The ODrive Micro Packs a Lot of Motor Control Power in the Company's Smallest Footprint Yet
Compatible with brushless DC, permanent magnet, and AC induction servo motors, the ODrive Micro delivers power and precision.
Precision motor control specialist ODrive has announced a new model in its lineup, and it's the company's smallest yet: the ODrive Micro controller board for servo motors.
"ODrive Robotics was started with one goal in mind: to make precision, affordable, high-power motion control accessible to everyone," the company says of its origins. "We're thrilled to see ODrive products powering robots in research and industry around the world, enabling the next generation of robotics applications. Now, we're condensing ODrive's decade of motion control expertise into an ultra-miniature form factor, packing up to 180W of power in just 10cm². Enjoy the same top-notch reliability and performance as the ODrive Pro and ODrive S1 without the bulk."
Despite its compact size — slightly larger than a quarter in footprint, at 32×32mm (around 1.26×1.26"), and 7.5mm (around 0.3") at its highest — the ODrive Micro has an impressive specs sheet. Designed primarily for brushless DC servo motors, though also applicable to permanent magnet synchronous (PMSM), permanent magnet AC (PMAC), and AC induction (ACIM) motors, the board supports a continuous power draw of 100W and peaks of up to 180W. It can run on 10-30V, with an absolute maximum of 32V, with 3.5A continuous or 7A peak current.
To keep your builds as compact as possible, the controller also includes an onboard magnetic encoder — designed to have the entire controller mounted on the back of the servo motor, taking up as little extra room as possible. Field-oriented control (FOC), also known as vector control, is fully supported, along with torque, velocity, position, and trajectory control modes, while external sensors including Hall effect and SPI encoders can be added.
The controller itself is designed to be driven through either USB — with a USB Type-C connector included within the board's footprint — or CAN-FD bus connectivity at up to 8Mb/s. On the software front, ODrive promises full compatibility with its current software stack — including support for its web-based graphical user interface (GUI). The company also promises to release schematics for the board, pending the successful completion of its crowdfunding campaign.
The ODrive Micro is now available to pre-order on Crowd Supply , priced at $79; optional accessories include a $6 CAN cable, a $39 USB-CAN adapter, a $9 wire harness kit, and a $16 USB isolator and cable. All hardware is expected to begin shipping towards the end of January 2025, the company has confirmed.