Motor-control devt board rolls for DSC-based apps

Microchip Technology has introduced a BLDC motor-control development platform for evaluating and developing sensored or sensorless BLDC and PM synchronous motor control applications.

Supporting the company's dsPIC33F family of motor control digital signal controllers, the dsPICDEM MCLV development board contains a three-phase inverter bridge circuit, which drives a BLDC or PMSM motor using different control techniques, without requiring any additional hardware.

The board is capable of controlling motors rated up to 48 V and 15 A, and supports communication channels such as USB, CAN, LIN and RS-232. In addition, it supports a variety of dsPIC33F motor-control DSCs with different memory and pin configurations, and includes a dsPIC33FJ32MC204 PIM (32 KB Flash and 44 pins).

Also announced were two new motor-control software solutions: one showing how PFC algorithms can be combined with sensorless motor-control algorithms on a single chip, and the second demonstrating how to run an AC induction motor faster than its rated speed for a class of applications. In addition, the company said that its MPLAB IDE Version 8.15 has been enhanced to include a real-time data monitor function.

The dsPICDEM MCLV development board is priced at Rs.7,505.46 ($150). Source code for the motor-control libraries can be downloaded for free.

-Rich Pell
Industrial Control Designline