Make BLDC motor drive as simple as possible with DRV10866 and ATmega328P

Unleash unbridled performance

Brushless 24 Click with Arduino UNO Rev3

Published Feb 14, 2024

Click board™

Brushless 24 Click

Dev Board

Arduino UNO Rev3

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

ATmega328P

Harness AI-powered precision with our next-gen brushless motor control solution

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Brushless 24 Click is based on the DRV10866, a fully integrated three-phase BLDC motor driver from Texas Instruments. The DRV10866 motor driver comes with integrated power MOSFETs with current drive capability up to 800mA peak (based on populated 3.9k resistor), specifically designed for low-noise energy-saving fan motor drive applications connected to the terminals labeled as U, V, W, and COM. It provides PWM/enable control interface (PWM pin of the mikroBUS™ socket), wide operating voltage range, robust on-chip protection features, low RDSON, and efficient switching algorithms to ensure excellent thermal performance and high drive capability. The DRV10866 implements a 150° commutation (sensorless BEMF control scheme) for

a 3-phase motor alongside a synchronous rectification mode of operation that achieves increased efficiency for motor driver applications. In addition, the DRV10866 has a frequency generator pin (FG) that outputs a 50% duty cycle of PWM waveform in the normal operation condition. The FG represents the motor speed and phase information, detectable through an interrupt pin of the mikroBUS™ socket and a blue LED indicator marked as FG. During the Start-Up sequence, the FG output will stay at high impedance until the motor speed reaches a certain level and BEMF is detected, while during lock protection conditions, the FG will remain high until the motor restarts and the Start-Up process is completed. Apart from this function, the

DRV10866 can also output either full FG or half of the FG to indicate motor status with open-drain output through the FGS SEL selection jumper. When FGS SEL is placed in a VCC position, the FG output frequency is half that when the jumper is set to a GND position. The DRV10866 has multiple built-in protection blocks, including UVLO, overcurrent protection, lock protection, and thermal shutdown protection. 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. 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.

Brushless 24 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Arduino UNO is a versatile microcontroller board built around the ATmega328P chip. It offers extensive connectivity options for various projects, featuring 14 digital input/output pins, six of which are PWM-capable, along with six analog inputs. Its core components include a 16MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an

ICSP header, and a reset button, providing everything necessary to power and program the board. The Uno is ready to go, whether connected to a computer via USB or powered by an AC-to-DC adapter or battery. As the first USB Arduino board, it serves as the benchmark for the Arduino platform, with "Uno" symbolizing its status as the

first in a series. This name choice, meaning "one" in Italian, commemorates the launch of Arduino Software (IDE) 1.0. Initially introduced alongside version 1.0 of the Arduino Software (IDE), the Uno has since become the foundational model for subsequent Arduino releases, embodying the platform's evolution.

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

Architecture

AVR

MCU Memory (KB)

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

RAM (Bytes)

2048

You complete me!

Accessories

Click Shield for Arduino UNO has two proprietary mikroBUS™ sockets, allowing all the Click board™ devices to be interfaced with the Arduino UNO board without effort. The Arduino Uno, a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328P, provides an affordable and flexible way for users to try out new concepts and build prototypes with the ATmega328P microcontroller from various combinations of performance, power consumption, and features. The Arduino Uno has 14 digital input/output pins (of which six can be used as PWM outputs), six analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator (CSTCE16M0V53-R0), a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and reset button. Most of the ATmega328P microcontroller pins are brought to the IO pins on the left and right edge of the board, which are then connected to two existing mikroBUS™ sockets. This Click Shield also has several switches that perform functions such as selecting the logic levels of analog signals on mikroBUS™ sockets and selecting logic voltage levels of the mikroBUS™ sockets themselves. Besides, the user is offered the possibility of using any Click board™ with the help of existing bidirectional level-shifting voltage translators, regardless of whether the Click board™ operates at a 3.3V or 5V logic voltage level. Once you connect the Arduino UNO board with our Click Shield for Arduino UNO, you can access hundreds of Click boards™, working with 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels.

Brushless DC (BLDC) Motor with a Hall sensor represents a high-performance motor from the 42BLF motor series. This motor, wired in a star configuration, boasts a Hall Effect angle of 120°, ensuring precise and reliable performance. With a compact motor length of 47mm and a lightweight design tipping the scales at just 0.29kg, this BLDC motor is engineered to meet your needs. Operating flawlessly at a voltage rating of 24VDC and a speed range of 4000 ± 10% RPM, this motor offers consistent and dependable power. It excels in a normal operational temperature range from -20 to +50°C, maintaining efficiency with a rated current of 1.9A. Also, this product seamlessly integrates with all Brushless Click boards™ and those that require BLDC motors with Hall sensors.

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

RST

SCK

MISO

MOSI

Power Supply

3.3V

Ground

GND

PWM Signal

PD6

PWM

Motor Speed Indicator

PC3

INT

SCL

SDA

Power Supply

Ground

GND

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Click Shield for Arduino UNO front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Arduino UNO Rev3 as your development board.

Arduino UNO Rev3 front image hardware assembly

Charger 27 Click front image hardware assembly

Charger 27 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly

Arduino UNO Rev3 Access MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly

Necto No Display image step 8 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.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Brushless 24 Click driver.

Key functions:

brushless24_set_duty_cycle - Brushless 24 sets PWM duty cycle
brushless24_pwm_start - Brushless 24 start PWM module
brushless24_get_int_state - Brushless 24 get INT pin state

Open Source

Code example

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief Brushless 24 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This application is a schowcase of controlling speed of brushless motor using Brushless 24 Click.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initialization of LOG, PWM module and additional pins.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * In a span of second changes duty cycle from 0 to 100% which is changing speed of the motor.
 *
 * @author Stefan Ilic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "brushless24.h"

static brushless24_t brushless24;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    brushless24_cfg_t brushless24_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.
    brushless24_cfg_setup( &brushless24_cfg );
    BRUSHLESS24_MAP_MIKROBUS( brushless24_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( PWM_ERROR == brushless24_init( &brushless24, &brushless24_cfg ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( BRUSHLESS24_ERROR == brushless24_default_cfg ( &brushless24 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    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;
    
    brushless24_set_duty_cycle ( &brushless24, duty );
    log_printf( &logger, "> Duty: %d%%\r\n", ( uint16_t )( duty_cnt * 10 ) );
    
    Delay_ms( 1000 );
    
    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