PLM, Control Design

Motor control kit includes 32-bit microcontroller, driver

The DRV8312 motor control kit from Texas Instruments features a 32-bit Stellaris microcontroller and motor driver to spin three-phase brushless DC motors in minutes.

The DRV8312 motor control kit features a 32-bit Stellaris microcontroller and motor driver to spin three-phase brushless DC motors in minutes. Courtesy: Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) announced a motor control kit for spinning three-phase brushless motors with a Stellaris Cortex-M3 microcontroller (MCU). The DK-LM3S-DRV8312 motor control kit features a 32-bit Stellaris LM3S818 microcontroller and DRV8312 motor driver to spin sub-50 V, 6.5 A three-phase brushless dc (BLDC) motors in minutes. This solution is for high-volume motor control applications, including low-voltage fans, blowers, pumps, tools and compressors.

The Stellaris LM3S818 controlCard module included in the kit has the required firmware pre-programmed in flash memory to run TI’s InstaSPIN-BLDC solution out-of-the-box, along with other customer-developed applications, when plugged into the DRV8312 motor driver base board. The InstaSPIN-BLDC solution is an innovative and free back-electromagnetic field (EMF) technique that spins any motor in seconds without knowledge of any motor parameters. Unlike traditional back-EMF zero crossing techniques, InstaSPIN-BLDC extends sensorless operation down to lower speeds and exhibits high immunity to miscommutation caused by rapid speed changes. Reliable motor start-up has been demonstrated over a wide range of conditions, including full torque.

Features and benefits of the Stellaris motor control kit include:

  • The controlCard module with Stellaris LM3S818 MCU features 50 MHz performance, 64 KB flash, 8 KB SRAM and 6 PWM generators, allowing developers to create complex motion control designs with a tiny footprint.
  • DRV8312 motor driver provides output up to 6.5 A, without the need for a costly external heat sink. It is a fully protected motor driver with cycle-by-cycle over-current, over-temperature, cross-conduction and under-voltage protection, reducing design complexity and board space.
  • Kit includes a 24 V three-phase BLDC motor operating at up to 3.5 A continuously.
  • Supporting software includes StellarisWare software with TI’s IQmath Library for easy fixed to floating point conversion and InstaSpin-BLDC software for quick and reliable motor start-up on any motor.
  • Accelerated system design with intuitive graphical user interface (GUI).

Texas Instruments Incorporated

www.ti.com

– Edited by Chris Vavra, Control Engineering, www.controleng.com

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