How Does an ESC work? What does the PWM Frequency Do and should I change it?

Here is the basics of how an ESC works. We talk about electronic commutation within an ESC and we spend quite some time talking about PWM. Note that we are talking about the output drive of the ESC and not the input signal. PWM stands for pulse width modulation. It is an important function within an ESC in order to provide the speed variation between 0 and maximum RPM. Some ESC manufactures allow you to control the PWM frequency rate. But does this mean you should adjust the PWM frequency of the ESC? The common questions here are does the frequency rate allow the motor to perform faster? Output Higher RPM? Increase Efficiency? The quick answer is, you aren’t going to gain more RPM by adjusting the PWM function. Higher PWM settings can increase responsiveness and smoothness for acceleration of the motor. In general the motor doesn’t mind higher PWM settings, however the ESC will be doing more work to switch more rapidly. Required PWM settings is highly dependent on the application. If you want to know where you should be in terms of the setting, use the formula explained in the video. Otherwise if you are unsure, try out the ESC’s default settings for your application and only make changes if you run in to issues. More details in the video!