Quad BLDC Drone ESC Design
Worked
Recorded the new constraint: all boards must fit within about 60 mm × 200 mm max.
Updated:
Impact:
- The 60 mm width is tight but workable if the high-current bus runs lengthwise.
- I now recommend reserving a 40–50 mm effective copper/busbar corridor for aggregate 6S current and keeping logic/regulator/ADC routing outside that corridor.
Thought
I’ll quickly check the schematic/layout readiness state for the ESC and power-management sections, then tell you whether they’re ready for PCB modeling or what must be fixed first.
Thought
Not yet. The PCB viewer can show a rough layout now, but the ESC PCB and power-management PCB are not ready for meaningful PCB modeling/layout release.
Main blockers:
- Current board outline is 160 mm × 100 mm, not your required ≤60 mm × 200 mm.
- ESC schematic is incomplete: MOSFET power stages, gate-drive support, current sense, bulk capacitance, MCU↔DRV8308 control wiring, reset/boot/debug, and decoupling still need completion.
- ERC still has many unfinished MCU/DRV8308 floating-pin warnings.
- PM board is closer, but still has one known ERC issue: U7 NC tied to SW, which is datasheet-guided but tool-flagged.
- Placement is congested around motor connectors/drivers and needs a deliberate split/placement plan.
Recommended next steps:
- Decide board partition: separate ESC PCB + PM PCB, or one combined board within 60 × 200 mm.
- Finish the ESC schematic power stages and support passives.
- Set the board outline(s) to the 60 × 200 mm limit.
- Then run structured PCB placement for PM high-current corridor, four motor stages, MCUs, connectors, and thermal sensors.
Choose separate boards
Finish ESC schematic
Set board outlines
Fix PM ERC
Plan component placement
