup tab
The Frankenrunner can boost the top speed of your motor beyond what is
normally possible from your battery voltage. This is accomplished by injecting a
field weakening current in advance of the torque producing current.
The amount of speed boost received for a given field weakening current will
depend on the winding characteristics of your particular motor. A trial and error
approach is recommended, increasing in small increments until the desired top
speed is achieved.
Increasing a motor’s top speed in this way is less efficient than using a higher
voltage pack or a faster motor winding, but for a speed boost of 15% to 20%, the
additional losses are quite reasonable.
The following graph shows a large direct drive hub motor’s rpm as a function of
field weakening current. The upper black line is the motor’s measured rpm, while
the initially lower yellow line is the no-load current draw, reflecting the amount of
extra power lost due to field weakening. We can see that at 20 amps of field
weakening, the motor speed increases from 310 rpm to 380 rpm, while the no
load current draw is still just under 3 amps.
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5.8 Virtual Electronic Freewheelin
Dashboard/Basic Setup tabs
The Frankenrunner controller can be set to inject a small amount of current into
the motor, even when the throttle is off. When properly tuned, this current
injection can overcome the drag torque present in hub motors capable of
regenerative braking, allowing them to spin freely when pedaling without any
throttle.
To setup this feature, we recommend first going to the “Dashboard” tab. With the
system running under throttle with no load on the motor, note the “Motor Current”
value.
Navigate back to the “Basic Setup” tab, check “Enable Virtual Freewheeling,” and
set “Electronic Freewheeling Current” to a value slightly less than that of the
observed unloaded motor current. The “Motor Stall Timeout” setting determines
when this injection current will stop once the motor comes to a stop.
Once the values for “Virtual Electronic Freewheeling” are set, the controller will
draw about 10 to 40 watts in order to overcome the motor’s drag. Regenerative
braking should recapture more energy than lost due to the injection current.
Users of mid-drive motors can also use this feature to keep the drive train always
engaged, eliminating windup delay and harsh clutch engagement when throttle is
applied and the motor comes up to speed.
5.9 Motor Temperature Sensin
Temperature Setup tab
The Frankenrunner has the ability to sense motor temperature and prevent the
motor from overheating via thermal rollback. An entire tab in the software suite is
dedicated to the motor thermal rollback settings. A six point table maps the
voltage that corresponds to the temperatures of 0°, 25°, 50°, 75°, 100°, and
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