STMicroelectronics’ EVLSPIN32G4-ACT Combines STSPIN32G4 and STWIN.box to build an edge-AI motor-drive reference design

The synergy between motor control capabilities and real-time environmental data analysis enhances the development speed of systems that merge motor control, AI-driven functions, and IoT connectivity.

STMicroelectronics has unveiled the EVLSPIN32G4-ACT edge-AI motor-drive reference design, streamlining the construction of intelligent actuators. This design is centered around the STSPIN32G4 3-phase motor driver, facilitating seamless integration with ST’s wireless industrial sensor node, STWIN.box (STEVAL-STWINBX1).

EVLSPIN32G4-ACT STSPIN32G4 and STWIN — Source : STmicroelectronics

The EVLSPIN32G4-ACT integrates motor-control system innovation with data science, aiming for remarkable performance and sustained profitability. Equipped with high-quality sensors in the STWIN.box, it captures actuation engine status, enabling advanced solutions through edge AI and machine learning. By combining environmental and control data, the system provides valuable insights to engineers, facilitating the identification of anomalies and guiding troubleshooting and performance optimization through data-driven algorithms.

The EVLSPIN32G4-ACT serves as a blueprint for deploying advanced smart actuators in the next generation. It utilizes the STSPIN32G4, a system-in-package housed in a 9×9 mm VFQFPN package. This package integrates a triple high-performance half-bridge gate driver with a comprehensive array of programmable features, along with a mixed-signal STM32G431 microcontroller.

The board is designed for operating three-phase brushless motors with an output current of up to 5 Arms and a 48 V supply input, providing a total power of 250 W in a remarkably compact design (62 mm x 50 mm). Monitoring functionality is incorporated to detect overheating, overvoltage, and overcurrent in the power stage. Users have the option to choose between a three-shunt or single-shunt topology for sensing motor winding currents. The board is well-equipped for FOC and 6-step control algorithms, supporting both sensorless and sensor-based modes with the use of Hall sensors or a quadrature encoder.

Due to its seamless integration with the STWIN.box development kit and a comprehensive software and firmware ecosystem, the motor inverter gains enhanced capabilities through both wired and wireless connectivity options (RS485, UART, USB, CAN, and Bluetooth® Low Energy, Wi-Fi, NFC). Additionally, it is equipped with a variety of inertial and environmental sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, inclinometer, magnetometer, humidity, temperature, pressure), as well as onboard data storage (microSD™ card). This makes the EVLSPIN32G4-ACT an ideal choice for advanced motor control solutions such as IoT, condition monitoring, and predictive maintenance.

The STSPIN32G4 stands out as a highly integrated and versatile motor controller designed for 3-phase brushless motors. This controller aids designers in selecting optimal driving modes, reducing PCB area, and minimizing the overall Bill Of Materials. Featuring a triple half-bridge gate driver capable of driving power MOSFETs with a current capability of 1 A (sink and source), the controller includes embedded bootstrap diodes and an interlocking function preventing simultaneous high driving of the high- and low-side switches within the same half-bridge.

To enhance protection, the device incorporates hardware VDS monitoring circuitry, constantly monitoring external MOSFETs. In the case of overvoltage detection across any MOSFET, all gate driver outputs are automatically switched off. The overvoltage threshold is adjustable through a dedicated SCREF pin.

The STSPIN32G4 is self-supplied through an integrated flexible power management structure, generating required supplies from the motor supply voltage (VM). A programmable buck regulator with embedded power MOSFET produces the gate driver supply voltage, offering four selectable VCC output values (8 V, 10 V, 12 V, and 15 V). The device includes an internal high-precision low-drop linear regulator (LDO) for generating the 3.3 V supply (VREG3V3) from the REGIN input voltage, supplying both gate driver logic and the microcontroller, with protection against short-circuit, overload, and Undervoltage conditions.

The integrated MCU (STM32G431VBx3) is a high-performance 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 core operating at frequencies up to 170 MHz. With features like fast 12-bit ADCs, comparators, operational amplifiers, DAC channels, timers, GPIOs, mathematical function acceleration peripherals, and various interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART, and CAN), the MCU supports advanced motor control applications.

It enables users to program the STSPIN32G4 for sensorless or sensored Field Oriented Control (FOC) and other control algorithms, with full protection and an extended temperature range (-40°C to +125°C). SWD and JTAG interfaces are provided for firmware programming and debugging.

Additionally, the STSPIN32G4 can efficiently drive two independent 3-phase BLDC motors when paired with an external three-phase driver, such as the STDRIVE101, offering significant BOM savings and application optimization.

The STWIN.box (STEVAL-STWINBX1) serves as a development kit and reference design, streamlining the prototyping and testing processes for advanced industrial sensing applications in IoT scenarios like condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. It represents an evolution from the original STWIN kit (STEVAL-STWINKT1B), boasting higher mechanical accuracy in vibration measurement, enhanced robustness, an updated Bill of Materials (BoM) featuring cutting-edge MCU and industrial sensors, and a user-friendly interface for external add-ons.

Comprising the STWIN.box core system, a 480mAh LiPo battery, an ST-LINK debugger adapter, a plastic case, a DIL 24 sensors adapter board, and a flexible cable, the STWIN.box kit is well-equipped. The onboard industrial-grade sensors and low-power MCU facilitate applications with ultra-low power consumption, 9 degrees of freedom (DoF) motion sensing, broad-bandwidth vibration analysis, audio and ultrasound acoustic inspection, precise local temperature monitoring, and environmental tracking.

Utilizing the functionalities outlined and the comprehensive support software, the reference design facilitates edge AI in motion control by integrating STMicroelectronics sensing and three-phase motor-drive technologies. Users can embed AI capabilities near the primary motion controller, creating a device with intelligent decision-making capabilities. This enables swift and efficient data processing and actuation across various applications, including industrial automation, smart appliances, and any scenario demanding intelligent actuation.

The EVLSPIN32G4-ACT is currently accessible on st.com for $149.00, while the STEVAL-STWINBX1 development kit is priced at $122.00.

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