TRINAMIC - Motion Control Tips

Available May 2019: Trinamic six-channel stepper-motor controller module for improved performance

April 29, 2019 By Lisa Eitel Leave a Comment

TRINAMIC Motion Control GmbH & Co. KG now sells the TMCM-6214, a highly integrated module capable of driving up to six two-phase stepper motors, drawing up to 1.9A RMS each at supply voltages of up to +24 V. Thanks to its three integrated encoder inputs for incremental A/B/N encoders, it can support high-precision position feedback for three of its six motors, making it suitable for multi-axis applications in laboratory and factory automation, life science, robotics, test and measurement, and applications handling precious goods and liquids.

This is Trinamic’s TMCM-6214. Featuring SixPoint ramping profiles and multiple encoder inputs, the TMCM-6214 6-axis motor controller/driver board for two-phase stepper motors simplifies the design of robots, industrial automation, and other advanced multi-axis motion control systems.

“By monitoring the motor and relaying feedback back to the operator, the customers can closely track performance of their applications. Making it easy for customers to use these features allows them to implement a wide variety of applications. The controller’s position feedback capabilities, for example, can be used to implement predictive maintenance functions, which can dramatically reduce equipment downtime while increasing its overall lifespan,” states Michael Rand, Founder and CEO of Trinamic.

The TMCM-6214’s advanced features allow engineers to add an extra layer of reliability to their applications, while ensuring the best performance possible throughout its extended life span. The controller also incorporates Trinamic’s industry-exclusive DcStep function that enables the stepper motor to mimic the characteristics of a dc motor by delivering higher torque at lower speeds. Similarly, Trinamic’s unique SixPoint ramping profiles allow developers to create complex acceleration/deceleration profiles that are precisely tailored to their application’s requirements.

To increase ease of integration, the TMCM-6214 is available in two versions. The first version supports Trinamic’s TMCL motion control command language.

Note that TMCL (the Trinamic Motion Control Language) is a programming language dedicated to motion control applications. TMCL includes commands for moving one or more motor axes at certain velocities or to certain positions, and for setting all relevant motion controller parameters. TMCL also provides access to additional general-purpose digital and analog inputs and outputs. TMCL is available on most Trinamic modules with an integrated motion controller.

Full remote control of the device with feedback is possible and the module’s TMCL firmware can be updated via any of the serial interfaces. As an alternative to the TMCL version, the TMCM-6214 also comes with firmware that supports the industry standard CANopen communication protocol.

Recall that CANopen is a communication protocol and device profile specification for embedded systems used in automation. regarding the OSI model, CANopen implements the layers above and including the network layer. The CANopen standard consists of an addressing scheme, several small communication protocols, and an application layer defined by a device profile.

The module supports CAN, RS485, RS232 and USB interfaces for communications. Both versions of the controller module come with six general purpose digital inputs and two analog inputs. The modules also have eight protected general purpose outputs that can be used for diagnostics. An integrated power supply switch is available together along with two hardware torque off inputs. The controllers’ powerful, integrated processor helps minimize communication traffic by performing all time-critical operations, such as ramp calculation, on-board without the assistance of an external host.

Both versions of the TMCM-6214 will be available through Trinamic’s normal distribution channels at the end of May.

Features and benefits:

Six-axis controller/driver for two-phase bipolar stepper motors
Linear and SixPoint ramps
+9V to 30V DC supply voltage
Up to 1.9A RMS motor current
RS485, CAN, RS232 & USB interfaces
3x A/B/N encoder inputs
Multi-purpose inputs and outputs (protected)
Hardware torque off with integrated power switch for the driver supply
On-board voltage regulators (+5V and +3V3) for supply of all on-board digital circuits.

TRINAMIC Motion Control develops the world’s most sophisticated technology for motion and motor control applications, making it as easy as 1-2-3. the state-of-the-art ICs, modules, and mechatronic systems enable today’s software engineers to quickly and reliably develop highly precise drives that work efficiently, smoothly, and quietly. Trinamic is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany with a research center in Tallinn, Estonia, and Sales Engineers in both Chicago, IL, USA and Suzhou, China.

For more information, visit this TMCM-6214 product page on trinamic.com. Also download the data sheet (as a PDF) listing the specifications of the motor controller/driver board.

Trinamic’s gate driver has integrated current sensing for BLDC and PMSM motor control

April 5, 2019 By Lisa Eitel Leave a Comment

The TMC6200 high-voltage gate-driver integrates in-line current sensing and other features needed to implement complete FOC motor control solutions for BLDC and PMSM servo motors drawing up to 100A.

TRINAMIC Motion Control GmbH & Co. KG now sells a new high-power gate driver for PMSM servo or BLDC motors. The chip enables powerful, flexible designs with high current profiles that can be tuned to perfectly match the motors in nearly any application.

Featuring integrated in-line current sense amplifiers with programmable amplification, the TMC6200 requires only six external MOSFETs and two or three sense resistors to implement the complete high-voltage section of a Field Oriented Control (FOC) drive system for 12V, 24V, or 48V PMSM motors drawing up to 100A. It accelerates the design of motor control systems ranging from Watt to Kilowatt, making it suitable for applications such as industrial drives, factory & lab automation systems, CNC equipment, robotics, textile manufacturing equipment, and variable-speed pumps.

