TRINAMIC offers dual-axis stepper motor controller/driver SoC

HAMBURG, GERMANY: TRINAMIC Motion Control, a leading global developer of motor and motion control technologies, today announced its flagship stepper motor controller-driver SoC.

The new TMC5062 is a monolithic dual-axis motor controller and driver that incorporates eight of Trinamic’s patented or patent-pending motion control technologies. This new SoC is the world’s first device to integrate dcStep™, Trinamic’s proprietary technology for automatically adapting motor velocity for sudden increases in load.

With its integrated motion control hardware, the TMC5062 can relieve any MCU with a SPI or single wire UART interface from all real-time motor calculations, including positioning and velocity ramp calculation. Trinamic´s patented sixPoint™ ramp generator supports stepper motor calculation of high-resolution current values with up to 256 micro-steps per full-step. And its integrated power stage technology--for up to 1.5A peak current per motor--incorporates Trinamic’s proven spreadCycle™ chopper unit for smooth commutation.

Trinamic’s latest innovation, dcStep, addresses the need for stepper motors to maintain positional (or step) self-awareness without costly feedback circuitry. Without feedback circuits, significant operating margins must be implemented so that motor torque and velocity limits are not exceeded.

Trinamic’s new dcStep technology allows for momentary increases in torque to compensate for sudden increases in load resistance without losing step count, significantly reducing the safety margin that would otherwise be required by a stepper motor control system.

“Trinamic is focused on continual improvements in stepper motor system design,” explained Trinamic Founder and CEO Michael Randt. “Our new dcStep technology lowers system cost and energy consumption by shrinking excess safety margin, which reduces the motor size required for a specific application. This, in turn, leads to cooler operating temps, more compact board design, and the elimination of fans and heat sinks. A single technology like dcStep accelerates miniaturization, efficiency and ease-of use.“