Homing in on simplifying single- and three-phase sensorless motor-drive designs, Power Integrations released MotorXpert v3.0, a software suite for configuration, control, and sensing of BLDC inverters using the company’s BridgeSwitch motor-driver ICs. The software leverages Power Integrations’ shuntless and sensorless technology for field-oriented control (FOC), with support for advanced modulation schemes as well as unconditional startup under any load condition. Significant improvements were also made to the user interface and debugging tools.
The Version 3.0 release includes a two-phase modulation scheme well-suited for applications in high-temperature environments such as hot-water circulation pumps, reducing inverter switching losses by as much as 33%. The software also provides a five-fold improvement to its waveform visualization tool along with an enhanced zoom function to give developers much more information for motor tuning and debugging.
MotorXpert's Extensive Array of Features
Features include sophisticated mathematical algorithms that reside on the local MCU or DSP for accurate feedback signals from the BridgeSwitch IC and real-time control of the switching patterns. A host-side application interprets inverter actions and displays critical data for engineering analysis. The easy-to-use control interface enables development engineers to experiment on designs and quickly migrate to a final product.
MCU-agnostic, the MotorXpert suite maintains a comprehensive porting guide to simplify deployment with a wide range of MCUs, and it's implemented in common C language to MISRA standards. In addition, the host-side application's graphical user interface incorporates the company’s digital oscilloscope visualization tool to ease design, configure parameters and operation, and simplify debugging. Parameter tool tips and a tuning assistant assist the development process, with an intuitive parameter list that provides easy motor tuning.
The latest version also offers both V/F and I/F control to permit motor startup in any load condition. Equipped with a selectable two-phase modulation scheme, developers are able to trade off inverter temperature vs. torque ripple, useful in applications like the aforementioned hot-water circulation pumps, while reducing heatsinking requirements and enclosure costs.
Included are single- and three-phase code libraries with sensorless support, reference designs, and other tools such as a power-supply design and analysis tool help reduce development time. The software comes with a quick start guide, MCU porting guide, and a video tutorial.
