LPC1500 Series: Motion Control Microcontrollers (MCUs) Based on Arm® Cortex®-M3 Cores

The LPC1500 series of 32-bit microcontrollers support high-accuracy sensor and sensorless motor control, enabling simultaneous control of multiple motors in highly flexible configurations. LPC1500 MCUs simplify evaluation and development without requiring deep motor control experience.

LPC1500 Series Features

Each LPC1500 MCU is equipped with a PWM/timer subsystem that includes a total of four state-configurable timers (SCTimer/PWMs), a peripheral function exclusive that makes it easy to configure the advanced PWM and timing functions necessary for motion control. The on-chip QEI is ideal for applications that use sensor motion control. Additionally, the LPC1500 device has two ADCs, each supporting a resolution of up to 12 bits and a fast conversion rate of up to 2 MHz. The ADCs are supported by a 12-bit DAC and four analog comparators. Sequences of A-to-D conversions can be triggered by multiple sources, including internal connections to other on-chip peripherals such as the SCTimer/PWM and analog comparator outputs. A temperature sensor completes this sophisticated analog subsystem.

Two complete application kits are available for:

  • PMSM control solution demonstrating field oriented control (FOC) motor control functionality for two motors: sensor/sensorless
  • BLDC motor control solution demonstrating classic trapezoidal motor control functionality

To simplify the development of motor-control applications, the LPC1500 is equipped with free firmware which demonstrates sensor and sensorless motion-control functions. With the free firmware, easy-to-use GUI-based tuning tools and the motor control solutions, LPC1500 MCUs enables simple and fast development of motor control applications.

The LPC1500 series of microcontrollers are fully supported by the LPC software ecosystem and an extensive collection of tools, drivers and middleware, as well as popular forums and blogs in constant use by a highly engaged and collaborative community of embedded developers. Free to all LPC developers, the LPCXpresso development platform includes a full featured C/C++ IDE and LPCOpen firmware libraries complemented by low-cost target boards with onboard debug probes. LPCOpen incorporates device drivers, stacks and graphics libraries that enable rapid code development and can be used with a wide range of third-party RTOSs, middleware solutions and popular third-party Arm development tools including Keil® and IAR.