motor control News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 21, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

216MHz GigaDevice GD32G5 Cortex-M33 MCU features analog interfaces and accelerators for industrial applications

Starting with the GD32G553 SKUs, the 216 MHz GigaDevice GD32G5 high-performance Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller family features 256KB to 512KB of embedded Flash with dual-bank Flash support, 128KB of SRAM, and a range of hardware accelerators including a DSP, single-precision FPU, a trigonometric function accelerator (TMU), and other hardware acceleration units, filter algorithms (FAC) and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Designed for industrial applications, the GD32G5 microcontrollers also offer a wide range of digital and analog interfaces and enhanced security capabilities suitable for digital power systems, charging stations, energy storage inverters, frequency converters, servo motors, and optical communication. GigaDevice GD32G5 specifications: MCU Core – Arm Cortex-M33 Armv8-M core clocked at up to 216MHz with DSP instruction set and single-precision FPU; up to 316 DMIPS, CoreMark score: 694. Memory/Storage 128KB SRAM (80KB SRAM0 + 16KB SRAM1 + 32KB TCMSRAM) 256KB to 512KB on-chip flash, QSPI interface for external storage External memory controller (EXMC) […]

November 14, 2024November 14, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments

STMicro STSPIN32G0 3-phase motor controllers support up to 24V for portable appliances, up to 600V for industrial automation

STMicro STSPIN32G0 is a new series of advanced 3-phase motor controllers with variable voltage ranging from 45V to 600V that extend STMicro’s portfolio of devices with an integrated MCU and motor driver. The new series combines a triple-half bridge gate driver with the Arm Cortex-M0+-based STM32G0 microcontroller and is capable of handling six-step and field-oriented control (FOC) algorithms. The integrated design of the STSPIN32G0 series offers cost-savings and “significant BOM area reduction without compromising performance and robustness.” There are two main versions of the STSPIN32G0 series, low-voltage and high-voltage. The low-voltage 3-phase motor controllers include a voltage regulator, one or three shunts, and a gate driver rated at 45V and up to 0.6A. They are mainly targeted at home appliances, power tools, and drones. The high-voltage versions can handle either 250V or 600V, making them suitable for industrial inverters and fans. They are targeted at home appliances, air conditioners, home […]

October 23, 2024October 23, 2024 by Sayantan Nandy - No Comments

MentorPi is a ROS2-compatible, Raspberry Pi 5-based robot car with Mecanum or Ackermann chassis

Hiwonder MentorPi A1 and MentorPi M1 robot car

MentorPi is a ROS2-compatible robot car powered by the Raspberry Pi 5, designed for AI-driven robotics and Python programming. It offers two chassis options: MentorPi-M1, which features a Mecanum-wheel chassis, and MentorPi-A1, equipped with an Ackermann chassis. Both variants come with high-performance components such as closed-loop encoder motors, STL-19P TOF lidar, 3D depth cameras, and high-torque servos. These enable precise navigation, SLAM mapping, path planning, and dynamic obstacle avoidance, making MentorPi an ideal platform for robotics tasks. The system utilizes a dual-controller architecture to optimize performance. The Raspberry Pi 5 handles AI vision processing and strategic functions, while Hiwonder’s RRC Lite expansion board manages motion control and sensor data processing. This task distribution enhances efficiency in machine vision, AI-powered navigation, and robotic control, allowing MentorPi to tackle complex AI and vision-based applications with ease. MentorPi also supports advanced features like 3D visual mapping and YOLOv5-based object detection for recognizing road […]

August 26, 2024August 26, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 5 Comments

Integrated motor driver and controller bundles ESP32-S3 and TMC2209 for IoT applications

The PD Stepper is a NEMA 17 integrated stepper motor driver and controller board powered by USB power delivery that combines an ESP32-S3 wireless microcontroller, the Trinamic TMC2209 ultra-silent motor driver, and other components onto a single board for Smart Home and automation applications. The maker, Josh R., states that the PD Stepper isn’t another “just because we can” project. It addresses the need for an integrated motor driver and controller module that can used in compact or space-constrained designs. The ESP32-S3 SoC controls the other components on the board and provides wireless connectivity as well as access to development tools and libraries such as ESPHome and ESP-Now. The motor driver IC, Analog Devices’s Trinamic TMC2209, offers efficient, noiseless control of two-phase stepper motors. Other onboard components and connectors include an AS5600 magnetic rotary position sensor, a 3.3V buck converter, a Qwiic/Stemma QT connector, a motor connector, and an AUX […]

