This is the second teardown blog in atomberg series, I did a teardown of atomberg Exhaust FAN studio previously.
In this blog, I will do a teardown of atomberg Ceiling FAN (BLDC), RENESA Model, which is claimed to be Made In India. My focus will mainly be on the electronics part, that is the BLDC drive.
I think it is important to know a little bit about BLDC Ceiling FAN technology.
A BLDC ceiling fan refers to a ceiling fan that is equipped with a Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motor. So, what makes it unique:
- Brushless Motor: Unlike traditional ceiling fans that use AC induction motors with brushes, BLDC fans have a motor that operates without brushes. This brushless design reduces friction and wear, leading to a longer lifespan and quieter operation.
- Energy Efficiency: BLDC motors are highly efficient, consuming significantly less electricity compared to conventional ceiling fans. This efficiency can lead to considerable savings on energy bills, making BLDC fans an eco-friendly and cost-effective choice.
- High Performance and Reliability: The brushless motor ensures smooth operation and provides consistent performance. These motors are also known for their reliability and durability.
- Speed Control and Features: BLDC ceiling fans often come with better speed control options, including variable speeds and remote control capabilities, allowing for more precise airflow management.
- Low Heat Generation: Since BLDC motors generate less heat, they are less prone to overheating, which further enhances their lifespan and performance.
Overall, BLDC ceiling fans represent a significant technological advancement in fan design, offering energy efficiency, durability, and improved performance. They are particularly suitable for areas where fans operate for extended periods, or energy efficiency is a priority.
I purchased it from Amazon and it costed me 3580 INR including Tax for a single unit (RENESA, 1200mm Blade Size).
The BLDC Ceiling FAN comes in a two part standard packing as shown in the image below.
When you open the box, you get to see the main rotor unit, Caps, rod, user manual and a Remote.
Star rating of the atomberg BLDC Ceiling FAN
On the rotor, you can read, Motor is of ~35W and FAN works with Single Phase 230V typical 50Hz AC input. Clearly mentioned in the sticker that the product is “Made in India”.
In order to see inside, we need open these screws and remove the plastic cover.
Plastic cover has threads which screws on to the rotor body.
once you open the cover, you see a large PCB, which has all the electronics around driving the BLDC motor.
if you remove the PCB, you get to see the rotor with magnets on the inside surface and stator with windings.
Something weird, looks like stator winding was done manually. See the copper wire layer pattern.
A typical control system of a BLDC Ceiling Fan looks like as shown in the block diagram below.
let us try to see where is what on the PCB on both sides.
The marked section below is the mainly the AC to DC converter, it uses an external MOSFET based flyback power converter. You can see Red and Black wire this is AC input, which goes to the large MOV and Fusible Resistor (for high voltage spikes protection ) and then filter capacitors are used before it pass to the bridge rectifier.
External High voltage MOSFET is K6A80E from Toshiba.
On the back side of the PCB various power supply components are there
MIC 12T10 Bridge Rectifier is used.
AC to Power Conversion controller(uses external HV Mosfet) is 28811, could be UCC28811. It hardly matters, any power convertor chip could be used for similar function.
Flyback transformer uses EE25 core
Wurth Electronics 814 general purpose optocoupler is used for isolated sensing of the Output, basically used for regulation feedback control loop.
AC to DC Converter converts the 230V AC to 24V DC for the motor. For MCU further LDO is used to generate 3.3V.
In the below image you can see BLDC Motor controller, which is Texas Instruments DRV10983
MCU used is from ST Microelectronics STM8S003 which is an 8-bit microcontroller. Programming interface is also brought out on a header pins.
Block diagram of the Driver IC
Microcontroller also interfaces with an IR sensor for remote control and for 6x LEDs which acts as a night lamp or shows the status of Timer/FAN Speed. See in the image below.
3-Pin SMD spring loaded connector is used for BLDC Motor connections
That’s all in this teardown. I hope you found it interesting.
See you in my next blog soon.
I am currently working as an embedded systems design consultant helping companies build custom embedded products and develop test automation solutions for their PCBs.
If you have any feedback about the blog, you can share it in the comments below or contact me directly.
Good info , appreciate the hard work 🙂👍🙂👌
Where can i bought replacement motherboard if the motherboard got damaged? Please i need to know… I bought 2 of atomberg fans and both motherboard got damaged. Tried to contact service and support but no response from them… i need to fix my fans immediately… please help me
Pallav Aggarwal,
respected sir !
have you tried hacking the STM8S003 microcontroller, i.e. its flash, is it readable or locked as usual.
Thanks
Hi Pallav,
Would it be possible to know which IR sensor is being used please. What is the modulation frequency and data format. Anything would be helpful.
Hi Pallav, do you think is it possible to solder in DC pins at the output end of the AC-DC converter so that I can use this fan using 24 volt LiPo batteries?
You can experiment, it should be possible with some modifications. Need to think about it in detail.
Nice to see the fan teardown. Gives a good high level understanding of the PCB.
Maybe you could detail the motor construction too. Poles, winding details, magnet strength ,variance in flux of magnet, bearings, weight ,overall construction design & process
Traditional ceiling fans only use AC induction motors that doesn’t require any brush to work so no brushes are there too, whereas all the regular DC motor needs a brush. The BLDC fan is the only type fan that uses a DC motor but not a regular DC motor with brushes but a different breed that doesn’t require brushes.
The PCB appears to be actually made, or at least designed, in India. Some of the components do not appear to be genuine but overall it doesn’t look like a rebadge of some mass-produced Chinese item.
Yes atomberg one of the biggest Indian no 1 bldc celing fan,s and like mix grander especially design,s gv5 Aries star light and ikano studio reboot gv5 renesa this all fan,s are supporting with Alexa Google assistant mny more features etc