70-W BLDC Motor Drivers That Eliminate Months Of Design Time

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Integrated real-time control enables BLDC motor operation to be come faster while making motor systems quieter and smaller

To enable engineers to operate a BLDC motor in less than 10 minutes and thereby eliminate huge time spent in designing various industrial systems, Texas Instruments (TI) has now introduced a 70W brushless DC (BLDC) motor drive that provides code-free, sensorless trapezoidal and field-oriented control (FOC) for home and medical applications such as ventilators and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines. 

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With integrated real-time control and up to 18 discrete components including power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), the devices speed system response time while reducing board space by as much as 70%, thus providing best-in-class acoustic performance at the same time. 

Accelerate design time with code-free, sensorless motor control

The MCF8316A and MCT8316A BLDC motor drivers include a set of commutation control algorithms that eliminate the need to develop, maintain and qualify motor-control software, thus further reducing huge design time. These algorithms enable motor drivers to manage critical functions such as motor fault detection while implementing protection mechanisms that increase system reliability. Because these motor drivers integrate sensorless technology to determine rotor position, there is no need for external Hall sensors, which reduce system cost and increases reliability.

Additionally, the MCF8316A sensorless FOC motor driver intelligently extracts motor parameters to assist quick tuning of a motor for delivering consistent system performance regardless of motor manufacturing variations. The MCT8316A sensorless trapezoidal control motor driver enables motor tuning using only five hardware pins, simplifying systems by eliminating the need for a microcontroller interface.

Optimised acoustic performance

The MCF8316A and MCT8316A BLDC motor drivers provide advanced real-time control to achieve industry-leading acoustic performance in applications such as air purifiers, refrigerators, washing machines and fans. While the MCF8316A includes a precise automatic dead-time compensation technique for compensating current distortion and optimise motor acoustics, the MCT8316A includes variable trapezoidal control techniques that reduce motor noise.

Fast system response with real-time control

The MCT8316A sensorless trapezoidal control motor driver can reach a maximum motor electric speed of 3.5 kHz, which is faster than any other code-free, sensorless motor driver. This speeds system response in applications such as robotic vacuums that require fast and precise motor control.

The MCT8316A and MCF8316A also quickly decelerates a motor in a controlled way, enabling motor stoppage 50% faster than traditional motor-control techniques. Further, the devices can stop a motor without indiscriminately pumping energy back into the rail, which protects the system from damage.

Reduced board space 

The MCF8316A and MCT8316A reduce board space by as much as 70%, thus decreasing total motor system cost.  

By integrating three gate drivers and six high- and low-side MOSFETs with 50 mΩ of on-state resistance (RDS(on)) each, the devices enable up to 70 W of power with 8 A of peak current for 12- and 24-V systems. The motor drivers also integrate components such as a low-dropout regulator, DC-DC step-down regulator and current-sense amplifiers, eliminating as many as 18 discrete integrated circuits.

“The need for real-time motor control is more critical than ever, thanks to broad-reaching trends like power efficiency and automation, as well as increasing demand for quieter motors,” said Noman Akhtar, senior research analyst, Omdia. “A growing number of industrial systems are transitioning from AC induction to BLDC motors, which are more power-efficient but require complex hardware and optimised software designs to deliver high performance. Meeting designers’ needs for a faster motor response while shortening the overall design cycle will be an important step forward for next-generation industrial systems.”

Pre-production versions of the MCF8316A and MCT8316A are available exclusively on Texas Instrument’s website in a 40-pin, 5 mm x 7 mm quad flat no-lead package.