Master motor speed control with Si8711CC and STM32F407VGT6
PWM precision meets motor control
Published Dec 29, 2023
Click board™
PWM driver Click
Dev Board
Clicker 4 for STM32F4
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
STM32F407VGT6
Unlock speed control possibilities with our PWM-controlled DC motor solution
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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.
Features overview
Development board
Clicker 4 for STM32F4 is a compact development board designed as a complete solution that you can use to quickly build your own gadgets with unique functionalities. Featuring an STM32F407VGT6 MCU, four mikroBUS™ sockets for Click boards™ connectivity, power management, and more, it represents a perfect solution for the rapid development of many different types of applications. At its core is an STM32F407VGT6 MCU, a powerful microcontroller by STMicroelectronics based on the high-performance
Arm® Cortex®-M4 32-bit processor core operating at up to 168 MHz frequency. It provides sufficient processing power for the most demanding tasks, allowing Clicker 4 to adapt to any specific application requirements. Besides two 1x20 pin headers, four improved mikroBUS™ sockets represent the most distinctive connectivity feature, allowing access to a huge base of Click boards™, growing on a daily basis. Each section of Clicker 4 is clearly marked, offering an intuitive and clean interface. This makes working with the
development board much simpler and, thus, faster. The usability of Clicker 4 doesn’t end with its ability to accelerate the prototyping and application development stages: it is designed as a complete solution that can be implemented directly into any project, with no additional hardware modifications required. Four mounting holes [4.2mm/0.165”] at all four corners allow simple installation by using mounting screws.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Architecture
ARM Cortex-M4
MCU Memory (KB)
10
Silicon Vendor
STMicroelectronics
Pin count
100
RAM (Bytes)
100
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Clicker 4 for STM32F4 as your development board.
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.
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™.
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.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for PWM driver Click driver.
Key functions:
pwmdriver_set_duty_cycle- Generic sets PWM duty cyclepwmdriver_pwm_stop- Stop PWM modulepwmdriver_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
