Spinning Motors Just Got Simpler with TI's Latest Stepper Technologies

Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) today enhanced its high-performance stepper motor-driver family with three new devices for 24-V stepper motors. Two devices offer TI's patented AutoTune technology to eliminate stepper motor tuning and two integrate current sensing to support differentiated 3D printers, robotics, factory automation equipment, currency-counting machines and more. AutoTune technology on the DRV8880 and DRV8881 devices eliminates the time-consuming, iterative process of manual tuning, saving weeks or even months of design time. This on-chip intelligence dynamically monitors the motor's performance under varied conditions over its lifetime and adjusts decay settings appropriately. This functionality makes it possible to develop motors that run quietly and efficiently despite changes in motor properties, supply voltage, load and torque.

For motor systems that do not require the stability and longevity benefits of AutoTune technology, designers can take advantage of the new DRV8885 bipolar stepper motor driver with integrated current sensing. TI incorporates a unique technology that eliminates two external sense resistors to accurately regulate the current to the motor, saving up to 20 percent board space and simplifying routing compared to competing devices.

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