August 9, 2024August 19, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Cytron MOTION 2350 Pro – A Raspberry Pi RP2350 board for robotics and motor control

As mentioned in the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 article, third-party RP2350 boards are already available, and one of them is the MOTION 2350 Pro board from Cytron designed for robotics and motor control. The board features a DC motor driver capable of controlling up to 4 brushed DC motors with voltage ratings from 3.6V to 16V. It also features eight 5V servo ports, eight GPIO ports, and three Maker ports for sensor or actuator modules. Each I/O is matched with its own LED which makes the board ideal for the education market and also simplifies debugging. Finally, a USB 1.1 host port is present to connect peripherals such as the RF dongle for a joystick or a keyboard. Cytron MOTION 2350 Pro specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2350 CPU – Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 processor @ 150MHz (RISC-V cores are not mentioned, so they are likely not used at all) Memory […]

August 2, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

M5Stamp Fly ESP32-S3 WiFi drone is controlled by the M5Atom WiFi joystick controller using ESPNOW

M5Stack M5Stamp Fly is a tiny ESP32-S3 WiFi drone based on the company’s M5Stamp S3 WiFi 4 and BLE IoT module, equipped with four motors and several sensors. and controllable the M5Atom WiFi joystick controller also based on ESP32-S3 WiSoC. We have recently seen some tiny ESP32 or ESP8266 WiFi drones with a low-cost ESP32 DIY drone and the PiWings 2.0 drone, but the M5Stamp Fly is more advanced with a total of six sensors including a barometer, two time-of-flight distance sensors, a 6-axis IMU, a 3-axis magnetometer, and an optical flow detection sensors, plus two Grove connector for additional sensors or modules. M5Stamp Fly (K138) specifications: Main controller – M5Stamp S3 module WiSoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FN8 dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz, RISC-V ULP co-processor, 512KB SRAM, 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 BLE + Mesh, 8MB flash Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi […]

July 31, 2024July 30, 2024 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

STMicro EVLDRIVE101-HPD 1.9-inch motor driver board can drive 750W BLDC motors

ST EVLDRIVE101 HPD 750W Brushless DC motors Driver

STMicroelectronics has recently revealed the reference design for “EVLDRIVE101-HPD” their homegrown BLDC motor driver board that can drive up to a 750W BLDC motor. This compact 50 mm (1.9-inch) circular PCB combines STDRIVE101 3-phase, triple half-bridge gate-driver IC with an STM32G0 microcontroller, which is responsible for driving three-phase brushless motors. The driver board supports various motor-control strategies, including trapezoidal and field-oriented control (FOC), with both sensor’ed and sensorless rotor-position detection. Additionally, it has a wide operating voltage range of 5.5V to 75V and includes STL220N6F7 60V STripFET F7 MOSFETs, which have very low Rds(on) for high efficiency. Other features of the board include ultra-low power consumption in sleep mode, a single-wire debug interface, direct firmware update capability, and protection mechanisms such as under-voltage lockout, overtemperature protection, and cross-conduction prevention. All these features make this board suitable for applications like hairdryers, handheld vacuums, power tools, fans, drones, robots, and industrial equipment […]

July 29, 2024July 29, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 4 Comments

ODrive Micro is a compact, brushless motor controller designed for space-constrained robotics applications (Crowdfunding)

ODrive Micro is a high-performance servo motor drive from ODrive Robotics that comes in an ultra-compact, 32 x 32mm form factor. The controller provides up to 100W continuous power for driving brushless servo motors. The ODrive Micro is the latest in a series of motor controllers from ODrive and builds on the company’s established software and hardware ecosystem. This includes support for CAN Bus, programming libraries, and a web-based graphic user interface for easy and intuitive setup. The Micro features a CAN interface for daisy-chaining other controllers and an onboard 12-bit magnetic encoder for direct mounting without needing an external encoder. It also offers the option to mount hall, quadrature, and SPI external encoders via the J1 header on the board. The ODrive Micro is aimed at robotics applications where space is premium, including hobbyist and professional use. It is similar to the Wukong 2040, ClearCore, and the Serial Bus […]