Finally there is the "Workshop In A Box" section designed to make the board part of a course. It includes student handouts, presentations and a set of labs. This section is a good addendum to the manual, but users can start with the Workshop. "Workshop In A Box" is useful for an educational setting, but it is also something Microchip trainers can use. There is even an evaluation form.
This is an extremely well polished product. It is a great training and learning tool, and has sufficient features and horsepower to handle application development.
Zilog
Zilog’s Z8FMC16100 Motor Control Development Kit (see Fig. 7) targets developers using 3-phase BLDC motors. The kit, which is priced at $199, comes with a heft BLDC motor.
The Z8 processor has a range of features that make it an ideal match for motor control applications, including IrDA and I2C support. Its internal oscillator allows for a small footprint and lower bill of materials in many applications. Zilog includes a big poster that highlights the registers and features. Just the thing to stick on the wall next to your monitor.
Zilog uses a (large) module-based design with the motor’s power support on the base-board. The Z8 is a surface mount chip, so it’s easier to swap out chips. This will be done, though, at the cost of a new board. Because the Z8 has its own power unit, the processor board can be used independent of the base board. It also has the debugging interface. There is a small patch area on this board that can be used to modify the connection to the motor or to add other features such as status LEDs. There are status LEDs some on the board along with some switches and jumpers. There is also an IrDA transceiver.
Getting the system up and running is relatively easy. There is a printed "Quick Start Guide," but it is essentially a shore overview of software installation, hardware configuration, plus full schematics. Installing ZDS II, Zilog’s own development tool, is as simple as a doing so for a typical Windows application. ZDS II provides C and assembler support. Most will probably want to use the C compiler. There is some very good documentation for ZDS II and the C compiler.
The next step is to download the demo program using ZDS II. This exercises the motor and shows that the debugger, hardware, and motor work properly.
Zilog gets you up and running quickly, but that is where they leave you. There are a number of tech articles on the installation CD, but they deal with the processor architecture and C compiler, not about motor control.
Zilog’s offering is a solid development platform for BLDC work but it is not the best for those new motor controls, unless they have external resources to get up to speed for this application area.