Reference Solutions

headline - 202212S1

Analog technology that enables robust factory automation applications

Description - 202212S1

Analog technology provides highly accurate measurements and drives motors efficiently, enabling the possibility of automation for long-term reliability while reducing cost and complexity. STMicroelectronics offers a wide range of motor drivers covering the requirements of brushed DC motors, stepper motors and brushless DC motors over an extensive range of voltage and current ratings.

One of the state-of-the-art STSPIN motor drivers by STMicroelectronics is the STPIN32F0/G4 that embeds all the functions needed to drive motors efficiently and accurately, with the inclusion of an advanced motion profile generator to relieve the host microcontroller, while ensuring robustness thanks to a comprehensive set of protection and diagnostic features. One of the key features is the adaptive current decay control scheme used in many of the STSPIN motor driver ICs as well as the innovative voltage mode driving used in motor drivers that provide enhanced torque control accuracy and thus motion smoothness. These key features ensure the attainment of long-term robustness required to cope with harsh factory automation environments.

Person controlling home thermostat with an iPad

Static - 202212S1

Operating from a supply voltage as low as 1.8 V, the portfolio has been extended with the introduction of low-voltage STSPIN motor drivers which enable power savings in battery-powered smart devices thanks to the best-in-class standby current of less than 80 nA.

Brushed DC motors are commonly used in industrial applications such as robots, valves, printing, and healthcare equipment. When only one direction of rotation is required, a single switch topology with PWM modulation can be used to adjust the voltage applied to the motor, thus controlling its speed. However, if positioning is required or if both directions of rotation are needed (e.g. car windows) a full H-bridge with PWM control is used.

At lower power levels, STMicroelectronics offers a full set of integrated motor drivers with a progressive selection of integrated features, embedded gate drivers, power transistors, protection functions, current sensing and even DC-DC converters. For higher power needs, there are motor drivers that include discrete low voltage power MOSFETs and gate driver ICs to implement the required H-bridge. A general-purpose 8-bit microcontroller or a cost-optimized 32-bit microcontroller can be used to implement these drives.