Building upon, and fully-integrated within, the STM32Cube environment, STMicroelectronics' latest improvement to the popular STM32 Motor Control Software Development Kit (SDK) allows the design of motor control applications in a flexible, user-friendly, yet professional environment. The 5.0 version of the SDK now makes it even easier to build projects, configure IP, and tune motor parameters to optimize performance and enable smoother and more efficient spinning.

STMicroelectronics has further simplified development of advanced, energy-efficient motor drives on STM32 microcontrollers by harmonizing the latest STM32 PMSM FOC SDK with the STM32Cube. The move extends opportunities for engineers to build sophisticated drives for equipment, such as air conditioners, home appliances, drones, building automation, industrial machinery, medical devices, e-bikes, and many others, without needing specialized experience.

Building on previous generations of ST’s field-oriented control (FOC) of permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) SDK, the new version 5.0 firmware libraries align with the STM32Cube hardware abstraction layer (HAL) and low level (LL) architectures, which eases development, customization, and debugging. In addition, free access to source code gives developers extra flexibility, control, and customizability.

A rich selection of algorithms is included implementing popular PMSM-control techniques such as maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) to maximize efficiency and handle varying load conditions. Flux-weakening control for extended speed range and feed-forward control for enhanced stability at high speeds are also included. Further features include “start-on-the-fly” to ensure smooth drive insertion when the rotor is already turning, which is often needed for outdoor fans, such as in air conditioners or smoke extractors.

Download X-CUBE-MCSDK software here.