According to the electronic component distributor, SPINnaker daughterboard is the ideal rapid prototyping platform for motor control applications based on the use of an 8-bit MCU. Applications in the automotive, industrial, consumer and home automation sectors can all take advantage of the ready-made capabilities of the SPINnaker board and its software. The final solution is rated for operation at temperatures up to 150°C.
The SPINnaker board implements the space vector modulation (SVM) method of motor control, a technique which is usually not suited to 8-bit MCUs. The motor control software running on the STM8S MCU occupies a small Flash memory footprint of less than 8kbytes and requires less than 1.5kbytes of RAM. It includes a unique algorithm for speed control and flux reduction, and controls motor position at a resolution of 384 steps per revolution.
Compared to block commutation, SVM offers valuable advantages including low acoustic noise and no torque ripple. These advantages are usually available for a higher system cost, adds Future.
The SPINnaker design implements a low-cost, three-phase power stage composed of six 60V STL20N6F7 MOSFETs from STMicroelectronics. SPINnaker itself runs with up to 24V.
It also includes a USB Type-C power supply controlled by an STMicroelectronics STUSB4500, and a Panasonic supercapacitor-based back-up power supply to provide for safe shut-down in the case of an unexpected power failure. In addition, the SPINnaker board’s Panasonic POSCAP polymer capacitors demonstrate the superior characteristics of this device type in an application that would traditionally use multi-layer ceramic capacitors.
The board’s metal composite inductors, from the Panasonic ETPQ series and the IHLP series from Vishay, have a small board footprint and offer excellent DC current saturation and temperature stability characteristics.
The SPINnaker development board will be available at the in Q2 2019 free of charge to qualified customers of Future Electronics. The board is supplied with hardware and software design files and a PC GUI.
To apply for a board or to request more information, contact any branch of Future Electronics or visit www.my-boardclub.com.