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Motor control with NXP microcontrollers — sophisticated features and performance to spare
Introduction
Electric motors drive motion in all kinds of applications, from washing machines and exercise treadmills to the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems in commercial buildings.
The drawback is that they can consume quite a bit of energy.
Refrigeration for homes and offices accounts for nearly 10% of the world's energy usage, and roughly 60% of all the electrical power generated in the US is consumed by electric motors.
Designers are using 32-bit MCUs to add sophisticated motor control to their systems, and thereby improving efficiency, reducing cost, and saving energy.
In consumer appliances, for example, the trend is away from motors that cycle on and off (and require high starting torque) and more toward smaller, electrically-controlled motors that operate continuously, at a slower speed, and adapt their torque (and speed) to maintain the desired performance.
These new, electrically-controlled motors save power and, as an added bonus, reduce maintenance and extend service life because they use fewer mechanical components.
NXP Advantage
Design challenges for electric motors include finding ways to improve accuracy, increase speed, reduce power consumption, limit electromagnetic interference (EMI), lower cost, and expand the number of tasks the system can perform.
NXP's 32-bit ARM MCUs meet all of these challenges.
They offer ample performance with integrated options specially tailored to motor control:
- All the ARM MCUs integrate general-purpose PWMs for basic motor control
- Four families offer 6-channel PWMs for control of three-phase motors (LPC21xx, LPC22xx, LPC23xx, LPC24xx)
- Three families offer dedicated motor-control PWMs (LPC29xx, LPC32x0, LPC17xx)
- Two families offer a Quadrature Encoder Interface (QEI) for very precise control (LPC29xx, LPC17xx)
Many of today's motor-control applications use 8- or 16-bit MCUs or DSPs.
Designers looking to upgrade to 32-bit performance will find plenty of choices in NXP's portfolio.
Our MCUs offer a range of motor-control options, in a wide variety of formats:
- Package sizes from 48 to 320 pins
- Memories from 8KB to 1MB of flash, with flashless options
- Clocks from 1kHz to 267MHz
- Integrated ADCs in 10- and 12-bit formats, for Field Oriented Control (FOC)
- Built-in peripherals, including Ethernet, USB, LCD, and CAN
General-Purpose PWMs with 2 or 3 Channels
General-purpose Pulse Width Modulators (PWMs) with two or three channels are often used for basic motor control.
They are well-suited for use with universal, brushed DC, and other single-phase motors and are a good choice for low-cost applications that require only limited features.
All NXP ARM MCUs have built-in 2- or 3-channel PWMs and can provide basic motor-control functions.
General-Purpose PWMs with 6 Channels
MCUs equipped with six or more general-purpose PWMs can be used for simple but powerful control of three-phase motors.
They can be programmed to provide edge or center alignment, which helps reduce power consumption and EMI noise.
Six-channel PWMs are available with the LPC21xx, LPC22xx, LPC23xx, and LPC24xx families.
Dedicated PWMs for Motor Control
For designs that need good performance at a low cost, the LPC32xx, LPC17xx, and LPC29xx families integrate dedicated motor-control PWMs.
The dedicated PWMs dramatically reduce CPU load (they require, in many cases, only 1% of the CPU's capabilities), so the MCU is free to perform lots of other tasks at the same time.
The LPC32xx and the LPC17xx use the same PWM architecture (nine channels with the LPC32xx; six with the LPC17xx).
The LPC29xx family uses a special PWM architecture designed for higher precision.
With 24 PWM channels, it offers greater flexibility and supports dual-edge control and dead-band insertion.
Quadrature Encoder Interface (QEI)
For high-performance applications that require more intelligent algorithms (and thus higher computational power), the LPC29xx and LPC17xx families augment the dedicated motor-control PWMs with a quadrature encoder interface (QEI).
The QEI can handle position, direction, and speed monitoring on its own, without involving the CPU.
It works with the dedicated motor-control PWMs to monitor the motor's movements and to generate interrupts and aborts as needed.
Products
Comparison Table
Below, are NXP's ARM MCUs featuring dedicated PWMs for motor control and Quadrature Encoder Interfaces (QEIs):
| Product(s) | ARM Core | Motor Control PWM (# Channels) |
Quadrature Encoder Interface |
| LPC29xx | ARM968E-S | 24 |  |
| LPC32x0 | ARM926EJ | 9 | |
| LPC17xx | Cortex-M3 | 6 | |
80C51-Based MCUs with Dedicated Motor Control PWMs
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- Refine These with the 80C51 Core MCUs Parametric Filter
ARM9-Based MCUs with Dedicated Motor Control PWMs
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Cortex-M3-Based MCUs with Dedicated Motor Control PWMs
Click for datasheet. Also, see datasheet disclaimer.
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for datasheet. Also, see datasheet disclaimer. , , indicate product status. Click or for more or less detail.
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- Refine These with the ARM Cortex-M3 Core MCUs Parametric Filter
Support
Software
- Sample Code Bundle for LPC213x/LPC214x Peripherals using ARM's RealView (Mar 8, 2006)
- Sample Code Bundle for LPC213x/LPC214x Peripherals using Keil's μVision (Dec 18, 2008)
- Sample Code Bundle for LPC23xx/LPC24xx Peripherals using Keil's μVision, V1.60 (Mar 10, 2009)
- TN0700x Sample Code, V1.00 (Jun 22, 2007)
Application Notes
Technical Notes
Presentations
 | Motor Control using NXP's LPC2900 © February 2009; English; Ordering code: Not Orderable |
More Information
Links
Disclaimer
Software from NXP referenced on this page is provided AS-IS by NXP Semiconductors.
NXP Semiconductors does not support or warrant the software contained herein for any purpose other than for informational use.
Literature
 | Microcontrollers selection guide September 2009  The choice for embedded technologies © September 2009; English; Ordering code: 9397 750 16803 |
 | 带以太网、USB、CAN和12位ADC的Cortex-M3微控制器 采用Cortex-M3™内核的100 MHz、32位LPC1700系列微控制器 © 2009年10月; 中文(简体); 订购代码: 不可订购 |
 | 带有高达256-KB SRAM、以太网接口、USB接口和LCD控制器的ARM9微控制器 恩智浦 208-MHz、32-位ARM926EJ-S处理器LPC32x0系列 © 2008年3月; 中文(简体); 订购代码: 不可订购 |
 | ARM9 MCUs with up to 256-KB SRAM, Ethernet, USB, and LCD controller NXP 266-MHz, 32-bit ARM926EJ-S processor LPC32x0 © August 2008; English; Ordering code: 9397 750 16605 |
 | ARM968-based microcontrollers with USB, CAN, LIN, 5V ADC and Motor Control 125 MHz, 32-bit Microcontrollers with ARM968™ core, LPC2900 series © September 2008; English; Ordering code: 9397 750 16628 |
 | Cortex-M3 based microcontrollers with Ethernet, USB, CAN and 12-bit ADC 100 MHz, 32-bit Microcontrollers with Cortex-M3™ core, LPC1700 series © February 2009; English; Ordering code: 9397 750 16676 |
