Optimize BLDC control with TC78B042FTG and STM32G474RE
Navigate with precision and ease
Published Nov 08, 2024
Click board™
Brushless 8 Click
Dev Board
Nucleo 64 with STM32G474RE MCU
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
STM32G474RE
Drive industrial equipment with advanced brushless motor control. Act now and revolutionize your engineering project
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
Brushless 8 Click is based on the TC78B042FTG, a three-phase brushless motor controller that offers high efficiency over a wide rotation range with automatic phase adjustment from Toshiba Semiconductor. This motor controller incorporates Toshiba’s originally developed Intelligent Phase Control that secures high-level efficiency for a wide range of rotation speeds. As a result, the new devices can be used with motor drivers with various voltages and current capacities and in combination with intelligent power devices at the output stages. It uses a sine-wave drive system with a smooth current waveform that reduces noise and generates less noise and vibration than motors with a rectangular wave drive system. This Click board™ also contains a 3-channel Half-Bridge driver inverter, TB67Z800FTG from Toshiba Semiconductor, that receives its high and low side gate drive signals from TC78B042FTG and runs the connected Brushless DC Motor up to 22V/3A. For this type of application, more precisely for Brushless Click boards that require BLDC Motor with Hall Sensor for their work, Mikroe offers its users just one such motor, whose offer you can find in our shop. The typical oscillation frequency is 9.22 MHz based on resistor R23 value 22kΩ drives
the motor with 120° commutation. When the Hall signal indicates a rotation speed of 1 Hz or more, the motor rotates by estimating the rotor position according to the command of the LA pin. When the rotation speed is less than 1Hz, or the motor rotation direction is reversed, the motor is driven with 120° commutation. The desired value on the previously mentioned LA pin as well as on other pins related to lead angle control, the TC78B042FTG, obtains by the DAC3608, a low-power, eight-channel, digital-to-analog converter from Texas Instruments, which establishes communication with MCU via I2C serial communication. Besides, the DAC43608 also allows the user to select a valid I2C address byte between 5V, GND, or I2C communication lines by positioning the jumper to an appropriate position marked from JP1 to JP4. As for the TC78B042FTG power supply, it is powered with a voltage value obtained by TPS7A49, an ultralow-noise linear regulator from Texas Instruments that converts an input value in the range of 6.5 to 22V to 6V that powers the main chip. In addition to I2C communication, several GPIO pins connected to the mikroBUS™ socket pins are also used. The DIR pin, routed on the CS pin of the mikroBUS™
socket, is used while the control of the motor rotation speed itself can be to select the direction of motor rotation, chosen via the VSP SEL jumper. With this jumper, the user can rotate speed control using a PWM signal or a value obtained by the DAC43608. The pin marked with RES routed at the RST pin of the mikroBUS™ socket can be used for Error detection, more precisely for turning commutation outputs on or off. The FG pin at the INT pin of the mikroBUS™ socket represents the rotating pulse based on the selectable number of pulses per revolution. And the last pin labeled as AN provides accurate, current monitoring via LT1999-10, a high-voltage, bidirectional current sense amplifier from Analog Devices. Two headers on the board contain both W, V and U-phase Hall input signals and a header with High & Low-side commutation signals. Besides, it has 2 LED indicators labeled ISD and TSD intended for thermal shutdown and over-current protection. This Click board™ is designed to be operated only with a 5V logic voltage level. A proper logic voltage level conversion should be performed before the Click board™ is used with MCUs with different logic levels.
Features overview
Development board
Nucleo-64 with STM32G474R 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.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Architecture
ARM Cortex-M4
MCU Memory (KB)
512
Silicon Vendor
STMicroelectronics
Pin count
64
RAM (Bytes)
128k
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.
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
Take a closer look
Click board™ Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Nucleo 64 with STM32G474RE MCU as your development board.
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 8 Click driver.
Key functions:
brushless8_cfg_setup- This function initializes click configuration structure to initial valuesbrushless8_init- This function initializes all necessary pins and peripherals used for Brushless 8 Clickbrushless8_default_cfg- This function executes a default configuration of Brushless 8 Click
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 Brushless8 Click example
*
* # Description
* This example showcases how to initialize and use the Brushless 8 click.
* This application is a schowcase of controlling speed
* and direction of brushless motor with hall sesnor.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initializes the click board to appropriate settings based on selected mode.
* Initialization settings are sent through I2C bus and the motor itself is
* controlled via PWM or DAC over I2C.
* Modes:
* - BRUSHLESS8_PWM
* - BRUSHLESS8_DAC
*
* ## Application Task
* This example demonstrates the use of Brushless 8 click board.
* Brushless 8 click communicates with the device via I2C driver in order to
* set adequate voltage level for connected motor.
* Current PWM/DAC settings being output are sent via logger.
* Results are being sent to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
*
* @note Take into consideration that the jumper on Brushless 8 click board
* has to be set adequately for selected mode ( @b VSPSEL ).
*
* @author Nikola Peric
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "brushless8.h"
#include "board.h"
#include "math.h"
#include "log.h"
/* Select desired mode. */
#define BRUSHLESS8_MODE BRUSHLESS8_PWM
#define COMM_DELAY 500
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
static brushless8_t brushless8;
static log_t logger;
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg; /**< Logger config object. */
brushless8_cfg_t brushless8_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.
brushless8_cfg_setup( &brushless8_cfg );
// Select desired mode.
brushless8_cfg.ctrl_mod = BRUSHLESS8_MODE;
BRUSHLESS8_MAP_MIKROBUS( brushless8_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
BRUSHLESS8_RETVAL init_flag = brushless8_init( &brushless8, &brushless8_cfg );
if ( BRUSHLESS8_OK != init_flag )
{
log_error( &logger, "Application Init Error" );
log_info( &logger, "Please, run program again..." );
for ( ; ; );
}
brushless8_default_cfg ( &brushless8 );
if ( BRUSHLESS8_PWM == brushless8.ctrl_mod )
{
brushless8_set_dac_vout( &brushless8, BRUSHLESS8_DAC_REG_CHN_A_DVSP, 0 );
brushless8_set_duty_cycle( &brushless8, 0 );
brushless8_pwm_start( &brushless8 );
Delay_ms( 3000 );
}
log_info( &logger, "Application Task" );
log_printf( &logger, "------------------------------\r\n" );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
static int8_t duty_cnt = 1;
static int8_t duty_inc = 1;
float duty = duty_cnt / 10.0;
brushless8_set_duty_cycle ( &brushless8, 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
