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Luminary Micro Announces Motor Control Modules for Time-To-Production Advantage

Luminary Micro Announces Brushless DC, AC Induction, and Stepper Motor Control Modules for Time-To-Production Advantage

Modules Provide Real-Time Integrated Motion Control Using Award-Winning Stellaris® ARM® Cortex™-M3-based Microcontrollers

AUSTIN, TX, USA – February 25, 2008 – Luminary Micro (www.LuminaryMicro.com), creators of the award-winning Stellaris® family of ARM® Cortex™-M3-based microcontrollers (MCUs), today announced the immediate availability of rapid-time-to-market motor control modules based upon the company’s popular reference designs for Brushless DC, AC Induction, and Stepper motor controls. Based on Luminary Micro’s powerful real-time Stellaris microcontrollers, the motion control modules provide OEMs with a production-ready solution to immediately integrate high performance motor drive controls into their end products at cost-effective volume pricing.

Networked Brushless DC Motor Control Module (MDL-BLDC)
The Brushless DC Motor Control Module (MDL-BLDC) is a four-quadrant controller for three-phase brushless DC motors rated at up to 36 V, 500 W, and 60,000 RPM. Key features of the BLDC module include complete CAN and Ethernet network interfaces, a powerful 32-bit Stellaris LM3S8971 microcontroller with 256 Kbytes of single-cycle internal flash memory and on-chip Ethernet MAC+PHY and CAN, and embedded software to optimally control a wide range of motors in diverse applications. The Stellaris LM3S8971 microcontroller handles all PWM synthesis, position, and analog sensing as well as Ethernet and CAN networking. Only a few additional power ICs are necessary to complete the design. The entire circuit is built on a simple two-layer printed circuit board. The design includes an on-board braking circuit, optional power-managed fan for forced-air cooling, analog and digital control inputs, and screw terminals for all power and signal wiring. Interrupt-driven embedded software provides four quadrant operation for precise motor control using Hall effect, quadrature, or sensorless operation modes.

AC Induction Motor Control Module (MDL-ACIM)
The AC Induction Motor Control Module (MDL-ACIM) drives three-phase and single-phase AC induction motors up to 1 HP (750 W). AC input voltage can be either 230V or 115V. The module provides efficient AC Induction motor control with advanced variable speed control using a Stellaris LM3S818 microcontroller and a quadrature encoder/tachometer input for speed and position monitoring. Interrupt-driven embedded software provides a choice of sine or space vector modulation control algorithms. The design includes split low-side current sensing for accurate current sensing, and has both dynamic braking and active in-rush control circuits.

Stepper Motor Control Module (MDL-Stepper)
The Stepper Motor Control Module (MDL-Stepper) is a sophisticated motor control for driving NEMA17, NEMA23, and NEMA34 stepper motors rated at up to 80 V at 3 A. Key features include the feature-rich Stellaris LM3S617 microcontroller designed for motion control applications, a Fairchild Semiconductor power stage, and sophisticated software to optimally control a wide range of motors in diverse applications, including advanced chopper control of bipolar stepper motors. The motor control module supports high step rates up to 10,000 steps/sec, microstepping, and a programmable holding current. All power and signal wiring uses convenient screw terminals.

Having It All: Rapid Time-To-Market and Cost-Effective Volume Production with Open-Tooled Solutions
All three Stellaris Motion Control Modules support rapid time-to-market with cost-effective volume production price points. Luminary Micro supports very high volume applications by “open-tooling” each module: all the module design information is openly available, NRE- and royalty-free, for use and modification on any Stellaris-based design. Available module design information includes schematics, BOM, gerbers, software source code, and documentation. Luminary Micro also provides a Reference Design Kit version of each module that contains all components, cables, and a typical motor for out-of-the-box use in development environments.

Pricing and Availability

Available now through Luminary Micro's global sales channel (www.LuminaryMicro.com/sales) and online:

About Luminary Micro and Stellaris

Luminary Micro, Inc. designs, markets and sells ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontrollers (MCUs). Austin, Texas-based Luminary Micro is the lead partner for the Cortex-M3 processor, delivering the world's first silicon implementation of the Cortex-M3 processor. Developed for use in embedded and industrial applications, Luminary Micro's introduction of the award-winning Stellaris® family of products provides 32-bit performance for the same price as current 8- and 16-bit microcontroller designs. With entry-level pricing at $1.00 for an ARM technology-based MCU, Luminary Micro's Stellaris product line allows for standardization that eliminates future architectural upgrades or software tools changes.

Stellaris and the Luminary Micro logo are registered trademarks of Luminary Micro, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders.

Luminary Micro Company Contact:
Jean Anne Booth
CMO
+1.512.917.3088 mobile
+1.512.279.8801 office
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