Beginner
10 min

Control the speed and direction of the brushed DC motors with DRV8833 and PIC18F57Q43

Switch the motor ON or OFF and manage its direction using simple digital signals

DC MOTOR Click with Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Published Feb 13, 2024

Click board™

DC MOTOR Click

Dev Board

Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F57Q43

Compact, user-friendly solution for controlling brushed DC motors with minimal fuss and maximum reliability

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

DC MOTOR Click is based on the DRV8833, an H-bridge motor driver with current-control PWM circuitry from Texas Instruments. The DRV8833 has two integrated H-bridges connected in parallel for double the current of a single H-bridge rated for an operating voltage range from 3V to 10V. The output driver block of the DRV8833 consists of N-channel power MOSFETs configured as an H-bridge to drive the motor windings, where each H-bridge includes circuitry to regulate or limit the winding current. Thanks to the current sense resistors R2 and R5 of 220mΩ, the driving current is limited to 0.9A. In addition, the 74HC4053 is also incorporated into the design to run the motor with only one PWM line from the mikroBUS™ socket. Thanks to this multiplexer, in combination with the selection pins

SL1 and SL2, routed to the RST and CS pins of the mikroBUS™ socket, control of the DRV8833 driver as well as management of its operating modes (Coast/Fast Decay, Reverse, Forward, Brake/Slow Decay) is enabled. This mux can also be used for PWM control of the motor speed. The DRV8833 also has a complete set of diagnostic and protection capabilities that support robust and reliable operation, like over-current protection, short circuit protection, undervoltage lockout, and overtemperature. In any case, the user can also visually detect them, in addition to the FLT pin, through the red LED marked with FAULT. It is also possible to set the driver in low-power Sleep mode via the SLP pin routed to the AN pin of the mikroBUS™ socket. In this state, the H-bridges are

disabled, the gate drive charge pump is stopped, all internal logic is reset, and all internal clocks are stopped. This Click board™ can operate with both 3.3V and 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWR SEL jumper. It allows both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs to use the communication lines properly. Additionally, there is a possibility for the DRV8833 power supply selection via jumper labeled as MOTOR PWR to supply the DRV8833 from an external power supply terminal from 3V to 10V or from mikroBUS™ power rails. However, the 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 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano evaluation kit is a cutting-edge hardware platform designed to evaluate microcontrollers within the PIC18-Q43 family. Central to its design is the inclusion of the powerful PIC18F57Q43 microcontroller (MCU), offering advanced functionalities and robust performance. Key features of this evaluation kit include a yellow user LED and a responsive

mechanical user switch, providing seamless interaction and testing. The provision for a 32.768kHz crystal footprint ensures precision timing capabilities. With an onboard debugger boasting a green power and status LED, programming and debugging become intuitive and efficient. Further enhancing its utility is the Virtual serial port (CDC) and a debug GPIO channel (DGI

GPIO), offering extensive connectivity options. Powered via USB, this kit boasts an adjustable target voltage feature facilitated by the MIC5353 LDO regulator, ensuring stable operation with an output voltage ranging from 1.8V to 5.1V, with a maximum output current of 500mA, subject to ambient temperature and voltage constraints.

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

128

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

48

RAM (Bytes)

8196

You complete me!

Accessories

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards is a versatile hardware extension platform created to streamline the integration between Curiosity Nano kits and extension boards, tailored explicitly for the mikroBUS™-standardized Click boards and Xplained Pro extension boards. This innovative base board (shield) offers seamless connectivity and expansion possibilities, simplifying experimentation and development. Key features include USB power compatibility from the Curiosity Nano kit, alongside an alternative external power input option for enhanced flexibility. The onboard Li-Ion/LiPo charger and management circuit ensure smooth operation for battery-powered applications, simplifying usage and management. Moreover, the base incorporates a fixed 3.3V PSU dedicated to target and mikroBUS™ power rails, alongside a fixed 5.0V boost converter catering to 5V power rails of mikroBUS™ sockets, providing stable power delivery for various connected devices.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards accessories 1 image

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 Click accessories image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Sleep Mode
PA0
AN
Control Pin 1
PA7
RST
Control Pin 2
PD4
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
PWM Signal
PB0
PWM
Fault Detection
PA6
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

DC MOTOR Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43 as your development board.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click front image hardware assembly
PIC18F47Q10 Curiosity Nano front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Curiosity Nano with PICXXX 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
PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity 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

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 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • dcmotor_pwm_start - Start PWM module.

  • dcmotor_enable - Enable the motor function.

  • dcmotor_sleep_mode - Set sleep mode 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 
 * \brief DcMotor Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This application change the speed and direction of DC Motor.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Initialization driver enable's - GPIO,
 * PWM initialization, set PWM duty cycle and PWM frequency, enable the motor, start PWM and start write log.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This is a example which demonstrates the use of DC Motor Click board.
 * DC Motor Click communicates with register via PWM interface.
 * It shows moving in the left direction from slow to fast speed
 * and from fast to slow speed.
 * Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 * 
 * \author Nikola Peric
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "dcmotor.h"

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

static dcmotor_t dcmotor;
static log_t logger;
uint8_t dcmotor_direction = 1;

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    dcmotor_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.

    dcmotor_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    DCMOTOR_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    dcmotor_init( &dcmotor, &cfg );

    log_printf( &logger, " Initialization  PWM \r\n" );
    
    dcmotor_set_duty_cycle ( &dcmotor, 0.0 );
    dcmotor_pwm_start( &dcmotor );
    log_printf( &logger, "---------------------\r\n" );
}

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

    if ( dcmotor_direction == 1 )
    {
        dcmotor_sleep_mode ( &dcmotor );
        dcmotor_right_direction_slow ( &dcmotor );
        log_printf( &logger, "> CLOCKWISE <\r\n" );
        dcmotor_enable ( &dcmotor );
    }
    else
    {
        dcmotor_sleep_mode ( &dcmotor );
        dcmotor_left_direction_slow ( &dcmotor );
        log_printf( &logger, "> COUNTER CLOCKWISE <\r\n" );
        dcmotor_enable ( &dcmotor );
    }

    dcmotor_set_duty_cycle ( &dcmotor, duty );
    Delay_ms( 500 );

    if ( 10 == duty_cnt ) 
    {
        duty_inc = -1;
        
        if ( dcmotor_direction == 1 )
        {
            dcmotor_direction = 0;
        }
        else if ( dcmotor_direction == 0 )
        {
            dcmotor_direction = 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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