Date: 22/09/2010

SmartFusion FPGA reference designs from Actel for motor control applications

Actel has made available SmartFusion mixed signal FPGA reference designs targeting motor control applications. The reference designs, implemented in a single SmartFusion device, illustrate Field Oriented Control (FOC) using various feedback methods for permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). The SmartFusion devices integrate an FPGA, a hard ARM Cortex-M3 microncontroller and programmable analog and are suitable for motor control applications\

The reference designs showcase a single A2F500 device controlling up to four axes of PMSMs simultaneously using the complex FOC algorithm with sufficient FPGA resources and bandwidth remaining for additional custom logic. Designers can now take advantage of the already proven reference designs, which include source code, resulting in faster time to market for their own applications.

The SmartFusion mixed signal FPGA reference designs features:
--Complete source code in C and Verilog
--Torque, speed and direction control
--Field oriented control for 3-phased PMSM
--Multi-axis control
--Hall effect, encoder and sensorless feedback
--Critical fault detection using hardware
--Communication via Ethernet
--Quadrature encoder inputs (QEI) in hardware
--Space vector PWM generation with dead band
--Hardware/software partitioned for optimum result
--Programmable FPGA for flexibility and upgrade
--Programmable ADC for flexible triggering

"The reference designs demonstrate the compelling fit SmartFusion devices provide for motor control applications, specifically where strict torque control is necessary to reduce torque ripple and achieve energy efficiency." said Rich Kapusta, vice president of marketing and business development at Actel. "In addition, SmartFusion devices offer a one-chip solution providing precision, reduced noise, smaller form factor and faster response time. These features are necessary for applications in industrial drives, factory automation, medical equipment and military applications using AC motors, BLDC motors or PMSM."

"SmartFusion represents an ideal platform on which one can build a motor control system with tremendous power and flexibility," adds Brad Landseadel, president & CEO of Power and Control Design. "Some of the most difficult challenges motor control applications present are addressed very nicely and in one cost-effective single-chip solution. Actel has answered the bell with a single-chip solution that satisfies the need for application-specific logic, closely-coupled, interrupt-driven ADCs and the power of a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 processor-all, to the benefit of high-performance motor control applications. SmartFusion enables engineers to essentially develop their own MCU that delivers a real, 32-bit, high-performance hard processor core with peripherals designed and optimized for their application."

Price:
The reference design package (A2F-MOTOR-CONTROL-DESIGNS): US$499