Actel offers demonstration platforms that showcase IGLOO devices as controllers for miniature brushless DC and stepper motors. Using these platforms, you can evaluate an IGLOO device as a flexible motor controller for your designs. The platform consists of a miniature motor control daughter card for Actel's IGLOO Icicle Kit. The motor control daughter card is comprised of a miniature brushless DC and stepper motor with some associated motor driver circuit. The block diagram shows the Icicle board connected to the miniature motor daughter card. To control different functions, Actel provides a software program that runs on a PC. The data is communicated between the PC and Icicle board through a USB cable with a USB-to-UART chip that allows a simple UART controller on the IGLOO device
to communicate the data with the PC. Actel's IGLOO Icicle Kit, based on the 5 µW IGLOO device, is a low-cost, portable, low-power demonstration platform that can be powered by a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, USB cable, or external power supply. The Icicle evaluation board enables you to measure power consumption (dynamic, static, and Flash*Freeze modes) with the core operating at either 1.2 V or 1.5 V.
- Small form factor miniature motor control plug-in daughter card for Icicle Kit (based on the ultra-low-power IGLOO FPGA with Flash*Freeze technology)
- Evaluation and development platform with the flexibility to demonstrate different types of motor control functions
- Brushless DC motor control
- Stepper motor control
- FREE download of design examples
- No external power supply needed. The demonstration platform is powered by USB power.
- Provision for external power supply
- All functions can be controlled using a GUI software on a PC or through hardware control using DIP and Toggle switches on the daughter card
- Serial communication between the PC and the IGLOO FPGA through USB-to-UART interface
- Enables you to replace the motors with other compatible ones
- Jumper/DIP switch settings to:
- Select brushless DC motor or stepper motor
- Select external power supply
- Select demonstration through software or hardware control
Design examples offer innovative ideas for Actel FPGA applications and help users create designs that utilize Actel's device advantages. Actel's design examples are available for immediate download and are always free of charge.
Brushless DC Motor Control
This design controls a sensored (with Hall effect feedback) brushless DC motor. The hall effect sensors provide the position of the rotor to determine the next state. Three logic signals are decoded to determine the next winding sequence. The duty cycle of the 8-bit PWM signal varies the speed of the motor. The PWM frequencies can be made variable based on motor specifications.
Stepper Motor Control
This design controls the commutation for a 4-wire stepper motor. The stepper motor requires a fixed sequence of phase voltages that the motor windings must be supplied for proper commutation. Four vectored signals from an IGLOO device directly control the H-bridge in the full step and the half step mode. A PWM technique is used to implement Micro-step mode, by varying the duty cycle of the applied voltage in trapezoidal form with 8 or 16 steps.
