It is with great joy that we announce the re(re)release of the M200 Motor! For those of you who have been on the ride with us for the long haul, you may remember the last time we tried to relaunch the M200 - sometimes you just gotta go fast and break things
We went all the way back to square 1 (or I’m not sure, somewhere near the beginning, that’s an R&D q) and we’ve rebuilt the M200 to be better and badder than ever. The end result is what will power our beloved BlueBoat, but we are releasing a standard variant with a 1m long cable today! Check out the full specs on our product page: M200 Motor for USVs, AUVs, and Subsea Applications
We’re also launching the weedless propeller that will come with every BlueBoat. It easily thrashes through any debris in it’s path with it’s long, swept blades!
We also recruited our dear friend @tony-white to make an underwater cleaning brush so we could show off how strong it is. Check out this compilation he made while helping out the Ocean Defenders Alliance with a harbor cleanup!
That’s it! We’re super stoked to see how you incorporate the M200 Motor into your builds
Is the M200 also an outrunner? Do I see correctly that the entire front (back?) half of the motor rotates? Is the axle protruding from the outrunner part fixed or does it also rotate? Does the motor have a preferred thrust direction (dunno how the thrust bearings work)?
The M200 is like a T200 but without a nozzle/shroud, and with mounting holes in the base.
Accordingly,
Yes
The rotor consists of the outer sleeve and face plate, as well as the shaft. You can see the parts more clearly in the usage guide.
Bushings are a sleeve bearing that the motor shaft rotates within. When axial load is applied the rotor or shaft collar may slide against the end of the bushing, but there should not be a significant difference in friction between those two cases.
Note that propellers frequently have asymmetric thrust performance, which will need to be considered for thrust-based applications.
What are the nominal and max continuous power ratings of the M200? The specs all talk in volts but I assume that what’s really at stake is power (watts) and the volts just serve as a proxy for max achievable power?
I’m driving a T200 at a specific power, i.e., I measure the power going into the ESC and have a PID loop that sets the PWM so the requested power is consumed. I’m considering switching to an M200, hence the question here.
A more pragmatic way to phrase the question, since that’s what I’m planning: is the M200 rated to run continuously at 300W @19V input to the ESC? (Obviously the ESC wouldn’t be set to the max PWM value.)
I can’t really run the M200 @16V 'cause I’m using Li-Ion which means it runs for a long time either around 19V (5S) or around 15V (4S) and in a 4S configuration maintaining 300W towards the end of the battery charge looks iffy.
I’m not sure if we have a continuous rating at the moment, so I’ve asked about that internally and will get back to you.
The technical details table on the product page specifies expected maximum current draw and power level for multiple different supply voltages.
Given the stated maximum power at 20V is specified as 645W I would be quite surprised if the continuous rating ends up being less than half of that, but as above I will confirm.
Note that the M200 is only rated to 20V, so if you fully charge a 5S Li-Ion battery you’ll be above that (likely at ~21V), which is outside the motor’s voltage rating and not recommended.
We have been running T200 on 24volts for years (surface power) and we have only replaced thrusters that have been physically damaged. More than 1000 hours of use and we have changed one 1! ESC. That is pretty amazing (We have the electronics oil compensated)
