Control two-phase bipolar stepper motors with TB67S128FTG and STM32F407VGT6

Stepper 10 Click is based on the TB67S128FTG, a two-phase bipolar stepper motor driver from Toshiba Semiconductor, which features adjustable current limiting and micro-stepping down to 1/128 step operation. Fabricated using a leading-edge BiCD process with low power consumption and low output on-resistance, the TB67S128FTG in a thermally enhanced small package helps improve efficiency and reduce the size of motor applications. This stepping motor driver incorporates a high-speed, high-precision control technology required for factory automation systems and office equipment. The chip can dynamically select an optimal decay mode by monitoring the actual motor current and automatically reduce the driving current below the full amount when the motor is lightly loaded to minimize power consumption and heat generation. The driver has a wide operating voltage range of 6.5V to 44V and can continuously deliver approximately 2.1A per phase without a heat sink or forced air flow (up to 5A peak). It features built-in protection against under-voltage, over-current, and over-temperature

conditions. There are two interface modes to select from: CLK mode for simple step and direction control and serial mode for controlling and setting the driver through a serial interface. Step resolution is configurable using MODE2, MODE1, and MODE0 by setting the appropriate pin level. Most pins are controlled using an IO expander via the I2C bus except DIR, STEP, ENABLE, and RESET routed to the mikroBUS™ socket. Stepper 10 Click has eight different step modes: full-step, half-step, 1/4-step, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, and 1/128. Besides that, four different decay modes are available using the MDT0 and MDT1 pins. The onboard trimmer potentiometer can be used to set the current limit to prevent damage to the motor. The actual calculation of the predefined output current can be found in the TB67S128FTG datasheet. Toshiba’s unique AGC feature stepping motor technology optimizes the drive current according to the load torque in real-time. It helps reduce unnecessary currents and drastically cut power consumption and heat generation. Stepper 10 Click has the function to detect several error states indicated by two

LEDs: LO1 and LO0. If the overcurrent is detected, the LO0 will toggle, while the LO1 represents the motor load open indication. If both LEDs are toggled, then the thermal shutdown is detected. The errors are cleared by toggling standby mode or performing a power cycle to the driver. The LED designated as MO is toggled if the driver’s electrical angle is equal to the initial value of 45°, which occurs immediately after reset or whenever the driver has stepped a full cycle. Stepper 10 Click uses the two TCA9534APWR Low-Power IO Expanders that support the I2C interface protocol. To avoid conflicts on the bus, the slave addresses can be reconfigured by SMD jumpers labeled ADDR1 and ADDR2. 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.

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.