Dev kits jumpstart digital-power and motor-control designs

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

STMicroelectronics adds new support for its STM32G4 microcontrollers (MCUs) with new digital-power and motor-control discovery kits, and new firmware examples in the latest STM32CubeG4 software package  (v 1.1.0). These additions give designers the ability explore the control of digital power supplies and motors for applications such as race drones, prosumer drones, and small electric vehicles.

The digital-power platform  B-G474E-DPOW1 Discovery Kit includes a STM32G474RE MCU, a buck-boost converter with on-board resistive loads, a high-brightness RGB LED controller for lighting power designs, user LEDs and buttons, flexible power and data connections, and debugging support. Users can evaluate the power of the MCU’s filter-math accelerator (FMAC) to handle functions like 3p/3z compensation and ensure high efficiency across the load range, and digital slope compensation to free CPU cycles in lighting applications as an example.

The  B-G431B-ESC1 Discovery Kit is a reference design for electronic speed control (ESC) for three-phase brushless BLDC and PMSM motors up to 40 A. Supporting either sensor-less field-oriented control (FOC) or six-step commutation, the kit includes a STM32G431CB MCU and a three-phase motor-driver stage with STripFET F7 power MOSFETs. On-board features include electrical and thermal protection, interlocking high-side/low-side drivers, and support for motor sensors and three-shunt current sensing. Hobbyists can also use this kit, for example, to detach the STLINK daughter board and use the controller directly in their applications.

The kit is supported in the  X-CUBE-MCSDK v5.4.1 motor-control SDK, and targets drones, small electric vehicles, and radio-control vehicles.

STMicroelectronics also added a new package to the STM32G4 series — the LQFP 128 pin, 14 × 14, which is the first package with over 100 pins in the STM32 G4 series. This gives users more flexibility to handle I/O-intensive tasks in the same foot print as the current LQFP100 package. The STM32G4 MCUs are suited for motor-control, digital-power, and instrumentation applications in consumer and industrial segments.

The B-G474E-DPOW1 digital-power Discovery Kit (RRP $59.00) and B-G431B-ESC1 for electronic speed control ($18.00) are available now at  www.st.com and through its distributors.