Motor control plug-in for MPLAB X

19 April 2017 Design Automation

Microchip has rolled out an advanced motor control software plug-in for its MPLAB X integrated development environment (IDE) with auto-tuning and self-commissioning capability. The plug-in, called motorBench Development Suite, is a graphical user interface (GUI)-based tool with automatic tuning of feedback control gains and offline accurate measurement of critical motor parameters such as resistance, inductances and the back electromagnetic force (EMF) constant.

This plug-in collects all the information relevant to the motor control system and auto-tunes the control algorithm gains. The software then uses this information to generate MPLAB X IDE project code ready to run on Microchip’s dsPIC33EP family of digital signal controllers (DSCs). The generated code can then be reviewed and edited as needed and Flashed as motor control firmware.

motorBench automates the time-consuming and complicated process of tuning the control loops for speed and torque to ensure that permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) spin reliably. It is currently available using Microchip’s dsPICDEM MCLV-2 development board (DM330021-2) with a dsPIC33EP256MC506 external op-amp motor control plug-in-module (PIM) (MA330031-2) and a 24 V 3-phase brushless DC motor with encoder (AC300022).

For more information contact Shane Padayachee, Avnet South Africa, +27 (0)11 319 8600, [email protected], www.avnet.co.za

Further reading:

Why LabVIEW is critical to South Africa’s automation future
Design Automation
[Sponsored] In a world increasingly defined by connected systems, edge intelligence, and accelerating automation, the ability to build scalable, responsive, and maintainable engineering applications has never been more essential, and at the heart of this evolution lies LabVIEW.

Read more...

---

Take analogue designs from idea to reality
Design Automation
Bringing your analogue design ideas to life is simple with Microchip’s Analog Development Tool Ecosystem, part of its extensive range of solutions for both analogue and digital engineers.

Read more...

---

Accurate power estimation
Design Automation
AMD Power Design Manager 2025.1 is now available – with support for AMD Versal AI Edge and Prime Series Gen 2 SoCs and production support for AMD Spartan UltraScale+ devices.

Read more...

---

AMD Vivado Design Suite 2025.1
Design Automation
AMD Vivado Design Suite 2025.1 is here, and now with support for AMD Spartan UltraScale+ and next-generation Versal devices.

Read more...

---

Siemens streamlines design of integrated 3D ICs
Design Automation
Siemens Digital Industries Software recently introduced two new solutions to its EDA portfolio.

Read more...

---

Webinar: Designing in a connected environment
Design Automation
With Altium Designer and its data management platform, the team will always be up to date with the latest design documents and be able to comment on schematic, PCB, BOM and assembly drawings.

Read more...

---

ST’s graphical no-code design software
Design Automation
MEMS-Studio is a complete desktop software solution designed to develop embedded AI features, evaluate embedded libraries, analyse data, and design no-code algorithms for the entire portfolio of ST’s MEMS sensors.

Read more...

---

LibGSM – A powerful, modular GSM library
eiTech Systems Design Automation
Whether you are building SMS, MQTT, HTTP or other GSM-based applications, eiTech’s LibGSM library helps streamline development with its carefully structured design.

Read more...

---

NECTO Studio V7.2 IDE with code assistant
Design Automation
MIKROE recently announced that NECTO Studio 7.2 IDE now includes NECTO Code Assistant, an AI tool that enables users to create code for multi-Click projects.

Read more...

---

MPLAB unified compiler licenses
Design Automation
Offering an efficient way to manage multiple licenses, Microchip Technology has launched MPLAB XC unified compiler licenses for its MPLAB XC8, XC16, XC-DSC and XC32 C compilers.

Read more...

---