I think its a BLDC motor. So if you get to generate some sine waves it should work. But haven't explored it beyond that... thats one of my pending projects. Let us know how it goes.
That's exactly what it is. A 3-phase brushless DC motor.
The problem is the controller ICs I found are no longer in production and are no longer available, so I'm researching the alternative (current) ICs available. The interesting thing is that the replacement ICs of today are "dumber" than previous versions, meaning they require more external circuitry than before. I have been searching for a week for a suitable DIP package, and of course, they are all SMT now, so that means I'll have to etch a trial board...It's all a big frustrating headache right now, but I'm not gonna let it beat me. Not yet.