Reference Platform Accelerates Design Of BLDC Motor Apps

Enabling engineers to quickly integrate the latest motor-control technologies into their designs, the brushless DC (BLDC) motor-control reference platform revolves around an R8C/Tiny microcontroller (MCU) that handles a variety of BLDC motor-control algorithms. These include120° and 180° trapezoidal and sinusoidal Hall-sensor based BLDC motor control, respectively, and 120° sensor-less (back-EMF) control using external comparators or the MCU's on-chip A/D converters. Promoting design simplicity, the platform employs a two-layer PCB board. Other features include selectable configurations via jumpers, LEDs for visual indication of the switching pattern of the PWM, debug and communication interfaces via an isolated E8a debug port and an isolated serial port, a graphical user interface, over-current protection, and an emergency shut-off function. Available in the second quarter, price is $499. RENESAS TECHNOLOGY AMERICA INC., San Jose, CA. (408) 382-7407.