Beginner
10 min

Achieve high-performance DC motor control with DRV8245P and STM32F765ZI

Single full-bridge or independent half-bridge driver

DC Motor 29 Click with UNI Clicker

Published Dec 22, 2023

Click board™

DC Motor 29 Click

Dev Board

UNI Clicker

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32F765ZI

Simplify the process of controlling DC motors in various automotive applications, ensuring they work smoothly and reliably for multiple functions

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

DC Motor 29 Click is based on the DRV8245P, an automotive H-Bridge driver with integrated current sense and diagnostic from Texas Instruments. The driver operates from 4.5V up to 35V and supports a wide range of output load currents for various motors and loads. It integrates an N-channel H-bridge, charge pump regulator, high-side current sensing with regulation, current proportional output, and protection circuitry. The H-bridge output power stage can be operated in different control modes, which allows you to drive a single bidirectional brushed DC motor or two unidirectional brushed DC motors over screw terminals. The driver offers voltage monitoring, load diagnostics, and protection features against overcurrent and overtemperature.

DC Motor 29 Click uses a standard 4-wire SPI serial interface to communicate with the host MCU. The TXS0104, a 4-bit bidirectional voltage-level translator from Texas Instruments, does the logic-level translation. The driver load current analog feedback is available over the IP pin. The controller input 1 for bridge operation is available over the IN1 pin. The PCA9538, an 8-bit I/O port from NXP, provides additional functionalities from the motor driver to the host MCU and can be reset over the RST pin. It provides an input of the controller input 2 for bridge operation. These two controller inputs allow you to use different control schemes. The mode scheme can be changed anytime over the software. The I/O port also allows you to disable

the motor driver. The fault conditions are also monitored over this IC. If a fault condition occurs, the host MCU will be asserted over the FLT pin. The I2C address of the I/O port can be selected over the ADDR SEL jumpers. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the VCC SEL jumper. This way, both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs can use the communication lines properly. Also, this Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

DC Motor 29 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

UNI Clicker is a compact development board designed as a complete solution that brings the flexibility of add-on Click boards™ to your favorite microcontroller, making it a perfect starter kit for implementing your ideas. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different ARM, PIC32, dsPIC, PIC, and AVR from various vendors like Microchip, ST, NXP, and TI (regardless of their number of pins), four mikroBUS™ sockets for Click board™ connectivity, a USB connector, LED indicators, buttons, a debugger/programmer connector, and two 26-pin headers for interfacing with external electronics. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, it allows you to build

gadgets with unique functionalities and features quickly. Each part of the UNI Clicker development kit contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the possibility of choosing the UNI Clicker programming method, using a third-party programmer or CODEGRIP/mikroProg connected to onboard JTAG/SWD header, the UNI Clicker board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development kit. It provides two ways of board-powering; through the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector, where onboard voltage regulators provide the appropriate voltage levels to each component on the board, or using a Li-Po/Li

Ion battery via an onboard battery connector. All communication methods that mikroBUS™ itself supports are on this board (plus USB HOST/DEVICE), including the well-established mikroBUS™ socket, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and several user-configurable buttons and LED indicators. UNI 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.

UNI clicker double image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Type

8th Generation

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M7

MCU Memory (KB)

2048

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

144

RAM (Bytes)

524288

You complete me!

Accessories

DC Gear Motor - 430RPM (3-6V) represents an all-in-one combination of a motor and gearbox, where the addition of gear leads to a reduction of motor speed while increasing the torque output. This gear motor has a spur gearbox, making it a highly reliable solution for applications with lower torque and speed requirements. The most critical parameters for gear motors are speed, torque, and efficiency, which are, in this case, 520RPM with no load and 430RPM at maximum efficiency, alongside a current of 60mA and a torque of 50g.cm. Rated for a 3-6V operational voltage range and clockwise/counterclockwise rotation direction, this motor represents an excellent solution for many functions initially performed by brushed DC motors in robotics, medical equipment, electric door locks, and much more.

DC Motor 29 Click accessories image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Load Analog Feedback
PA3
AN
Reset / ID SEL
PE11
RST
SPI Select / ID COMM
PA4
CS
SPI Clock
PA5
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PA6
MISO
SPI Data IN
PB5
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
Controller Input
PD12
PWM
Fault Interrupt
PD3
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
PB8
SCL
I2C Data
PB9
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

DC Motor 29 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

UNI Clicker front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the UNI Clicker as your development board.

UNI Clicker front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
SiBRAIN for STM32F745VG front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
UNI Clicker Access MB 1 - 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
Necto image step 7 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

After loading the code example, pressing the "DEBUG" button builds and programs it on the selected setup.

Application Output Step 1

After programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions available in the IDE appears. By clicking the green "PLAY "button, we start reading the results achieved with Click board™.

Application Output Step 3

Upon completion of programming, the Application Output tab is automatically opened, where the achieved result can be read. In case of an inability to perform the Debug function, check if a proper connection between the MCU used by the setup and the CODEGRIP programmer has been established. A detailed explanation of the CODEGRIP-board connection can be found in the CODEGRIP User Manual. Please find it in the RESOURCES section.

Application Output Step 4

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for DC Motor 29 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • dcmotor29_register_write - DC Motor 29 data register writing function.

  • dcmotor29_port_expander_read - DC Motor 29 port ecpander read register function.

  • dcmotor29_drive_motor - DC Motor 29 drive motor function.

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 main.c
 * @brief DC Motor 29 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of the DC Motor 29 Click board by driving the 
 * motor in both directions with braking and coasting in between.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and performs the click default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Drives the motor in both directions with coasting and braking in between, every sate is lasting 5 seconds.
 *
 * @author Stefan Ilic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "dcmotor29.h"

static dcmotor29_t dcmotor29;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    dcmotor29_cfg_t dcmotor29_cfg;  /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * 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.
    dcmotor29_cfg_setup( &dcmotor29_cfg );
    DCMOTOR29_MAP_MIKROBUS( dcmotor29_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == dcmotor29_init( &dcmotor29, &dcmotor29_cfg ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( DCMOTOR29_ERROR == dcmotor29_default_cfg ( &dcmotor29 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
       
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    dcmotor29_drive_motor( &dcmotor29, DCMOTOR29_DRIVE_MOTOR_CW );
    log_printf( &logger, " Driving motor Clockwise \r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 5000 );
    
    dcmotor29_drive_motor( &dcmotor29, DCMOTOR29_DRIVE_MOTOR_BRAKE );
    log_printf( &logger, " Brake is on \r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 5000 );
    
    dcmotor29_drive_motor( &dcmotor29, DCMOTOR29_DRIVE_MOTOR_CCW );
    log_printf( &logger, " Driving motor counter-clockwise \r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 5000 );
    
    dcmotor29_drive_motor( &dcmotor29, DCMOTOR29_DRIVE_MOTOR_COASTING );
    log_printf( &logger, " Driving motor Coasting \r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 5000 );
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

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

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

Additional Support

Resources