LPC MCU streamlines motor control

NUREMBERG, GERMANY & SAN JOSE, USA: NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced the release of the LPC1500 microcontroller series, optimized for fast, easy, and high-precision motor control.

The new microcontrollers incorporate all the features required for high-accuracy sensored and sensorless motor control, enabling simultaneous control of two motors in highly flexible configurations. With ultra-efficient motor control firmware, easy-to-use GUI-based tuning tools, and two new motor control solution kits, NXP LPC1500 microcontrollers simplify evaluation and development of motor control applications, without requiring deep motor control experience.

The LPC1500 MCUs are optimized for use with a wide range of brushless DC (BLDC) motors, permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSM), and AC induction motors (ACIM) commonly found in products such as large home appliances, HVAC, industrial pumps and generators, and more. They are also well suited for industrial applications requiring high-precision data sampling and real-time control, such as digital power and instrumentation.

"Today, many industrial designers face the challenge of creating designs with different types of motors, both sensored and sensorless," said Ross Bannatyne, GM for mass market microcontrollers at NXP Semiconductors. "The LPC1500 series accelerates time to market with optimized MCUs, firmware, software development tools and easy-to-use solution kits for BLDC and PMSM motors."

Based on the ARM Cortex-M3 processor, the LPC1500 microcontroller series is optimized to address a variety of motor control applications. Two 12-bit, 12-channel, 2 Msps ADCs and an on-chip quadrature encoder interface (QEI) enable highly accurate control of both sensored and sensorless motor combinations.

Four on-chip comparators enable fast-response over-current/voltage monitoring and protection; and four flexible SCTimer/PWM timers provide up to 28 PWM channels in a tightly coupled analog and timing subsystem, with minimal load on the CPU.