Reference design for a low-cost development and evaluation platform targeted to drive a three-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous (PMSM) or Brushless DC (BLDC) automotive cooling fan motor.
An automotive cooling fan is used to cool the engine in an ICE vehicle or power electronics and motors in an electric vehicle (EV). The fan pulls air through the radiator and coolant system, helping to dissipate heat and keep the engine or motor drives at the proper operating temperature. This is important for the proper functioning and longevity of the engine.
The automotive cooling fan reference design from Microchip is a low-cost development and evaluation platform targeted to drive a three-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous or Brushless DC Automotive Cooling fan motor, which can be networked via LIN. This design is based on the Microchip dsPIC33CDVL64MC106 and a motor control System in Package (SiP). The SiP contains a dsPIC33CK64MC105 DSC, a MCP8021 three-phase MOSFET gate driver with LDOs and an ATA663211 LIN transceiver.
The reference design has been tested by Microchip. To simplify the designing process, TI has provided the complete set of Design Resources including schematics, bill of materials, PCB layout, and test files, which can be downloaded from here.
Key features of the Reference Design:
• Three-Phase Motor Control Power Stage
• DC Bus current feedback for overcurrent protection and to implement a single shunt current reconstruction algorithm
• DC Bus voltage feedback for overvoltage protection
• Phase voltage feedback to implement sensorless trapezoidal control or flying start
• ICSP™ header for interfacing to a Microchip Programmer/Debugger
• UART Communication Header
• LIN interface (LIN transceiver is part of dsPIC33CDVL64MC106)
