18 November 2010
Single chip motor controller simplifies design of motion enhanced applications
Motor drives for equipment such as security cameras, cash dispensers, ticketing machines, and printers can now be realised more quickly, at lower cost and higher performance, according to STMicroelectronics. The company has designed a complete motor control SoC to deliver smaller, lower cost designs.
The 'digital SPIN', or dSPIN is said to combine all the necessary digital control, analogue measurement, and power electronic circuitry for controlling stepper motors using ST's BCD fabrication process. It has been designed to bypass specialised hardware and software design tasks, reduce component count and pc board area, and speed up time to market.
According to ST, the dSPIN ensures 'smooth movement' of the motor by using an innovative voltage mode control algorithm. The voltage mode approach is said to allow full digital control, feeding the motor phases with an accurate sinusoidal waveform and resulting in position resolution of 128microsteps per step. Other features include reduced resonances, mechanical noise and low speed vibration, as well as reduced speed and torque ripple at low speeds.
"The dSPIN delivers superior performance and value at the system level," said Pietro Menniti, group vice president and general manager of the Industrial and Power Conversion Division, STMicroelectronics. "It delivers a competitive edge in applications requiring one or more motors up to 100W."
Author
Laura Hopperton
Supporting Information
Websites
http://www.st.com/dspin
Companies
STMicroelectronics NV
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