Intermediate
30 min

Achieve unmatched motor performance with L9958 and STM32F446RE

Synchronize and control with finesse

DC Motor 24 Click with Nucleo 64 with STM32F446RE MCU

Published Oct 08, 2024

Click board™

DC Motor 24 Click

Dev Board

Nucleo 64 with STM32F446RE MCU

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32F446RE

Discover a seamless blend of power and reliability with our state-of-the-art DC brushed motor driver, empowering your creations like never before

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

DC Motor 24 Click is based on the L9958, a fully integrated motor driver for DC and stepper motors from STMicroelectronics used in safety-critical applications and under extreme environmental conditions. This Click board™ provides all the input and output capabilities necessary to drive DC or stepper motors (OUT terminal), alongside monitor diagnostic functions. The L9958 is rated for an operating voltage range from 4V to 28V (VIN terminal), with direct PWM motor control. The PWM control with simple direction control, DIR pin routed to the AN pin on the mikroBUS™ socket, allows MCU to manage the direction of the DC motor (clockwise or counterclockwise). This combination enables highly efficient motor drive

output, ensuring reliable operation for highly competitive automotive applications. This Click board™ communicates with MCU using a 4-wire SPI-compatible interface with a maximum frequency of 5MHz, for the configuration of the L9958. The SPI interface can set the current regulation threshold from 2.5A to 8.6A, typically in four steps (6.6A is a default). The L9958 also has detailed failure diagnostics on each channel provided via the SPI interface. The H-bridge is protected against temperature and short circuits and has an undervoltage/ overvoltage lockout for all the supply voltages. All malfunctions cause the output stages to go tri-state. The output can be turned off (set to tri-state) via a combination

of logic states of an onboard switch labeled as DI and enable pin routed to the EN pin on the mikroBUS™ socket. The internal H-bridge also contains integrated free-wheel diodes. In the case of the free-wheeling condition, the low-side transistor is switched ON in parallel to its diode to reduce power dissipation. 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. 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 24 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Nucleo-64 with STM32F446RE MCU offers a cost-effective and adaptable platform for developers to explore new ideas and prototype their designs. This board harnesses the versatility of the STM32 microcontroller, enabling users to select the optimal balance of performance and power consumption for their projects. It accommodates the STM32 microcontroller in the LQFP64 package and includes essential components such as a user LED, which doubles as an ARDUINO® signal, alongside user and reset push-buttons, and a 32.768kHz crystal oscillator for precise timing operations. Designed with expansion and flexibility in mind, the Nucleo-64 board features an ARDUINO® Uno V3 expansion connector and ST morpho extension pin

headers, granting complete access to the STM32's I/Os for comprehensive project integration. Power supply options are adaptable, supporting ST-LINK USB VBUS or external power sources, ensuring adaptability in various development environments. The board also has an on-board ST-LINK debugger/programmer with USB re-enumeration capability, simplifying the programming and debugging process. Moreover, the board is designed to simplify advanced development with its external SMPS for efficient Vcore logic supply, support for USB Device full speed or USB SNK/UFP full speed, and built-in cryptographic features, enhancing both the power efficiency and security of projects. Additional connectivity is

provided through dedicated connectors for external SMPS experimentation, a USB connector for the ST-LINK, and a MIPI® debug connector, expanding the possibilities for hardware interfacing and experimentation. Developers will find extensive support through comprehensive free software libraries and examples, courtesy of the STM32Cube MCU Package. This, combined with compatibility with a wide array of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), including IAR Embedded Workbench®, MDK-ARM, and STM32CubeIDE, ensures a smooth and efficient development experience, allowing users to fully leverage the capabilities of the Nucleo-64 board in their projects.

Nucleo 64 with STM32F446RE MCU double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M4

MCU Memory (KB)

512

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

64

RAM (Bytes)

131072

You complete me!

Accessories

Click Shield for Nucleo-64 comes equipped with two proprietary mikroBUS™ sockets, allowing all the Click board™ devices to be interfaced with the STM32 Nucleo-64 board with no effort. This way, Mikroe allows its users to add any functionality from our ever-growing range of Click boards™, such as WiFi, GSM, GPS, Bluetooth, ZigBee, environmental sensors, LEDs, speech recognition, motor control, movement sensors, and many more. More than 1537 Click boards™, which can be stacked and integrated, are at your disposal. The STM32 Nucleo-64 boards are based on the microcontrollers in 64-pin packages, a 32-bit MCU with an ARM Cortex M4 processor operating at 84MHz, 512Kb Flash, and 96KB SRAM, divided into two regions where the top section represents the ST-Link/V2 debugger and programmer while the bottom section of the board is an actual development board. These boards are controlled and powered conveniently through a USB connection to program and efficiently debug the Nucleo-64 board out of the box, with an additional USB cable connected to the USB mini port on the board. Most of the STM32 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 STM32 Nucleo-64 board with our Click Shield for Nucleo-64, you can access hundreds of Click boards™, working with 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels.

