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Motion Control

TRINAMIC Teams with Actel's SmartFusion™ Intelligent Mixed Signal FPGAs for Motion Control

Trinamic, the industry leader in embedded motion control systems, today announced its partnership with Actel Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTL) for complete motion-control systems. The two firms will combine the power and flexibility of Actel's SmartFusionTM intelligent mixed signal FPGAs with Trinamic's industry-leading driver ICs for stepper motors and brushless DC (BLDC) motors. The power of this combination is going to be demonstrated by Trinamic and Actel at the Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley.

Small motors are used in applications ranging from printers and appliances to advanced medical diagnostic equipment. These motors require drive electronics, and Trinamic has established itself as the world leader in this market. The systems also require a microprocessor, and in the past have needed so-called ‘glue' logic – extra components to connect the microprocessor to the rest of the system. By combining FPGA technology with the proven ARM™ CortexTM-M3 and programmable analog, Actel's SmartFusion family gets rid of the glue, saves cost, and reduces time-to-market.

Michael Randt, founder and CEO of Trinamic said that they could see a big future for motion-control systems based on SmartFusion devices. He further added that they had development programs underway for their own line of motion-control modules, and it was their belief that other system designers would see the advantages of combining Actel's SmartFusion FPGAs and Trinamic's devices.

Trinamic's demonstration board can support the TMC603A for BLDC motors, and Trinamic's new TMC262 for stepper motors. The TMC262 implements Trinamic's coolStep™ technology, intelligently managing the amount of drive current to the motor, so that the motor easily handles the load but does not consume extra power or generate excess heat. Among many applications, stepper motors are used in medical and laboratory instrumentation, where they offer precise motion control. However, they are not very power-efficient. Designers of biotech and medical equipment struggle to keep the heat of conventional stepper motors from damaging biological and chemical samples. Trinamic's TMC262 reduces motor heat dissipation by as much as 80%, making the equipment more sensitive and more reliable.

For designs based on BLDC motors, the TMC603A combines intelligence and drive in one device. It integrates the power-driving MOSFETs and their gate driving circuits with short-circuit protection, automatic commutation (switching), and many other functions.

Trinamic's demonstration board works with Actel's SmartFusion Development Kit (A2F-DEV-KIT). Actel's SmartFusion devices combine a 32-bit processor with an FPGA core, capable of implementing a wide range of peripheral functions. With its powerful 32-bit CPU and programmable logic, the SmartFusion FPGA can be paired with multiple Trinamic devices to control a mix of brushless and stepper motors. This reduces manufacturing costs and design time, especially in complex systems.

The demonstration system is at the Actel booth, #930, for the duration of the show, and engineers from both firms are available to answer questions and explain the synergy of the systems.

About the Author

Actel FPGA hardware from FPGA boards to development kits can be used for designing, programming, debugging and prototyping Actel FPGAs. The Actel FlashPro programming system is a combination of Actel FlashPro software and a hardware programmer.