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Coordinated 2axis stepper motion: which motor driver chip/ ucontroller option is best to start with?

Phil B
Intellectual 540 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: DRV8711, MSP430F2617, DRV8824, DRV8818, DRV8813, DRV8811, BOOST-DRV8711, MSP430G2553, DRV8711EVM

I have an application where I am looking at 2 axis coordinated motion of stepper motors. I am looking at the DRV8711 chip(2x, one for each axis) and am wondering what is the fastest route to get  a controller to command this coordinated motion. The command could be as simple as a precanned lookup table: posX, posY, time, but maybe thats not the simplest interface to start with. Is there any TI support existing for coordinated motion? What would be the simplest starting point? (Also not slaved to the DRV8711 but appears to be a leading candidate) I know the DRV8711 works with MSP430F2617 but I dont believe there is any source, its just a closed end demo of the DRV8711 functionality. I'm most familiar with Tiva chips but willing to look at alternates.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks,

-Phil B

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 20985 points

    Hi Phil, do you already have a motor voltage selected, and do you know how much current you need to drive?  The DRV8711 is our only 2-H bridge controller that's a predriver for external FETs.  2-H devices with integrated FETs include the DRV8813, DRV8811, DRV8818, and DRV8824.

    I'm not an MCU expert, but most MCUs should be usable for controlling the DRV8711 SPI.  For extra processing and calculations, something like the F2617 can be faster.

    I assume you have encoders to know the coordinates you're at?

    Best regards,
    RE

  • 0 in reply to RE
    Intellectual 540 points

    The supply to the motor is 24 Volts. Current may be as high as 3+ amps. We like the DRV8711 for its flexibility. Not concerned about the extra parts required.

    If starting from scratch (which may be the case) I would probably start with Tiva and 2 SPI interfaces to 2 DRV8711s. Just was wondering what may have already been done in this regard.

    Thanks,

    Phil B

  • 0 in reply to Phil B
    Intellectual 540 points

    And there will be encoder feedback.

    -Phil B

  • 0 in reply to Phil B
    TI__Mastermind 21305 points

    Hi Phil,

    Unfortunately we don't have any example code for the Tiva family. But we do have the BOOST-DRV8711 for the MSP430G2553 LaunchPad. We have published the source code for the example application we provide.

  • 0 in reply to Nicholas Oborny
    Intellectual 540 points

    If the source code is provided then I will look at that combo. I wasnt sure that source code was provided.

    Thanks,

    -Phil

  • 0 in reply to Phil B
    TI__Mastermind 21305 points

    The source code is provided for both EVMs. Sorry for not making this clear. If you look on the DRV8711EVM page (http://www.ti.com/tool/drv8711evm) it is in the Hardware: DRV8711EVM zip folder. The DRV8711EVM is more for evaluating the functionality of the DRV8711.

    The BoosterPack + LaunchPad (BOOST-DRV8711 + MSP430G2 LaunchPad) combo makes it easier to evaluate both the DRV8711 and MSP430. The MSP430 is reprogrammabe through the LaunchPad.

    If you scroll down on the tool page (http://www.ti.com/tool/boost-drv8711), you will see a zip folder that contains the hardware and software source files for it.

    I don't think either project will have the library abstraction you are looking for (this is still something we are working on), but they will help you get an idea for how to interface to the DRV8711 through the controller.