Kit aids in the development of motor control applications

11th March 2014

Zilog Inc

Staff Reporter

0 0

The MultiMotor Series Development Kit, from Zilog, aids in the development of motor control applications using an assortment of Zilog MCUs designed specifically for motor control environments. The Z16FMC MCU-based MultiMotor Series Development Kit (ZMULTIMC100ZCOG) is a complete application-specific platform for creating a design featuring a Zilog motor control MCU Module connected to a 3-phase MultiMotor Series Development Board.

A 24V DC/3200 RPM 3-phase motor is included with the Kit, though several motor types are supported, including BLDC, PMSM, and ACIM. Control algorithms including sensored, sensorless, trapezoidal, sinusoidal, and vector are also supported in this MultiMotor Series.

The 2.5" x 3.0" Motor Control Module provides circuitry that interfaces its Z16FMC MCU to an external development PC running the Zilog Developer Studio II (ZDS II) Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and to the 3-Phase MultiMotor Series Development Board. Other key features of the MultiMotor Series Development Kit include switches to control the speed, direction, and stop/run settings of the motor, plus 32MB of SPI Flash memory for data logging.

The Z16FMC Series Flash microcontroller that is central to the MultiMotor Series Development Kit is based on Zilog’s advanced ZNEO 16-bit CPU core, which is optimized for motor control applications in which the control of single and multi-phase variable-speed motors is crucial. Target applications are large appliances, small appliances, and HVAC systems. The key features of the Z16FMC MCU include a 20 MHz, 16-bit optimized single-cycle CISC core, up to 128 KB of in-circuit programmable Flash memory, 4 KB internal RAM with 16-bit access, plus highly integrated digital/analog peripherals such as a 12-bit PWM module with three complementary pairs (or six independent PWM outputs), a fast 12-channel, 10-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for current sampling and back-EMF detection, three standard 16-bit timers with capture, compare, and PWM capability, an analog comparator for current limiting or overcurrent shutdown, an operational amplifier, a 4-channel DMA controller, and a flexible communication interface including a UART with LIN and IrDA, I2C, and enhanced SPI.

“Using our MultiMotor Kit helps developers produce a much smoother motor rotation than that of a full step drive, plus it provides greater resolution and freedom from resonance problems because it involves more steps per revolution,” remarked Steve Darrough, Zilog’s VP of Marketing.