Installing Drivers And Software
2
Installing Drivers And Software
2.1
Installing the FTDI USB Driver
Instructions on how to install the FTDI USB driver on a Windows based computer are detailed in the
“USB_Drivers_Install_Readme.pdf” file supplied with the CD inside the USB_Driver folder.
2.2
Installing the CPG004_DRV88xx Evaluation Board Windows Application Software
Copy the contents of the “WindowsApplication” folder provided within the CD, into your hard disk.
2.3
Running the Windows Application Software
To run the application, double click the CPG004_DRV88xxEVM_R0p2.exe application icon found on the
same folder the application was extracted into.
3
The Windows Application
The CPG004_DRV88xxEVM Windows application is the software counterpart for the CPG004_DRV88xx
EVM. It allows the PC computer to connect to the MSP430F1612 microcontroller though an USB interface
chip. Once connection is established and commands are sent, microcontroller takes care of configuring
control signals and administering certain levels of automation, such as microstepping generation for
(DRV8812/13), STEP and DIR control (for DRV8824/25) or PWM output (for DRV8812/13/14/41/43).
The graphical user interface (GUI) has been designed to allow for all of the DRV88xx device’s functionality
to be tested without having to intervene with the hardware, except for the proper configuration of jumpers,
when needed.
The following pictures show the CPG004_DRV88xxEVM_R1p1.exe main screen. The application is
divided into three tabs: one for each one of the three available device flavors. The menu contains items to
configure and enable/disable the serial port.
Figure 4. DRV8802-12-13-14 Tab
The DRV8802-12-13-14 tab contains all the control signals needed to control motor enablement (ENABLE
A, ENABLE B), direction of rotation (PHASE A, PHASE B) and current control (AIx and BIx). Access to
both DAC generating VREF analog voltages is achieved by moving sliders. Another set of sliders allow the
control of PWM duty cycle on ENABLE x pins. This is intended for motion control.
A simple stepper demo allows hooking a bipolar stepper to the DRV8812 EVM and have its speed and
direction controlled by an algorithm which modulates the VREF current in a high resolution microstepping
style. This function is achieved by using both MSP430 DAC outputs and is only available if respective
jumpers are set for dual DAC connection (as default).
5
SLVU361B – April 2010 – Revised October 2013
CPG004_DRV88xx Evaluation Modules
Copyright © 2010–2013, Texas Instruments Incorporated