Servo Drive Reference Model For Multi-Channel Motor Control

The servo drive reference model combines Toshiba’s optimized motor control MCUs with Toshiba’s low RDS(ON) power MOSFETs to provide highly efficient control and drive solutions for brushless DC (BLDC) motors. The modular concept offers a high degree of flexibility for the field-oriented control (FOC) and closed loop positioning of up to three BLDC servo motors with a single MCU. The reference model helps to reduce system cost and gives a quick start to the implementation of advanced servo motor systems.

Applications

  • BLDC Servo Motors
  • Inverter / Drives
  • Robot / Cobot / SCARA
  • Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV)
  • Lawn Mower
  • 3D Printer

Demonstration

See how the fluid design of the reference model eases the the implementation of advanced servo motor systems: Within the model Toshiba`s motor control MCUs work effectively together with Toshiba’s low RDS(ON) power MOSFETs. Hence precise and accurate movement ot the robot arm is achieved.

Base Board & MCU Board

Vector control of up to 3 BLDC servo motors by a single MCU

Toshiba M4K MCU series is dedicated to the field-oriented motor control. The built-in Vector Engine (VE) takes care for the complex vector control calculations and feeds the Programmable Motor Drive (PMD) block to generate the PWM waveforms and perform other necessary functions such as dead-time control.

Motor Control Resources

Vector control of up to 3 BLDC servo motors by a single MCU

Base Board & MCU Board Schematic

The base platform hosts the MCU board with the TMPM4KNFDFG Motor Control MCU (160MHz Arm® Cortex®-M4F core, 512kB Flash, 100-pin) and allows the connection of up to three Power Stages to drive the servo motors. The on-board USB and Bluetooth® communication options can be extended by shields for Arduino. The 24/48V power conversion with reserve polarity protection circuit completes the design.

Base & MCU board products

TMPM4KNFYAFG

MCU, Arm® Cortex®-M4F, 160 MHz, 100-pin

TPW3R70APL

N-channel MOSFET, 100V/150A, DSOP adv.

PAN1762

Bluetooth® 5 module with Toshiba TC35680

TC7QPB9307FK

Level shifter

TCR3DM33

Low Dropout Linear Voltage Regulator (LDO)

TLP2370  

High-speed Photocoupler / Photorelay

SSM3K16CTC

Small signal MOSFET

200W Power stage / 3-phase inverter

The 3-phase inverter design is based on the 100V / 150A TPW3R70APL low-voltage MOSFET from the latest U-MOS IX process technology which provides industry leading performance. With max. RDS(ON) of just 3.7mΩ, the drive, switching and output charge losses are reduced significantly enabling efficient driving of 48V BLDC motors up to 200W.

Power stage board products

Part number

Description

TPW3R70APL

N-channel MOSFET, 100V/150A, DSOP adv.

TC75W58FU

Comparator

Encoder Sub Boards

To ensure a high flexibility for the position feedback signals, the encoder boards are exchangeable modules connected to the power stage. Currently supported interfaces are single-ended or differential hall and incremental encoder, and resolver absolute encoder.

Resolver Encoder Board

Differential Encoder Board

Servo Drive Reference Model Whitepaper

To offload the pressures placed on engineering teams and give them the head start they need in developing motor systems for their robot/AGV projects, Toshiba offers a highly flexible and simple to utilise solution. Its game-changing Servo Drive Reference Model encompasses all the essential elements of robotics-oriented motor control - the controller, the power delivery, the feedback loop, etc. The microcontroller at the heart of this reference model features an Arm® Cortex® processing core capable of running at 160MHz.

Toshiba has put together a whitepaper on robotic servo drives, which includes details of its reference model. Download it from here

* Arm and Cortex are registered trademarks of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the US and/or elsewhere.

* Bluetooth® is registered trademarks of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.

* All other company names, product names, and service names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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