Rapid adoption of BLDC motors is being driven by both the enhanced performance they offer and by the falling cost of their control circuits. This latest Devkit supports Microchip’s lower cost series of dsP MCUs.
Brushless DC (BLDC) motors were designed to replace the electromechanical commutator sub-system in a conventional Brushed DC Motor (BDC).
The benefits of the BLDC over the BDC are many-fold with higher reliability, lower maintenance/audible noise/electromagnetic emissions and more power per unit volume due to more thermal efficiency being the salient ones.
The continuing reduction in the cost of magnets and associated control electronics has contributed to BLDC motors being used in an increasing number of applications and at higher power levels.
For the wide range of BLDC motor control possibilities Microchip
provides solutions in the form of Application Notes hardware development boards and associated power modules. These can form the basis of a customer’s design and be enhanced as necessary during development and in-line with marketing requirements. In addition the MPLAB IDE has in-built features to make real time debugging much easier through control and interaction with application variables during run time.
For the most cost sensitive BLDC motor applications it is possible to run a sensor-less 3 phase motor on a PIC16 microcontroller which has an internal comparator with multiplexed inputs and a PWM module with pin steering ability. The multiplexed comparator inputs are configured for back emf detection with each signal being compared with the motor virtual neutral point. The pin steering capability allows each pair of transistors in the BLDC commutation sequence to be enabled and modulated as necessary. The complete low cost reference design is available now (AN1175) and would be particularly suited to fan and pump applications although others are possible.
The motor control families of both the PIC18 and dsPIC devices feature dedicated motor control peripherals which enable the synchronization of motor voltage and current measurements with the PWM drive signals. These also provide the ability to perform various power bridge modulation schemes including SVM (Space Vector Modulation). There is also a dedicated Q.E (Quadrature Encoder) peripheral on some of the parts. These dedicated devices are ideal for applications requiring high performance or that are running more than the motor control task.
For the highest performance BLDC systems the dsPIC is an ideal fit with enough MIPs (up to 40 on the dsPIC33F parts) and dedicated motor control peripherals to suit high speed and complex control type of applications. In addition a variety of interfaces including CAN are available on the motor control type parts.
The latest addition to Microchip’s range of motor control development hardware is the dsPIC33F based dsPICDEM MCLV Development Board (DM330021), it is targeted to control BLDC motors or Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM) in sensor or sensorless operation. This flexible and cost-effective board can be configured in different ways for use with Microchip’s specialized motor control digital signal controllers. The dsPICDEMTM MCLV Development Board supports the dsPIC33F motor control device family. It offers a mounting option to connect either a 28-pin SOIC device or a generic 100-pin Plug-In Module ( the board is shipped with a 100-pin Plug-In Module that is fitted with a 44 pin DSPIC33FJ32MC204-E/PTDSPIC33FJ32MC204-E/PT ). The board includes a three-phase power bridge circuit for control of a wide range of low voltage BLDC motors .The board is capable of controlling motors rated up to 48V and 15 Amps, and facilitates multiple communication channels such as USB, CAN, LIN and RS-232RS-232.
In addition , using promo code T$MAR304%P at www.microchip.com/rtc get a 50% discount on the cost of attending the MCT 0301 BLDC Motor Control Workshops that are held at Microchip’s Regional Training Centres across Europe.
Features & benefits:
- Up to 48 volt operation
- ICSP connector for programming / debugging dsPIC device
- CAN / LIN / RS232 and USB connectivity
- Hall Sensor and QEI interface
- Wealth of existing Applications Notes
- AN957 Sensored Trapezoidal BLDC Motor Control
- AN1017 Sensored Sinusoidal Control of PMSM motors with dsPIC33F and dsPIC30F
- AN1078 Sensorless FOC for PMSM using dsPIC30F / dsPIC33F
- AN1083 Sensorless BLDC Control with Back EMF Filtering
- AN1160 Sensorless BLDC Control with Back – EMF Filtering using a majority Function
- Wealth of existing Webinars
- Brushless DC (BLDC) motor control using PIC18Fxx31
- Sensorless BLDC motor control using a Majority Function
- Sensorless Field Oriented Control for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors
Application information:
Motor applications where higher power density and reliability are key e.g. e-Bikes , automotive , appliances , process control , industrial automation etc
Product information table:
Mftr’s | Product Description | Additional Information |
DM330021DM330021 | BLDC Dev Board | Shipped with DSPIC33FJ32MC204-E/PTDSPIC33FJ32MC204-E/PT PIM |
AC002013AC002013 | 24v PSU | |
AC300020AC300020 | 24v BLDC Motor | |
DV164005DV164005 | ICD2 Debugger | |
MA330013MA330013 | 100 Pin MCU PIM | DSPIC33FJ256MC710A-I/PF.DSPIC33FJ256MC710A-I/PF. |