B-G431B-ESC1

Data brief

Electronic speed controller Discovery kit for drones with STM32G431CB

Features
• Full reference design for electronic speed controller capable of both sensorless
FOC and 6-step algorithm
• Designed for drones with up to 6S LiPo battery pack or equivalent suitable DC
supply
• 3-phase driver board for BLDC/PMSM motors with discrete N-channel 60 V,
120 A STripFET F7 power MOSFETs
• STM32G431CB Arm® Cortex®-M4 32-bit MCU, 213 DMIPS, 128 Kbytes of
Flash memory, 32 Kbytes of SRAM, analog rich, math accelerator
• On-board ST-LINK/V2-1 debugger/programmer detachable from the main board
• Output peak motor current (maximum peak current tested with propeller to have
an air-forced cooling): 40 A
• Designed with SMD ceramic capacitors with very low profile
• BEC available through the daughterboard (5 V for external board supply, for
example a flight control board)
• Support for motor sensors (Hall or encoder)
• Supported by ST Motor Control Software Development Kit (SDK) with ST Motor
profiler
• 3-shunt mode supported for motor current sensing
• L6387 High voltage high and low-side driver with integrated interlocking function
• Overcurrent and overvoltage protection feature (OCP/OVP)
Picture is not contractual. • Thermal measuring and overheating protection with NTC on board
• ESC ready for communication with any standard flight control unit (FCU):
Product status link
PWM/CAN/UART
B-G431B-ESC1 • Potentiometer and user button available on daughterboard
• Two user LEDs: one green LED for 3.3 V level, and one red LED configurable by
the user
• Target applications: motor driving for R/C vehicles, UAV drone, electric car or
boat
• PCB type and size:
– FR-4 PCB material
– 8-layer layout
– Dimensions (including the daughterboard with ST-LINK part):
30 mm × 41 mm
– Weight (including the daughterboard with ST-LINK part): 9.2 g
• RoHS compliant

Description
The B-G431B-ESC1 Discovery kit is based on the STM32G431CB microcontroller,
the L6387 driver and STL180N6F7 power MOSFETs. It is composed of a main power
board, and a daughterboard with embedded ST-LINK/V2-1. It is an electronic speed
controller (ESC), designed to drive a single 3-phase brushless motor (BLDC/PMSM),
performing both sensorless FOC algorithm and 6-step control with a speed
regulation, and an active braking function algorithm. The ST sensorless FOC
algorithm ensures longer flight times and an optimal dynamic performance. This unit
accepts command signal from an external unit for driving and monitoring, for instance

DB3787 - Rev 1 - April 2019 www.st.com

For further information contact your local STMicroelectronics sales office.
 B-G431B-ESC1

a flight control board or equivalent. For this purpose, several communication bus
interfaces (UART, CAN, PWM channel) are present. A potentiometer and a user
button are available for user application. The daughterboard includes a 5 V battery
eliminator circuit (BEC), and the main board embeds an overcurrent/overvoltage and
thermal protection circuit. The form factor makes it suitable for small and very light
R/C vehicles (FPV race drone) and the motor current capability fits the power
requirement of big vehicles, for instance a prosumer drone.

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Ordering information

1 Ordering information

To order the B-G431B-ESC1 Discovery kit, refer to Table 1. For a detailed description of the board, refer to its
user manual on the product web page. Additional information is available from the datasheet and reference
manual of the target STM32.

Table 1. List of available products

Order code Board reference User manual Target STM32

B-G431B-ESC1 MB1419 UM2516 STM32G431CBU6

1.1 Product marking

Evaluation tools marked as “ES” or “E” are not yet qualified and therefore not ready to be used as reference
design or in production. Any consequences deriving from such usage will not be at ST charge. In no event, ST will
be liable for any customer usage of these engineering sample tools as reference design or in production.
“E” or “ES” marking examples of location:
• On the targeted STM32 that is soldered on the board (for illustration of STM32 marking, refer to the STM32
datasheet “Package information” paragraph at the www.st.com website).
• Next to the evaluation tool ordering part number that is stuck or silk-screen printed on the board.

1.2 Codification
The meaning of the codification of the Discovery kit is explained in Table 2.

Table 2. Codification explanation

B-XXYYZ-ESCN Description Example: B-G431B-ESC1

XX MCU series in STM32 32-bit Arm Cortex MCUs STM32G4 Series

YY MCU product line in the series STM32G431
STM32 Flash memory size:
Z 128 Kbytes
• B for 128 Kbytes
ESCN Electronic speed controller version number ESC1

The order code is mentioned on a sticker placed on the top side of the board.

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Development environment

2 Development environment

The B-G431B-ESC1 runs with the STM32G431CB 32-bit microcontroller based on the Arm® Cortex®-M4 core.
Note: Arm is a registered trademark of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the US and/or elsewhere.

2.1 System requirements

• Windows® OS (7, 8 and 10), Linux® 64-bit, or macOS®
• USB Type-A to Micro-B cable
Note: macOS® is a trademark of Apple Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries.

2.2 Development toolchains

• Keil® MDK-ARM (see note)
• IAR™ EWARM (see note)
• GCC-based IDEs
Note: On Windows® only.

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Revision history

Table 3. Document revision history

Date Version Changes

5-Apr-2019 1 Initial release.

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