ESCs based on the VESC

[jaykup]

A list of all the active ESCs based on the VESC®

This is a WIKI so feel free to edit links/info.

All specifications are per side. No current rating standard exists so take all current ratings below with a grain of salt

The VESC measures current by using high side/phase shunts or low side/battery shunts. These design choices affect reliability and voltages.

Typically, 3 phase shunts > 3 low side shunts > 2 phase shunts > 2 low side shunts.

Based on VESC 4

Shunt Design: Two low side shunts

10s and 12s FOC / BLDC. First public release of the VESC. 60k eRPM limit. Known for a possibility of frying DRV8302 chips when using 12s FOC.

HW4.xx ESCs	S/D	V	Cont	Peak	Forum	Notes	F/W
Cheap Focer 1	Single	12s	30A	50A	-	Open Source SW
Flipsky FSESC 4.12	Single	10/12s	50A	240A	-
Flipsky FSESC 4.20	Dual	10/12s	50A	150A	-
MakerX GO-FOC Retro	Single	10/12s	50A	-	Forum
MakerX GO-FOC DV4	Dual	10/12s	60A	100A	Forum
Maytech MTVESC50A 4.12	Single	10/12s	50A	240A	-
Maytech MTSPF7.5K	Single	10/12s	100A	280A	-
Turnigy SK8 V2 60A	Single	12s	60A	120A
Turnigy SK8 V2 60A x2	Dual	12s	60A	120A	Forum

Single MCU twin power stage VESC Branch

Shunt design for the Unity/Xenith: Two low side shunts
Shunt design for the Stormcores: Three low side shunts

After the V4 controllers were released, a lot of various projects were spawned trying to design a controller that could use 12s on FOC and not blow up. Jeffrey Friesen @Deodand and Charles Allix @Blasto worked with Enertion to design the FocBox Unity. It is a single MCU dual controller with 2 low side shunts that could reliably run FOC on 12s using the V6 DRV8301 and DRV8303 gate drivers. This controller was a huge improvement in terms of reliability and thermal performance when compared to the original V4 hardware… but it wasn’t perfect. The built in anti-spark system was known for failing and they would still blow up from time to time.

After Enertion went out of business, they partnered with Lacroix and using the knowledge learned from the Unity’s successes and failures, went on to design a new controller called the Stormcore. It featured 3 low side shunts, a robust anti-spark system, and higher voltage options using the improved DRV8323RS and DRV8353RS gate drivers.

One unique feature of these designs is that they can run a parallel firmware often called “super single” mode and use both sides to drive one motor, doubling the amp output. Other dual ESCs that use dual MCUs are not capable of this.

The FocBox Tenka is a Unity with half the fets removed and fully potted.

The BKB Xenith is the same as the FocBox Unity, but made by BKB using the original Unity design files. Minor noted improvements were a more robust internal anti-spark switch and more heatsink mass.

Single MCU dual drive ESCs	S/D	V	Cont	Peak	Forum	Notes	F/W
BKB Xenith	Dual	12s	80A	150A	Forum	Same as FocBox Unity
FocBox Unity	Dual	12s	80A	150A	-
FocBox Tenka	Dual	12s	70A	-	-	Removed half the fets & encased in epoxy
Stormcore 60D	Dual	12s	80A	-	-	Built in Bluetooth, anti-spark and IMU
Stormcore 100D	Dual	18s	80A	-	Forum	Built in Bluetooth, anti-spark and IMU

VESC 6 based designs (using 60 series FW)

Shunt Design: Three phase shunts

12s FOC/BLDC. 150k eRPM limit. DRV8301 based design. Generally more reliable than VESC 4 designs, and not known for DRV chip failures.

HW 6 ESCs	S/D	V	Cont	Peak	Forum	Notes	F/W
Boundmotor X-Core Pro	Dual	12s	100A	-	-	MakerX DV6 Rebrand
Cheap Focer 2	Single	12s	35A	70A		Open Source HW
EOVAN Generation II ESC	Dual	12s	-	-
Flipsky FESC 6.6 & 6.7	Single	12s	60A	150A
Flipsky FESC 6.6 & 6.7	Dual	12s	100A	400A
FRC ESC	Single	12s	80A	150A	Forum
Flux ESC	Single	12s	80A	150A
MakerX GO-FOC DV6	Dual	12s	100A	120A	Forum
MakerX GO-FOC DV6 PRO	Dual	12s	120A	180A	Forum	Higher current fets	Custom
MakerX GO-FOC SV6	Single	12s	120A	-
MakerX Mini-FOC/Plus	Single	12s	50/80A	-	Forum
Maytech MTSPF6.6K	Single	12s	200A	240A
Maytech SUPERFOC6.8	Single	12s	50A	240A
MBoards DUAL ESC 6.6	Dual	12s	100A	-	-	Ant Rebrand
Motion Spin	Single	12s	80A	150A	Forum	Uses a unique DRV chip
TorqueBoards Torque6	Dual	12s	80A	150A	Forum
Trampa VESC 6 MK5	Single	12s	80A	150A	-
Turnigy SK8 V2 80A	Single	12s	80A	150A

VESC 75/300 based or similar

Shunt Design: Three phase shunts

16S-18S The design removed the DRV8301 chip which was limiting the VESC 6 to 60v. It has three phase shunts with independent gate drivers. Phase shunt designs provide very accurate current measuring, and all other things being equal, should improve reliability. It also provides a smoother acceleration from 0% to 100% speed.

