ST launches all-in-one tool for motor control designs

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

STMicroelectronics launched an online one-stop shop for access to all resources for motor-control application development with STM32 and STM8 microcontrollers. With the new ST-MC-SUITE, designers have access to tutorials and documentation and can download software solutions, including the updated X-CUBE-MCSDK package, and buy evaluation hardware online. They can also store project setups (HW and SW).

Search choices include a generic search tool or an adaptive front end that filters content based on the project description. Users can save and bundle documents and videos to download in a compressed .zip format.

Designers can also select and save items to project setups, including software, evaluation boards (control and power), motor control kits, and inverters that can be purchased online. Documentation can be downloaded directly or saved to an information bundle. Multiple setups can be saved, so designers can compare different approaches for each design or manage several projects simultaneously.

The X-CUBE-MCSDK motor-control software development kit contains firmware libraries and the STM32 Motor Control Workbench graphical configurator, which allows direct access to firmware examples and Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and Low Layer (LL) APIs. The latest release, version 5.3, adds support for the STM32G0 microcontroller series and includes the FreeRTOS real-time operating system, said ST. Click here to access the tool.

The ST-MC-SUITE is initially focused on brushless DC motor (BLDC) and permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) designs using field-oriented control (FOC). ST plans to support other motor types and control techniques later this year.