As many of you know, I am a BIG fan of using simulation tools to unlock the mysteries of the motor control universe. With embedded model-to-code options from VisSim, PSIM, PLECS and Simulink becoming more powerful and easier to use, simulation tools are becoming ever more popular with motor control system design engineers.
Over the past few months, I have been steadily increasing the number of simulation examples on TI’s website which are available to our customers. These simulations run in VisSim or SPICE environments, and the simulation tool in each case is FREE! (That’s right, zippo…nada!) In the case of the SPICE simulations, the full featured simulator is a free download for all PC users. This means you can not only run the simulations, but change them to your heart’s desire to meet your system requirements. The VisSim simulations can also be run using the free VisSim viewer, but unless you have the full-featured version of the tool, you cannot alter the structure of the simulation. That’s not to say that you can’t change system parameters, like entering the coefficients for your motor instead of the one in the simulation, or altering the PI coefficients to change the tuning. But if you need to change the diagram itself, Visual Solutions offers the full featured simulator for a free trial period of 60 days. So one option would be to download the full-featured trial version of the simulator for free, make whatever changes you want to the simulations, and then after 60 days, continue to run them with the free VisSim viewer.
Between these two platforms, I have almost 50 free simulations uploaded, with new ones being added regularly. Additional simulation platforms are also being considered, so stay tuned. As of right now, here is the latest list of available simulations, complete with links:
VisSim files:
- Bipolar and Unipolar ADC Models
- Analog & Digital Low Pass Filter Models
- Unipolar vs. Bipolar PWM RMS Analysis
- Four-Quadrant Unipolar and Bipolar PWMs
- 2-Quadrant vs. 4-Quadrant Unipolar PWMs
- Three-Phase Center-Aligned PWMs
- InstaSPIN-FOC SVM with Overmodulation
- PID Tuning Exercise with DC Motor Servo
- Velocity Estimator Structures
- Dual-Mode Velocity Estimator
- BLDC Motor with Unipolar and Bipolar PWMs
- Clarke Transform Variations
- Motor Control Seminar Lab Exercises
SPICE files:
- Alpha-beta PMSM digital angle observer
- Single-phase back-EMF observer
- DC motor model
- Motor load model
- Unipolar 2-quadrant PWMs
- DC motor plugging
- Bipolar 4-quadrant PWMs
- Unipolar 4-quadrant PWMs
- Resolver interface
- Single-shunt current sensing
- Current limited bipolar PWMs
- Bipolar PWM sweep
- 3rd Harmonic modulation
- Current limited unipolar PWMs
- Space vector modulation
- DC servo with velocity observer
- Bipolar vs unipolar PWMs
- AC line regeneration
- DC motor speed control
- DC motor servo control