Glossary · Motion control and drives
Motion control IC
Also known as: Motion controller IC, Motion control chip, Integrated motion controller
German: Motion-Control-IC
In motion control, a motion control IC is an integrated circuit that combines motion profile generation (a ramp generator), current or torque control of the motor windings, evaluation of sensors such as encoders and reference switches, and protection functions against overcurrent, undervoltage, short circuit and overtemperature, forming the link between a microcontroller and the motor.
- Motion control
In one sentence
A motion control IC integrates ramp generation, current control, sensor evaluation and protection, linking a microcontroller to the motor.
Example
In a laboratory sample handler, the microcontroller sends target positions over SPI to a motion control IC, which generates the ramps and drives the stepper motor of the gripper axis.
How it applies
- Engineering: Motion control ICs range from pure drivers with a Step/direction interface to devices that contain the complete chain: ramp generator, Chopper mode current regulation, encoder input, Stall detection and diagnostics. The partitioning decides how much the firmware on the Microcontroller (MCU) has to do.
- Commissioning: Behavior is set through registers, usually over Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) or Universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART): motor current, microstep resolution, chopper parameters, ramp values and protection thresholds.
- Operation: The IC reports status flags such as overtemperature warning, short circuit, open load or stall; the host must read and react to them.
- Documentation: Describe which functions run in the IC and which in the host firmware, and document the register settings a product ships with. Don't present the IC's protection functions as safety functions: they protect the electronics, not people.
Motion control IC vs. driver
A Driver (motor) in the narrow sense turns step and direction commands into winding currents. A motion control IC adds the motion layer on top: it generates the motion profile itself from a target position and can evaluate feedback, so the host only sends targets and parameters.