75/300 based ESCs	S/D	V	Cont	Peak	Forum	Notes	F/W
A200S v2	Single	16s	200A	-	18 fet, designed for robots
BioX ESC	Dual	16s	125A	-		Ubox Rebrand EU
Cheap Focer 3	Single	16s	-	120A		Open Source HW
Flipsky FSESC 75200	Single	16s	200A	300A		A200S v2 based
MakerX GO-FOC HI100	Single	16s	100A	200A		Small, 6 fet
MakerX GO-FOC HI200	Single	16s	300A	400A	Forum	A200S v2 based
MakerX GO-FOC HV200	Single	21s*	200A	300A	Forum	A200S v2 based
Maytech MTSPF7.12K	Single	16s	200A	250A
Spintend UBox 75v Single	Single	16s	100A	135A	Forum	Has IMU, for balance
Spintend UBox v2 75v Dual	Dual	16s	100A	135A	Forum		ubox v2 300a fw.zip (363.9 KB)
Trampa VESC 75/300	Single	16s	300A	450A		18 fet
Trampa VESC 6 75v	Single	16s	65A	130A		Unreleased

*Trying to validate 21s rating as the INA240A1 current sense amp can only handle 80v.

VESC 100/250 based or similar

Shunt Design: Three low side shunts

This design allows for very high voltages. Removed the DRV8301 chip which was limiting the VESC 6 to 60v. Generally these use independent gate drivers.

100/250 based ESCs	S/D	V	Cont	Peak	Forum	Notes	F/W
A50S v2.2 6s	Single	6s	35A	50A
A50S v2.2 12s	Single	12s	25A	40A
A200S v3	Single	18s	100A (10 min)	320A+		Small, 18 fet, used for robots
A400S v2	Single	20s	200A	600A		Water cooled
ENNOID-ESC	Single	20s	125A	-	Forum	Bolt on connections
Flipsky 75100 FOC	Single	20s	100A	120A	Forum	eBike size	Custom
Flipsky 75100 Alu PCB	Single	20s	100A	120A		esk8 size. Improved design
Flipsky 75100 Alu PCB Dual	Dual	20s	100A	120A		esk8 size
HESC Micro	Single	20s	300A
HESC Mini	Single	24s	700A
HESC 120/600	Single	30s	1000A
HESC 2.0	Single	30s	1000A
Little Focer	Single	20S	75A	120A	Forum	Has IMU for balance
Luna Ludicrous v2	Single	20s	100A	150A		for BBSHD eBikes	Custom
MakerX D60	Dual	13s	-	160A	Forum
MakerX D75	Dual	16s	-	120A	Forum
MakerX D100	Dual	21s	-	100A	Forum
Maytech MTSESC7.5R	Single	18s	100A	200A		-
Maytech MTSESC7.5HK	Single	20s	400A	1000A		Water cooled
Maytech MTSESC7.5DU	Dual	?	?	?		Unreleased
Raiden 7	Single	18s	140A	250A	Forum	Balance board style
Spintend UBox v2 100v	Dual	22s	100A	135A	-	-	-
Trampa VESC 100/250	Single	22s	200A	400A	-	18 fet
Trampa VESC HD60T	Dual	12s	75A	100A	Forum
Tronic (RION) 250	Single	21s	250A	300A	-	IMU, BT	Unknown
Tronic (RION) 400	Single	28s	400A		IG	400PA, 250BA, IMU, BT	Unknown
Tronic (RION) 750	Single	30s	550A	650A	-	650PA, 350BA, IMU, BT	Unknown

Other VESC-Tool compatible ESCs	S/D	V	Cont	Peak	Forum	Notes	F/W
BMESC BM60	Dual	12s	-	-	Forum	Unreleased
SmartESC	Single	12s	-	-	Forum	VESC Firmware for Xiaomi M365 / Ninebot G30
VESC 6 EDU	Single	6s	-	50A	Forum	Independent gate drivers

TL;DR:

whats the best Vesc's?

