Accelerate motor-control design with this software development kit

Less time is spent on manual setting since the software expansion kit has combined the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) firmware library, the Motor Control Workbench configuration environment, and the Motor Profiler utility into one STM32Cube package. The workflow can start from the target board, benefit from the STM32CubeMX integration, and some of the variables of the algorithm can be observed and adjusted on-the-fly. 

Startup tuning is something that works better in sensorless 6-step control. This is because X-CUBE-MCSDK software expansion firmware helps with alignment and getting the motor started. It also helps with loop acceleration and switching to closed loop operation using the back electromotive force (BEMF) signal. The user gets to choose if they want to use voltage mode or current mode when setting up the rev-up profile. This means that engineers have control over how long each phase lasts, what speed they want to reach and if they want to use voltage or current before generating code.

When the code is generated, that is not the end of the development process. The Motor Pilot graphical user interface (GUI) is a tool that lets users change the rev-up values in time without having to start the project all over again. The start-up guide has some tips for making sure the BEMF sensing divider is the right size. This means that the motor phase voltage will fit into the analog-to-digital converter range and work well when switching over. Values for the filter capacitors catering for the sensing network are from 47pF to 220pF.

The STMicroelectronics roadmap now includes enhanced sensorless control, including full support of sensorless FOC based on the high sensitivity observer (HSO) for the STM32 parts based on Arm Cortex-M33^® with compatibility with the new STM32CubeMX.