2 Introduction
The MD039 is a complete solution for evaluating the DRV8251/DRV8251A/DRV231/DRV8231A H bridge motor
drivers. It includes the necessary shunt resistors for the current regulation in the non a variants and the internal
FETs needed for the current mirroring circuit in the A variants.
The EVM includes and MSP430 microcontroller that is preprogrammed tot ake input from three dedicated
analog potentiometers for PWM (POT1) (POT2) speedcontrol as well as VREF (POT3) for current regulation and
monitoring. The jumper for STALL_ACT allows for the selection of differetn stall detection features depending on
the desired application.
The supply voltage can be externally powered to 48 V for the DRV8251x series and up to 33 V for
the DRV8231X series. To expand beyond the included firmware capability, the MSP430 MCU can be
reprogrammed through the eZ-FET
™
emulation circuit found in most MSP430 Launchpads. We recommend
. Note that a four pin angled male header is required and must be soldered to J21
of this Launchpad from V+ pin to GND pin. We recommend a pin header with pin dimensions similar to
850-10-050-20-001000 (Digikey part number). The U1 MCU must be removed from the Launchpad.
3 Power Connectors and Coding
The DRV8251/AEVM uses a single header for power entry to the EVM board. Only a single power supply rail
is necessary since an onboard 3.3-V regulator provides power to the MSP430. The minimum recommended VM
voltage for the EVM is 4.5 V and the maximum depends on the specific device installed (see reference section).
For complete voltage range information of the driver itself, refer to the device.
As previously mentioned, the MSP430 comes preprogrammed to control basic DC motor operation. If changing
the firmware via the external eZ-FET™ emulation tool, do not supply power to the VM connector on the EVM.
The eZ-FET™ board provides the necessary power during programming when connected to the J6 connector.
Note that a four-pin angled male header is required and must be soldered to J21 of this Launchpad from V+ pin
to GND pin shown in image below. We recommend a pin header with pin dimensions similar to the Digikey part
number 850-10-050-20-001000. The U1 MCU must be removed from the Launchpad.
3.1 Programming EVM
This section outlines the procedure for programming the EVM with a custom firmware. Out of the box, the
DRV8251/DRV8251A EVMs will come programmed so no programming is required from the user. However, the
information in this section only applies if the user wants to flash a custom program to the MSP430FR2100 MCU.
If you are interested in viewing the source firmware files, go to the
and download the firmware
files.
To flash a custom firmware you will need the following components:
1.
2. DRV8251/DRV8251AEVM
3.
4. Mini USB to USB cable
Follow these steps in order to flash a custom firmware to the EVM MCU
1. Open Code Composer Studio. If you are new to CCS, visit this
to view the user's manual. Alternative,
you can visit dev.ti.com/tirex to view code examples for any of the TI MCUs.
2. Connect the power supply cables to the EVM, connect USB cable to the LaunchPad (LP) and the computer,
connect the launch pad to the EVM via the J21 connector on the LP and J6 on the EVM, make sure that
there are jumpers on "TST", "RST", "V+", and "GND" on J13 on the LP. Your set-up should look as the
picture below:
Introduction
SLVUC78 – NOVEMBER 2021
DRV8251/AEVM User's Guide
3
Copyright © 2021 Texas Instruments Incorporated
