Trinamic Claims World’s Lowest Cost Single-Axis Motion Controller IC

The TMC2660 from Trinamic Motion Control GmbH & Co. KG supports motor drive currents up to 4A and integrates both a pre-driver for real-time calculation of motor coil current values, and power MOSFETs for amplification of coil outputs to directly drive an external motor. The TMC4210 is compatible with a wide selection of Trinamic and third-party motor drive ICs that use an S/D (step/direction) interface. The IC also incorporates an SPI interface to communicate with a host microcontroller, which issues high-level motion commands that the TMC4210 translates into a series of specific micro-step and direction instructions.

“The total cost of ownership for a motion control system includes the initial software development cycle, as well as reliability testing for any subsequent system revisions,” explained Dr. Stephan Kubisch, Head of R&D at Trinamic. “The new TMC4210 eliminates hundreds of lines of code development—often as many as a thousand lines—and hundreds of hours of reliability testing for new and evolving systems, while also offering cost-sensitive applications a highly competitive unit cost.”

Using a motion control IC that supports multiple axes and complex acceleration profiles exceeds the requirement for many applications, needlessly raising system cost. The single-axis TMC4210 implements a trapezoidal acceleration profile, which is less computationally complex than sinusoidal or S-shaped profiles. This helps reduce device complexity and cost, while delivering performance that satisfies the vast majority of motion control applications.

The TMC4210 is software compatible with Trinamic’s multi-axes TMC429 motion control IC. The new device implements a subset of relevant instructions for single-axis operation and trapezoidal acceleration profiles. Stepper motors are a cost-effective solution for applications that require high-torque at low speeds and precise control of motor axis rotation. Production volumes are scheduled to be available this month. The device is offered in an SSOP-16 package, priced at USD 2.08 in 1,000 unit volumes. To support rapid product development and prototyping, Trinamic offers a complete TMC4210 design kit with evaluation board.