Blower 50w

StatorForge

Open PCB stator motor CAD. Motor requirements in → optimized, verified axial-flux PCB stator design out: performance datasheet + preview + manufacture-ready Gerber/Excellon files you can send to any PCB fab.

Inspired by the commercial "motor-as-software" workflow (ECM's PrintStator); StatorForge is an independent open-source implementation. v0.1 is not pretty — it is built to be correct first.

What it does

1. Spec — you give torque, speed, DC bus voltage, envelope (OD, bore, air gap), magnet class, and PCB fab limits (layers, copper weight, trace/space).
2. Optimize — searches slot/pole combos (star-of-slots winding theory), layer counts, trace widths and coil radii with a fast analytic model, then fully generates + numerically verifies the best candidates.
3. Verify — the winner must pass:
   • full DRC (clearances, through-drill checks on every layer, board edge, annular rings) on the actual generated copper;
   • connectivity check (one star-connected network, every coil in series);
   • numeric-vs-analytic torque-constant cross-check (two independent computations must agree);
   • voltage/current/thermal feasibility at the rated point.
4. Validate (v0.2) — a built-in 2-D finite-difference magnetostatic solver independently re-computes the air-gap field on every run and reports its deviation from the analytic model; a FEMM script is emitted for external FEA cross-checking.
5. Export — Gerber X2 + Excellon drill files (accepted by JLCPCB/PCBWay/etc.), a native KiCad 7/8 .kicad_pcb project, SVG preview, JSON + Markdown datasheet with torque-speed and efficiency curves, magnet/rotor BOM.

The physics engine integrates back-EMF and torque with the Lorentz (BLv) method over the real trace geometry — winding factor, coil polarity and field harmonics emerge from the copper, not from assumptions. See docs/theory.md for every formula and its source.

Quickstart

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest                                   # verify your install

# design from a spec file
statorforge design examples/blower_50w.yaml -o out/

# or straight from numbers
statorforge quick -t 0.2 -n 2400 -v 48 --od 120 -o out/

# or the local web UI
statorforge serve                        # http://127.0.0.1:8151

# or build the double-clickable single-file Windows app
build_exe.bat                            # -> dist\StatorForge.exe

Outputs land in out/:

blower_50w-gerbers.zip # send this to a PCB fab (1.2 mm board, 2 oz copper)
blower_50w.kicad_pcb   # open/modify/DRC the board in KiCad 7/8
blower_50w_femm.lua    # optional external FEA cross-check (FEMM 4.2)
preview.svg            # all copper layers + rotor magnet ghost
datasheet.md           # human datasheet with plots + field validation
design.json            # machine-readable full results
drc_report.txt         # proof the design is clean
spec_used.yaml         # exact spec incl. chosen design params

What a "design" is

A double-rotor axial-flux PM machine: two rotor discs with NdFeB wedge magnets + steel back iron, and the PCB in between as an ironless stator. Wedge-spiral concentrated coils on every copper layer, connected in series per phase, wye connection, terminals as plated through-hole pads. Zero cogging, no core loss — losses are copper I²R + trace eddy currents.

The datasheet tells you exactly what magnets/rotor to build around the board (pole count, wedge dimensions, thickness, back-iron, air gap).

Honesty / limitations (v0.2)

• Air-gap field: 1-D analytical model, now cross-checked on every run by the built-in 2-D FD solver (which captures inter-pole fringing); both are 2-D idealisations — radial edge effects are not modelled. Kt/Ke accuracy ~10 % expected vs hardware. Prototype before production.
• Inductance is a Mohan current-sheet estimate (±40 %) — fine for drive selection, not for detailed control tuning.
• Trace eddy loss uses the thin-strip approximation (width ≪ skin depth).
• Thermal model is a lumped h·A estimate; no hotspot map.
• 3-phase, wye, one board; parallel paths supported where machine symmetry guarantees equal path EMFs.

Roadmap: halbach rotors, segmented/ring stators, thermal map, delta connection, cost model, multi-stack machines.

License

MIT. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or derived from ECM / E-Circuit Motors; "PrintStator" is their trademark. This project reimplements publicly known motor engineering from first principles and standard literature.