Click Shield for Nucleo-64 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 24 Click accessories image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Rotation Direction
PC0
AN
Bridge Enable
PC12
RST
SPI Chip Select
PB12
CS
SPI Clock
PB3
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PB4
MISO
SPI Data IN
PB5
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
PWM Signal
PC8
PWM
NC
NC
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 24 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Click Shield for Nucleo-64 accessories 1 image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Nucleo 64 with STM32F446RE MCU as your development board.

Click Shield for Nucleo-64 accessories 1 image hardware assembly
Nucleo 64 with STM32F401RE MCU front image hardware assembly
LTE IoT 5 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
LTE IoT 5 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Nucleo-64 with STM32XXX MCU Access MB 1 Mini B Conn - 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
Clicker 4 for STM32F4 HA 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 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.

DEBUG_Application_Output

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for DC Motor 24 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • dcmotor24_read_diag - This function reads a diagnostics word by using SPI serial interface

  • dcmotor24_switch_direction - This function switches the direction by toggling the DIR pin state

  • dcmotor24_set_duty_cycle - This function sets the PWM duty cycle in percentages ( Range[ 0..1 ] )

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 24 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of the DC Motor 24 Click board by driving the 
 * motor in both directions at different speeds.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and performs the click default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Controls the motor speed by changing the PWM duty cycle every 500ms.
 * The duty cycle ranges from 0% to 100%. At the minimal speed, the motor switches direction.
 * It also reads and parses the diagnostics word register. Each step will be logged on
 * the USB UART where you can track the program flow.
 *
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "dcmotor24.h"

static dcmotor24_t dcmotor24;
static log_t logger;

/**
 * @brief DC Motor 24 display diag function.
 * @details This function parses and displays a diagnostics word on the USB UART.
 * @param[in] diag : Diagnostics word to parse and display.
 * @return None.
 * @note None.
 */
static void dcmotor24_display_diag ( uint16_t diag );

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    dcmotor24_cfg_t dcmotor24_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.
    dcmotor24_cfg_setup( &dcmotor24_cfg );
    DCMOTOR24_MAP_MIKROBUS( dcmotor24_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == dcmotor24_init( &dcmotor24, &dcmotor24_cfg ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( DCMOTOR24_ERROR == dcmotor24_default_cfg ( &dcmotor24 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    static int8_t duty_pct = 10;
    static int8_t duty_step = 10;
    uint16_t diag;
    if ( DCMOTOR24_OK == dcmotor24_set_duty_cycle ( &dcmotor24, ( float ) duty_pct / 100 ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "\r\n Duty: %u%%\r\n", ( uint16_t ) duty_pct );
    }
    if ( DCMOTOR24_OK == dcmotor24_read_diag ( &dcmotor24, &diag ) )
    {
        dcmotor24_display_diag ( diag );
    }
    Delay_ms( 500 );
    if ( ( 100 == duty_pct ) || ( 0 == duty_pct ) ) 
    {
        duty_step = -duty_step;
        if ( 0 == duty_pct )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, "\r\n Switch direction\r\n" );
            dcmotor24_switch_direction ( &dcmotor24 );
            Delay_ms ( 500 );
        }
    }
    duty_pct += duty_step;
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

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

static void dcmotor24_display_diag ( uint16_t diag )
{
    log_printf( &logger, " --- Diagnostics ---\r\n" );
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_OL_OFF )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Open Load in OFF condition\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_OL_ON )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Open Load in ON condition\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_VS_UV )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Vs undervoltage\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_VDD_OV )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Vdd overvoltage\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_ILIM )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Current Limitation reached\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_TWARN )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Temperature warning\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_TSD )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Over-temperature Shutdown\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_ACT )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Bridge enable\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_OC_LS1 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Over-Current on Low Side 1\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_OC_LS2 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Over-Current on Low Side 2\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_OC_HS1 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Over-Current on High Side 1\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_OC_HS2 )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Over-Current on High Side 2\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_SGND_OFF )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Short to GND in OFF condition\r\n" );
    }
    if ( diag & DCMOTOR24_DIA_SBAT_OFF )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " * Short to Battery in OFF condition\r\n" );
    }
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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