Field oriented control on cost-effective 8-bit MCUs
31 October 2007
DSP, Micros & Memory
Infineon is now offering standard 8-bit MCUs capable of supporting field oriented control (FOC). FOC is a powerful technique for operating electric motors, resulting in smooth and energy-efficient operation at all speeds. Increasingly being used in consumer and industrial motor control applications, typically a 16-, 32-bit MCU or DSP is required to handle the complex trigonometric FOC equations. Implemented on its 8-bit XC886 and XC888 families, Infineon brings FOC motor control solutions to price-sensitive applications.
Field oriented control is becoming more and more widespread in various motor control applications because it results in higher efficiency by running the motor at optimum torque at all times. It provides better dynamic response to enable very precise variable speed control and lower torque ripple, for even and steady motor rotation at speed and also during start and stop operation. The XC886/8 microcontrollers with FOC enable customers to develop cost-effective sensorless motor controls which are precise, highly responsive and energy efficient, even at highest torque.
The FOC feature is implemented on these MCUs by combining a high-performance 8051 core and a 'Vector Computer' coprocessor core, which performs 16-bit arithmetic operations. This vector computer is composed of two parallel operating units: MDU, a 16-bit multiply and divide unit, and CORDIC, a 16-bit coprocessor dedicated for vector rotation and angular calculations. Unlike most competitive FOC implementations that are hard-coded, this solution offers the added benefit of software reprogrammability.
FOC execution on the XC886/XC888 microcontrollers only requires 58% of the CPU's performance, providing additional resources for functions such as system control and communications.
The FOC Drive Application Kit provides customers with a cost-effective method of evaluating and developing brushless DC (BLDC) motor control applications using the FOC technique. The kit features the CANmotion evaluation board which integrates the XC886CM MCU and a 3-phase power inverter, providing all the necessary functions to control a 24 V BLDC motor. The complete FOC source code with comprehensive documentation offers designers a plug-and-play solution to start with FOC development.
A CAN-to-USB bridge is available in the kit for hex code download and parameter adjustments and a CAN message-based user interface enables the user to set and modify all motor control parameters for speed and current control. Pre-compiled demos provide a platform for easy evaluation and performance measurement of the FOC algorithm.
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