Designing systems with Brushless DC motors can present us with a variety of difficult design challenges including motor deceleration, reliable motor startup and hardware complexity. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Vishnu Balaraj from Texas Instruments and Amelia Dalton investigate two new solutions for BLDC motor design that are code free, sensorless and easy to use. They review the features of the MCF8316A and MCT8316A motor drivers and examine how each of these solutions can make your next BLDC design easier than ever before.

As demands for high-performance and low-cost power conversion increases, gallium nitride offers several intriguing benefits for next generation power supply design. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton and Sandeep Bahl from Texas Instruments investigate the what, why and how of gallium nitride power technology. They take a closer look at the component level and in-system reliability for TI’s gallium nitride power solutions and why GaN might just be the perfect solution for your next power supply design.

Robotics projects can get complicated quickly, and finding a set of components, controllers, networking, and software that plays nicely together is a real headache. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton chats with Mark Easley of Texas Instruments about the TI-RSLK Robotics Kit, which will get you up and running on your next robotics project in no time.

In industrial applications, crystals are not ideal for generating clock signal timing. They take up valuable PCB real-estate, and aren’t stable in harsh thermal and vibration environments. In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton chats with Nick Smith from Texas Instruments about bulk acoustic wave (BAW) technology that offers an attractive alternative to crystals.

The need for isolation is growing, and while electromechanical relays, optocouplers and discrete transformers have been widely adopted for signal and power isolation, we're committed to pushing isolation technology further. See where we’re taking our capacitive and magnetic technologies next.

TI’s SHP space-qualification level provides higher thermal efficiency, a smaller footprint and increased bandwidth compared to traditional ceramic packaging. The common package and pinout between the industrial- and space-grade versions enable you to get the newest technologies into your space hardware designs as soon as the commercial-grade device is sampling, because all prototyping work on the commercial product translates directly to a drop-in space-qualified SHP product.

Human-Machine Interface (HMI) designs are evolving. Learn about three key design considerations for next-generation HMI and find out how low-cost edge AI, power-efficient processing and advanced display capabilities are paving the way for new human-machine interfaces that are smart, easily deployable, and interactive.

Check out TI’s new white paper for an overview of galvanic isolation techniques, as well as how to improve isolated designs in electric vehicles, grid infrastructure, factory automation and motor drives.

Engineers face many challenges when designing analog circuits. This e-book covers common topics related to these products, including operational amplifier (op amp) specifications and printed circuit board layout issues, instrumentation amplifier linear operating regions, and electrical overstress.

Real-time control is the ability of a closed-loop system to gather data, process that data and update the system within a defined time window. If the system misses that defined window, its stability, precision and efficiency will degrade. Diminished control can be detrimental to system performance; for example, not achieving the necessary speeds or even overheating. This article will explain the functional blocks of a real-time control system and provide an example of a robotics application.

Adding a small, low-cost microcontroller (MCU) for simple housekeeping functions can benefit many board designs. This housekeeping (or secondary) MCU is not the main host processor in the system, but it can handle several important system-level functions such as LED control or input/output (I/O) expansion. This article will explain how integrating a multifunction housekeeping MCU in your system can help lower bill-of-materials (BOM) costs, save board space, and best of all simplify your design.

Hall-effect sensors can be used in a variety of automotive and industrial systems. Higher system performance requirements created the need for improved accuracy and more integration – extending the use of Hall-effect sensors. Read this article to learn about common Hall-effect sensor misconceptions and see how these sensors can be used in real-world applications.