Beginner
10 min

Master motor speed control with Si8711CC and PIC32MZ1024EFH064

PWM precision meets motor control

PWM driver Click with PIC32MZ clicker

Published Jul 20, 2023

Click board™

PWM driver Click

Dev Board

PIC32MZ clicker

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC32MZ1024EFH064

Unlock speed control possibilities with our PWM-controlled DC motor solution

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

PWM driver Click is based on the Si8711CC, a 5kV LED emulator input, open collector output isolator from Skyworks. Compared to the optocouplers, the Si8711CC is more resistant to temperature, age, and forward current effects. It has a longer service life, higher common-mode transient immunity, and more. The Si8711CC is based on proprietary CMOS isolation technology for low-power, high-speed operation and is resistant to wear-out effects that, in the case of optocouplers, degrade the performance. The Si8711CC features up to 5000VRMS isolation and 10kV surge protection, making it a perfect isolator. For controlling the devices, it is capable of data rates DC of up to 15Mbps, with a propagation delay of 30ns. The Si8711CC controls the loads over the DMP3010LK3,

a P-channel enhancement mode MOSFET from Diodes Incorporated. This fast-switching diode has ESD protected gate, low input capacitance, and low on-resistance, designed to maintain superior switching performance, making it ideal for high-efficiency power management applications. The PWM Driver Click comes with the screw terminals labeled LOAD (+END, -END) to connect the load, which the Si7811CC controls over the DMP3010LK3 diode, and EXT for external power supply. It is not recommended to use this Click board™ with loads over 50W as the MOSFET can get overheated; this, however, does not apply if the Click board™ is used as an ON/OFF switch. The PWM Driver Click is controlled by the host MCU by PWM pulses over the PWM pin of the mikroBUS™ socket. The PWM

pin does not have direct control over the Si8711CC but rather through the DMG3420U, an N-channel enhancement mode MOSFET from Diodes Incorporated. This diode shares many features with the one mentioned above, such as low on-resistance, low input capacitance, fast switching speed, and more. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 5V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used, as a reference, for further development.

PWM driver Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

PIC32MZ Clicker is a compact starter development board that brings the flexibility of add-on Click boards™ to your favorite microcontroller, making it a perfect starter kit for implementing your ideas. It comes with an onboard 32-bit PIC32MZ microcontroller with FPU from Microchip, a USB connector, LED indicators, buttons, a mikroProg connector, and a header for interfacing with external electronics. Thanks to its compact design with clear and easy-recognizable silkscreen markings, it provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under

any circumstances. Each part of the PIC32MZ Clicker development kit contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the possibility of choosing the PIC32MZ Clicker programming method, using USB HID mikroBootloader, or through an external mikroProg connector for PIC, dsPIC, or PIC32 programmer, the Clicker board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development kit. The USB Micro-B connection can provide up to 500mA of current, which is more than enough to operate all onboard

and additional modules. All communication methods that mikroBUS™ itself supports are on this board, including the well-established mikroBUS™ socket, reset button, and several buttons and LED indicators. PIC32MZ Clicker is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem, allowing you to create a new application in minutes. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

PIC32MZ clicker double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC32

MCU Memory (KB)

1024

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

64

RAM (Bytes)

524288

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NC
NC
RST
NC
NC
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
NC
NC
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
PWM Control
RB3
PWM
NC
NC
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

PWM driver Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

PIC32MZ clicker front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the PIC32MZ clicker as your development board.

PIC32MZ clicker front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Micro B Connector Clicker Access - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Flip&Click PIC32MZ MCU step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output via Debug Mode

1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "DEBUG" button initiates the build process, programs it on the created setup, and enters Debug mode.

2. After the programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions within the IDE becomes visible. Clicking the green "PLAY" button starts reading the results achieved with the Click board™. The achieved results are displayed in the Application Output tab.

DEBUG_Application_Output

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for PWM driver Click driver.

Key functions:

  • pwmdriver_set_duty_cycle - Generic sets PWM duty cycle

  • pwmdriver_pwm_stop - Stop PWM module

  • pwmdriver_pwm_start - Start PWM module

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * @file 
 * @brief PwmDriver Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This application is controls the speed DC motors.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Initialization driver enables - GPIO, PWM initialization set PWM duty cycle and PWM frequency,
 * start PWM, enable the engine, and start to write log.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This is an example that demonstrates the use of the PWM driver Click board.
 * This example shows the automatic control of PWM,
 * the first increases duty cycle and then the duty cycle is falling.
 * Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 * 
 * *note:* 
 * EXT PWR 3-30VDC
 * 
 * @author Nikola Peric
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "pwmdriver.h"

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

static pwmdriver_t pwmdriver;
static log_t logger;

// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    pwmdriver_cfg_t cfg;

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Init ----" );

    //  Click initialization.

    pwmdriver_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    PWMDRIVER_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    pwmdriver_init( &pwmdriver, &cfg );
    Delay_ms( 100 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "   Initialization PWM  \r\n  " );
    pwmdriver_set_duty_cycle( &pwmdriver, 0.0 );
    pwmdriver_pwm_start( &pwmdriver );
    Delay_ms( 1000 );
    log_info( &logger, "---- Application Task ----" );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    static int8_t duty_cnt = 1;
    static int8_t duty_inc = 1;
    float duty = duty_cnt / 10.0;

    pwmdriver_set_duty_cycle ( &pwmdriver, duty );
    log_printf( &logger, "Duty: %d%%\r\n", ( uint16_t )( duty_cnt * 10 ) );
    Delay_ms( 500 );
    
    if ( 10 == duty_cnt ) 
    {
        duty_inc = -1;
    }
    else if ( 0 == duty_cnt ) 
    {
        duty_inc = 1;
    }
    duty_cnt += duty_inc;
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; )
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}


// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

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