I think the Spintend VESC is a good VESC, but its a little undertested. Lacroix also make good VESCs, the Stormcore 60D VESC is pretty well rated Focbox unity gets a mention although has moral issues surrounding it. TB VESCs aren’t tested in mass production yet, and after import tax I suspect they’ll be very expensive The single flipsky 6.6 VESC and the non plus DUAL are also okay Trampa ESC is overpriced

---

Non-VESC based ESCs used in ESK8s

|RC ESCs|S/D|V|Cont|Peak|Forum|Notes|
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
|Castle Designs Mamba XLX|Single|8s|150A|320A|Forum|Has brakes/logging|

Discontinued VESCs

List

ESC	S/D	V	Cont	Peak	Forum	Notes	Version
Ant 6.6 Dual Plus	Dual	12s	100A	200A	-	-	-
BalancePro V6.6+ Gold	Single	12s	120A	-	Forum	Upgraded FETs, IMU	V6
ESK8 1.2	Single	10/12s	60A	240A	-	EU, Direct fet	V4
enertion VESC-X 1.3	Single	12s	50A	80A	Forum	Direct Fet, 12s FOC	V4
enertion FOCBOX 1.6 & 1.7	Single	12s	50A	80A	Forum	Direct Fet, 12s FOC	V4
Turnigy SK8-ESC V4.12	Single	10s/12s	-	-	-	-	V4
Turnigy SK8-ESC V6	Single	12s	80A	150A	Forum
VESC 6.2	Single	12s	80A	-	-	Original Release	V6
VESC 6.3 MK3	Single	12s	80A	-	-	IMU added	V6
VESC 6.4 MK4	Single	12s	80A	-	-		V6

[Evwan]

@jaykup

Known for frying DRV chips when using 12s FOC.

me after running focbox singles at 12s

[Evwan]

also I think you forgot to set it to wiki mode

Edit: Added
focbox singles
cheap focer
little focer
spintend single

[Venom121212]

Solid resource and much appreciated dude

[ShutterShock]

Very nice setup, and yeah gotta change to wiki mode

[jaykup]

Changed to wiki

[jaykup]

I guess the FocBox single should go in the Unity section as it was the foundation of the Unity and solved the 12s FOC issue without being a V4 or V6…

[Evwan]

true. added

[Trampa]

No, the Focbox single was basically a HW4 design and was running the 4.xx Firmware. It had nothing in common with the later twin designs.
I made some changes and split 75/300 and 100/250, since there is a big difference. 75/300 designs should use phase shunts, 100/250 based designs use 3 battery sided shunts. Depending on the motor, this can make a big difference. A200S for example uses 2 battery sided shunts as far as I can see.
These difference can play a big role, depending on the application and motor.

Also HD is not a HW 6 design. Uses battery sided shunts and different DRV chip. Wired differently and needs different FW.

[iNoLikeFlexyDecks]

@Trampa

HD is not a HW 6 design

Elaborate

[taz]

I believe he already did. Check immediately after your quote.

[tech.shit]

did you miss the FSESC 6.6 and 6.6+? as well as their mini/big variants?

[ShutterShock]

@Trampa

Focbox single was basically a HW4 design and was running the 4.xx Firmware. It had nothing in common with the later twin designs.

This ^^ not foundation of unity

[jaykup]

Can you help explain what difference the shunts on the battery or phase side make? I was under the impression that battery side shunts on the v4 lead to off timing measurements esp when running FOC and lead to the DRV chip failures/eRPM limits… but that appears to not be the case for later designs?

[Trampa]

https://vesc-project.com/node/403

Best is 3 phase shunts, followed by 3 battery sided shunts, followed by 2 phase shunts, followed by 2 battery sided shunts. 2 shunt designs do not react very linear on inputs. They tend to jump from 80% power level to 100%.
Quote BV: It will be linear to around 60% of full speed, then it will decrease for a bit up to around 80 % and then it will increase from 80% to 100%.

How good a ESC design is depends on many factors and powerstage/shunt layout is one big factor.

[Flasher]

Huh… no stormies

[sleepless]

^ top of the list

@jaykup

|Stormcore 60D |Dual|12s|80A|-|-||
|Stormcore 100D |Dual|18s|80A|-|Link||

[frame]

imo, i don’t think writing the S count in the V column is accurate. others have tried 8s or 13s (both liion) on a unity, and there are also user who uses lifepo4 cells which has a different S count compare to liion in similar voltage range.

Stating the absolute max voltage would be a more appropriate approach for this database.

just my 2c, great thread btw, already bookmarked it

[b264]

Voltage is always a better measure.

Real voltage too — actual kg·m²·s⁻³·A⁻¹ — not ebike-jive fake-voltages.

[frame]

adding on to my point:

@frame

Stating the absolute max voltage would be a more appropriate approach for this database

user should never attempt to build any battery pack, when fully charged, close to the absolute max voltage, unless the user fully understand the risk he/she is taking.