Home»VESC »VESC 6 Education »VESC SIX Education - with IMU

When TRAMPA got involved in university projects, supporting students in all kinds of fields, it became very clear that students need a different version of the popular VESC 6. A Unit being a lot more affordable while still giving access to all the features of the upcoming VESC 6 MKVI. This seemed very challenging, since a big portion of the cost is buried in the logic stage itself.

Benjamin Vedder & Frank Drenckhahn made the miracle happen in early 2022. The Idea of a new range of VESC controllers was born & the ideas were prototyped very soon after. We gave it the name VESC 6 EDU & it’s a smaller, less powerful educational version of the Globally famous & bigger brother, the VESC 6.

It soon became clear that the VESC 6 EDU will become a very capable motor controller that can be used for a lot more than just educational purpose! However, we still call it the VESC 6 EDU though.

The VESC 6 EDU is so special, since it really features pretty much everything you need to drive motors almost as perfectly as a VESC 6 MKVI does.

- Silent HFI

- Sensorless position control

- Scripting and customized firmwares

- 3 phase shunts

- Phase filters

- Individual gate drivers (no DRV or similar driver chipset)

- Hibernation

- 2 x UART port

- automatic sensor voltage switching

- sensor port, comm port, PPM/PWM input, CAN, USB, SWD, 2x UART

- high precision SPI wired IMU on request available.

-NRF dongle prepared for seamless APP connectivity.

The only difference is the fact that a VESC 6 MKVI has much more power output capabilities, using 12S capable hardware. The VESC 6 EDU is limited to 6S Li-Ion voltage & around 50A peak output power, making it very suitable for robotics, drones, RC-Cars, & so many other applications using 6S/50A, it is quite likely it is often more than enough & therefore the SIX EDU is the perfect match for that!

The VESC 6 EDU would even drive a smaller 6S E-Skate effortlessly, perfect for super lightweight low power setups.

Whilst in the background Benjamin Vedder made huge progress on the scripting & customized firmware features of VESC-Tool, we tried to push the VESC 6 EDU program forward as fast as humanly possible.

Now that it becomes clear that VESC-Tool will become the worlds first E-Drive operating system being available for the general public it becomes important to give the general public access to low cost hardware & more educational content.

The VESC 6 EDU has some nice additional features. It uses individual gate drivers & can therefore spin the motors at very high ERPM rates. We tested 120K ERPM but that was not the limit. It can probably go as high as 150K ERPM, depending on settings & the motor used.

It features a dual XT60 input for battery connections, so that you can bridge two VESC 6 EDU into a parallel array.

Size: Size always matters & therefore we tried to squeeze the design on the smallest possible footprint without compromising on connectivity using the same JST PH connectors found on all other VESC controller variants.

The VESC 6 EDU is only 44 x 56mm in size with components only on one side. This design makes it easy to strap this tiny unit to any kind of heat sink or use the bare PCB in shrink tube if the power output is not too demanding. 

The VESC 6 EDU was also designed to be as low cost as possible. Depending on your project. you might only need the base PCB or you might need the extra heat sink. You can add the heat sink feature during checkout or simply go with the cheaper PCB-Only variant.

We hope you will all enjoy this tiny but very capable new VESC family member!

Full Technical Features

- Current and voltage measurement on all phases (three phase shunts)
- Adjustable current and voltage filters
- Footprint for IMU chip option (accelerometer, gyro)
- Regenerative braking
- Traction control (single and twin setup)
- Sensored or sensor less operation + hybrid mode
- Silent HFI and full torque from stand still in sensorless mode
- Configurable RPM-, current-, voltage- and power limits
- Input source: PPM, Analog, NRF
- Communication ports: USB, CAN,UAVCAN, COMM, PPM/PWM, 2x UART
- ON/OFF (Hibernation)and auto power off timer
- Throttle curve and ramping for all input sources
- Separate throttle curves for acceleration and brakes
- Seamless 4-quadrant operation
- Motor revolution, amp hour, watt hour counting
- Display of speed, power, duty cycle, amp flow, estimated range and battery status on App
- Accumulated data from arrays of VESCs
- Real time data analysis and read out via communication ports
- Real time data analysis and read out via VESC-Tool APP or VESC-Tool software
- Scripting + custom firmware via VESC-Tool
- Adjustable protection against:

          -    Low input voltage
          -    High input voltage
          -    High motor current
          -    High input current
          -    High regenerative braking current (separate limits for the motor and the input)
          -    High RPM (separate limits for each direction).
          -    Over temperature (MOSFET and motor)

Technical Data

- Voltage: 6V – 26V (Safe for 2S to 6S LiIon/LiPo).
- Voltage spikes may not exceed 30V!
- Current: Continuous 25A, Burst 50A.  Values depend on the temperature and air circulation around the device!
- 5V 500mA output for external electronics
- 3.3V 500mA output for external electronics
- Modes: DC, BLDC, FOC (sinusoidal)
- Supported sensors: ABI, HALL, AS5047 & many more encoders (see support in VESC-Tool)

XT90PB-M connector - Male

On most TRAMPA electrical components, you’ll find AMASS XT90 connectors.  With a strong nylon plastic body & cylindrical brass contacts that comfortably fit 10-12 gauge wires, XT90 connectors are rated to handle 90 Amps continuous – but have been tested up to 270A!

Available as standard, or Anti-Spark - we recommend Anti-Spark for connections that are likely to be plugged/unplugged often.

MR60-M.G.Y connector

Across a lot of electrical DIY hobbies, you’ll find AMASS XT60 connectors.  With a strong nylon plastic body & cylindrical brass contacts that comfortably fit up to 10 gauge wires, XT60 connectors are rated to handle 60 Amps continuous – but have been tested up to 200A!

M3 x 12mm Dome Headed Head Allen-Key Bolt Marine Grade Stainless Steel

Made from A4 Marine Grade Stainless Steel, all of the nuts, bolts & screws used in a TRAMPA board have proven to be up to the challenge of holding everything together. Using Marine Grade Stainless Steel also means these Bolts will never rust on you! They can cope with the harshest of weather conditions & will laugh in the face of sandy/salty beaches or muddy freeride tracks - which can turn other manufacturers’ nuts & bolts into corroded rusting wrecks!

Wherever possible, we dip all our bolts into BLUE THREAD LOCKING PASTE, to ensure an extra strong & secure fix between the nuts & bolts.

This Bolt is DOME HEADED, meaning that when screwed into position it sits low & neatly over the surface its screwed into. Preventing bolts from standing proud eliminates the chance of anything getting "snagged or hung-up" should it get caught on something..

Used For;

- 6-8s Battery Box

- 8-10s Battery Box

-Underboard Battery Trays