Design of user-friendly microcontroller-based controllers for general purpose drive systems

Modifying motor drive systems for new applications often requires a redesign of the motor controller. In areas such as industry and research, this is an unwanted cost in terms of both time and money. This paper presents a design approach for a general purpose motor controller which can be applied to various motors and drive applications. Such a design incorporates many of the practical controller considerations, as well as new problems that arise with a general purpose controller. The concept of abstraction is incorporated into the motor controller´s design and results in increased ease of use for both hardware and software configurations. An application of the motor controller to a switched reluctance motor drive system illustrates its flexibility and user-friendliness