Toshiba: PC-based tools for motor control design

Author: EIS Release Date: Nov 11, 2022

Toshiba has introduced PC-based design tools for motor control, as part of ‘MCU Motor Studio’ which includes firmware its TXZ+4A microcontrollers and hardware evaluation boards.

 

Toshiba motor control software

“The MCU Motor Studio firmware suite supports all common motor control strategies including sinewave commutation and field-oriented vector control, sensor-less or with position sensing,” according to the company. “There is a choice of single-shunt and three-shunt current detection, and support for PWM frequencies up to 156kHz. The firmware caters for motor types, including brushless dc, permanent-magnet synchronous motors, switched reluctance motors and asynchronous ac motors.”

 

Toshiba motor control softwareUsers are helped to configure the proportional-integral (PI) controller by the PC tool, as well as enter the parameters of their chosen inverter board and motor, and to start their evaluation. In real-time, it graphically displays target and actual speed, torque, current, temperature, dc-link voltage and error status. Motor, system and control parameters can be changed dynamically, and test can be programmed for automatic execution.

 

The firmware suite has options so that users can configure zero-current-point detection, initial motor-position detection, stop controls including rapid braking, magnetic-field stall recovery, load-dependent speed reduction, sensor-less rotor positioning and sensor-based linear motion positioning.

 

TXZ+4A series MCUs are based on Arm’s Cortex-M4 core (Toshiba nomenclature note: the TXZ+4A ‘series’ is its M4K ‘group’ and its M4M group together). Depending on the variant, up to three independent motor channels can be controlled with one MCU, and motor control is possible with packages with as few as 64 pads.

 

“Dedicated motor-control features provided on-chip include a hardware vector engine, encoder for servo motors and self-diagnostics that simplify meeting functional-safety standards such as IEC 60730 class B,” said Toshiba.

 

Microe Toshiba clicker-4-for-tmpm4kFor development hardware, Toshiba worked with MikroElektronika to create the Mikroe Clicker 4 for TMPM4K evaluation board (right) which has a M4K MCU that can be powered from over USB, from a battery or from a companion inverter board.

 

Microe Toshiba clicker-4 motor inverter

 

The inverter board (left) will run from 6 – 48V and allows one-shunt or three-shunt current measurement and an interface for position sensing. Together, the Clicker and inverter shield can control one motor channel.