Modular: 32-bit digital signal controller developer kits

Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) released five new experimenter and application-specific development kits for its TMS320F28x digital signal controllers (DSCs). The modular kits enable rapid prototyping of DSC-based communications applications, with such useful features as....

By Control Engineering Staff June 10, 2008

Nuremberg, Germany– Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) released five new experimenter and application-specific development kits for TI TMS320F28x digital signal controllers (DSCs). The modular kits enable rapid prototyping of DSC-based communications infrastructure, industrial, and consumer applications with interchangeable processor card modules, or controlCards, Experimenter Kits with breadboard areas for full access to device signals, and application specific dc/dc and ac/dc Digital Power Developer’s Kits.To reduce development time, kits include code examples and hardware design details plus TI’s Code Composer Studio (CCStudio) 32 KB limited integrated development environment (IDE). To accelerate development of software-controlled digital power applications, the kits will be free to attendees of the one-day digital power workshops held worldwide in June 2008.Modular controlCards and Experimenter Kits provide low-cost access to 32-bit DSCs. By adopting the new TMS320C2000 controlCards, OEMs can build prototypes and full production systems using the complete controller subsystem that comes on a small (90 mm x 25 mm) removable 100-pin DIMM form-factor card. Key analog, digital I/O signals, and JTAG test pins are available through the controlCard interface and only a 5 V input is needed. The first two controlCards are based on TMS320F28335 floating-point DSC (running at 150 MHz with 512 KB of flash memory) and the F2808 fixed-point DSC (at 100 MHz and 128 KB of flash memory). The C2000 Experimenter Kits include either the TMS320F2808 or floating point F28335 controlCARD and a docking station. Access to controlCard pins is provided by the docking station, along with a 4-pin RS-232 interface, and a breadboard area to add components.Industrial and consumer applications see benefits of digital power with new kits. Digital control of power conversion systems results in lower overall cost through the consolidation of functions on to a programmable controller while enabling real-time intelligent monitoring of load conditions, and improved system reliability and efficiency. Three new Digital Power Application Kits help bring the benefits to digital power management in communications infrastructure, industrial, and consumer applications. The Digital Power Experimenter’s Kit is designed for those new to software-based digital power management by providing a high function development environment including a dc/dc motherboard using two TI digital non-isolated PowerTrain modules with an F2808 controlCARD. The dc/dc board includes a digital multimeter and an active load that design engineers can use to perform transient response analysis and tuning. The kit comes with 32KB CCStudio IDE, a downloadable free software package that includes a working system and additional digital power instructional materials.The dc/dc Digital Power Developer’s Kit targets multirail and multiphase applications using a F28044 DSC-based controlCARD to demonstrate the capabilities of the device as a 16-rail digital power controller. The dc/dc Developer’s kit includes a dc/dc motherboard using 8 TI digital non-isolated PowerTrain modules useful for prototyping dc point-of-load power control in a range of equipment for industry, communications infrastructure, and consumer electronics. The kit includes the 32 KB CCS IDE, and a free downloadable software package. The ac/dc Developer’s Kit is an 80 W (max) rectifier development platform and uses a 2-phase interleaved power factor correction (PFC) front end and a phase-shifted full-bridge secondary. The system is controlled by a single F2808 controlCard and is useful for prototyping communications systems such as server farms and base stations. The ac/dc kit includes the 32KB CCS IDE and a free downloadable software package.C2000 digital power workshops are one-day hands-on sessions to introduce the concept of software-controlled digital power supply design and use the Digital Power Experimenter Kit for exploration of digital power concepts and techniques. Developer kit workshops begin in June 2008 .– Control Engineering News Desk Register here and scroll down to select your choice of eNewsletters free .