InstaSPIN

Hi Sean,

We have contacted our distributor, but they are unable to help. Can we not go direct to yourselves. It seems to me that this is an extremely complex and time consuming process. I can understand that if we were in the US, then the process would work, but in the UK the TI distribution channels are very different.

Dear Sean,

I am following up on your advice to contact you directly through the E2E Forum with regards to the information that we urgently require on TI InstaSPIN adaptive motor controller development. We would be extremely grateful if you are able to address all of our questions as detailed below…

Our Objectives: To precisely control the RPM of 22.2V 20A (40A peak) BLDC motors used for drone propulsion whilst at the same time, delivering 85%+ continuous motor efficiency across a very broad (6X power and 6X RPM) range using InstaSPIN adaptive motor controller technology. Continuous closed loop motor RPM control is required together with continuous motor power and torque feedback. The resultant ESC design must not weigh more than 25g.

Hardware: We purchased an InstaSPIN development kit (reference DRV8301-HC-EVM Rev D Serial Number D1A 1405034) back in either late 2013 or early 2014. Is this board still relevant for InstaSPIN development today or do we need to purchase a new InstaSPIN development kit? If so, can you please specify which kit we now require? I am also aware that even if we don’t require a completely new InstaSPIN development kit, we will still require a new InstaSPIN control card (current card reference F2806x ISO controlCARD Release 0.2). Can you please specify which InstaSPIN control card we now need to order together with an estimated delivery / lead time for delivery to the UK?

In order to develop our eventual adaptive motor controller ESC, we are going to have to purchase an appropriate TI Piccolo InstaSPIN controller chip. Can you please specify which TI Piccolo InstaSPIN controller chip (together with any other TI InstaSPIN electronic components) we require in order to be able to drive our motors with the specification as defined above in Our Objectives?

InstaSPIN Development Examples: We have identified that the application we want to address is feasible (for example we were able to find a YouTube video featuring the work of Patrick Fisher https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPM55RmKW3s). Can you provide any adaptive motor controller ESC circuit board examples or other example information that will help us as we start our specific TI InstaSPIN drone adaptive motor controller development programme? Can you also provide an indication as to the estimated development time from start to having a manufactured TI InstaSPIN ESC, since we are on a very tight schedule and want to confirm that we can achieve our goals within the timescales available to us.

Training: There is TI information on the Internet relating to TI InstaSPIN training courses, but from our research, these training courses only appear to be held in the USA. What access to training courses or online training are available to TI InstaSPIN developers such as us here in the UK?

Any Other Relevant Information: Finally, can you also provide links / references to any other important relevant information that will help us develop a TI InstaSPIN based adaptive motor controller for drone propulsion applications.

InstaSPIN is well suited to your objective. One thing I notice is that you are using a BLDC motor. Typically, motors labeled "BLDC" feature a trapezoidal back EMF waveform due to the construction of their core. InstaSPIN-FOC uses sinusoidal waveforms to drive the motor, and sinusoidal drive is considered to have higher efficiency than trapezoidal drives. Without delving too far into the theory, there are trade-offs between BLDC and PMSM motors, but we would recommend using a PMSM motor with InstaSPIN if maximum efficiency is your goal

The DRV8301-HC-C2-Kit is still recommended for evaluation, as is the F2806x ISO control card. Currently, there is mature support for the following Piccolo C2000 MCUs: F2802x, F2805x, F2806x. Any device that features an 'F' or 'M' suffix in the C2000 device catalog will have the InstaSPIN-FOC proprietary ROM loaded onto the device.

Typically we recommend the LAUNCHXL-F28069M paired with the BOOSTXL-DRV8301 for beginning evaluation. I cannot comment on the lead times, but I can have another employee tagged for that response.

We no longer offer in person training, either here in Houston or elsewhere in the US. There are some online training videos which can be found here: training.ti.com/piccolo-entry-performance-mcus

The biggest resource available for InstaSPIN-FOC is our software package Motorware. Motorware includes reference software to get started spinning the motor in minutes when paired with Code Composer Studio. When used correctly, the Motorware reference examples can drastically reduce development time, as the package offers an entire FOC system developed for use with InstaSPIN. Realistically, the development time will vary from team to team. I cannot comment with any certainty on how long it will take your team to move from evaluation to production, but it is our mindset that InstaSPIN-FOC + Motorware is one of the quickest out-of-the-box solutions to providing closed loop FOC in the market.

With regards to which MCU to choose - this is a very hard question without knowing system specifics. The F2806x series offers more ADC/PWM channels, a higher clock frequency, bigger memory banks, and more. I do not know what other peripheral functions you will need, or if your system will feature more than one MCU. F2802x will be the smallest device in terms of packaging, but also has the least amount of peripheral pins and smallest memory banks. The F2805x may also be of interest due to it's incorporation of programmable gain ADC (PGAs), which can reduce BOM cost and board size by incorporating front-end amplifiers into the MCU package. We recommend to evaluate the F2806x, and if the device is over-qualified for your needs once you've developed the system, you can port the code to a smaller device.

Hope the information above helps

Sean