“Engineers deal with several limitations during the design process, time being the most important one. The TMC6200 complements the TMC4671 hardware-based servo controller building blocks and offers programmable safety features like short detection and over-temperature thresholds, enabling robust and reliable designs using an off-the-shelf building block,” said Michael Randt, Founder and CEO of Trinamic.

The gate driver’s integrated current sensors monitor drive current using three in-line sense resistors, making it highly resistant to errors caused by PWM noise. This makes the TMC6200 suitable for delta-sigma current measurement, which is implemented in the TMC4671. This type of measurement is more effective than bottom shunt measurement, which must be blanked out around the switching events and can only be used with SAR ADCs.

Offering stand-alone operation and SPI controlled operation including diagnostics, the driver IC enables flexible applications that can quickly adapt to new use cases and requirements.

The TMC6200 is housed in a 9x9mm2 TQFP48 package and will be available through Trinamic’s distribution channels beginning in April 2019.

Coil current sense range (external MOSFETs): up to 100A 2 or 3-phase motors
DC voltage range: 8V to 60V; 3-phase motors up to 100A coil current (external MOSFETs)
Programmable gate drive (0.5A / 1A / 1.5A)
Full protection and diagnostics via SPI interface; SPI & Stand-Alone operation
Charge Pump for 100% Duty Cycle operation
Optional BBM break-before-make logic for single line control
Programmable Short and Overload current threshold and retry
Programmable Control Interface with 3 line or 6 line drive
Compact 9x9mm2 TQFP48 package
Double Pin Distance for safe operation at high voltage

Trinamic is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany with a research center in Tallinn, Estonia, and Sales Engineers in Chicago. For more information, visit trinamic.com/technology/motion-control.

Mechatronic Stepper Motor Drives with CANopen

January 30, 2009 By Motion Control Tips Editor Leave a Comment

Hamburg, Germany – TRINAMIC announces new members of the PANdrive™ family. The latest members of the family are the types PD-140-42-SE and PD-116-60-SE. Both feature TRINAMIC’s integrated absolute sensOstep™ encoder which detects and corrects missed stepper-motor turns by examining the absolute posi-tion. This insures correct shaft motion even under heavy motor loads. Reliable high-speed motor operation is assured by TRINAMIC’s patented chopSync™ function which eliminates resonance problems.

The new mechatronic units from TRINAMIC have an integrated absolute sensOstep™ encoder. CANopen firmware lets the PANdrives™ be used in large networks.

Optional CANopen firmware makes it easy to use the PD-140 and PD-116 in large net-worked applications, even with components from various vendors. The advantages of such distributed designs include greater flexibility, reduced wiring expenditure and main-tenance-friendly service.

TRINAMIC also offers its TRINAMIC Motion Control Language (TMCL) which lets engi-neers develop programs easily. Complete programs can be downloaded and run inde-pendently on the PANdrive, or specific commands can be sent to the drive. A selection of different interfaces such as RS-232, RS-485, CAN and USB are supported and a com-plete PC-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is available for free.

The new PANdrive™ PD-140-42-SE from TRINAMIC has sensOstep™, which offers recognition and correction of step losses, and allows exact positioning and ‘step loss correction’.

Both models have general purpose inputs and outputs as well as additional inputs for limit switches or reference switches. The supply voltage is typically 24V.

The PD-140-42-SE is based on a 42 mm NEMA17-flange stepper motor. There are sev-eral variants, with retaining torque from 0.22 Nm to 0.47 Nm. The larger PD-116-60-SE has a 60 mm NEMA24 flange and retaining torque options from 1.1 Nm to 3.1 Nm. An impact-resistant cover protects the electronics module.

An integrated encoder for position maintenance increases the system reliability at low cost. This is especially important in applications such as laboratory automation, biotech-nology, wafer-handling and chip testers.

www.trinamic.com

Multi-Axis Motor Control with CANopen Support

January 30, 2009 By Motion Control Tips Editor Leave a Comment

Hamburg, Germany – Standardized networks let designers combine motor controls and other system components from various vendors easily and flexibly. The CANopen firmware of TRINAMIC’s 3-axis motion control modules now makes it easy to implement multi-axis controls in decentralized architectures.

The new TMCM-351 controls three compact two-phase stepper motor controls with up to 2.8 A per phase. It offers an optional encoder interface as well as numerous analog and digital I/O, all in an area of only 160 x 100 mm.

The new TMCM-351 contains three compact stepper-motor controls for up to 2.8 A phase current on a small area of just 160 x100 mm.

The TMCM-34x family consists of miniaturized 3-axis motion controllers in the format of a credit-card, each with different output interfaces.

The TMCM-34x family consists of miniature 3-axis motion control modules in the format of a credit card with different output interfaces. CANopen firmware allows the advantages of cost-effective multiaxis-controls to be used in decentralised structures as well.

Beside the CANopen firmware all modules are available also with TMCL™ (Trinamic Motion control LANGUAGE). Thus they can be operated either alone or over any of several serial interfaces such as USB, RS232, RS485, or CANbus.

These modules are ideally suited to applications in which multiple motors must be controlled, including semiconductor handling, biotechnical devices, and laboratory automation.