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TI Rolls out 32-Bit Motor Controller
Better math performance, PWM modules make performance faster, more precise
Charles J. Murray, Senior Technical Editor -- Design News, March 11, 2009
Texas Instruments (TI) has rolled out a family of floating point controllers aimed at boosting real-time performance of high-end industrial motors in motion control applications.
Known as Delfino C2834x, the new family of 32-bit microcontrollers is said to offer more precise control of motor torque and acceleration because it employs a 300-MHz core, 32-bit floating point unit and up to 516 KB on-chip random access memory (RAM).
"In servo drives, customers are looking to improve efficiency and they want to get better control over multiple motors," says Keith Ogboenyiya, microcontroller manager for advanced embedded controllers at TI. "With this, they can do it with a single controller."
TI engineers say their new devices could help with real-time control applications for two reasons: math performance and interrupt latency. They claim the new devices can do a 32-bit multiply/accumulate in a single cycle, which could be beneficial in executing control algorithms packed with math calculations. They also say the C2834x incorporates special hardware that enables the controllers to quickly handle multiple interrupts, which is critical to enabling them to work without getting bogged down.
The addition of 65-picosecond (ps) high resolution pulsewidth modulation (PWM) modules could also boost precision in motion control applications, the company says.
"Having 65 picoseconds of resolution means that you've got that much more granularity to turn on and off your PWM," Ogboenyiya says. "In many applications, such as motor control, it gives you more resolution, which directly affects motor performance, torque and acceleration."
TI is targeting the new microcontrollers at families of motors because it says the new CPUs are code-compatible with previous devices. That in turn could allow motor makers to incorporate a single code base across a family of motors and drives. As a result, TI engineers foresee the basic technology being applied to permanent magnet and brushless DC motors, as well as servo drives. "Having a system that is scalable from the high end to the low end is a plus because it saves on R&D dollars and software resources," Ogboenyiya says.
TI
