User manual

PICDEM™ MC LV

DEVELOPMENT BOARD

Chapter 4. Using the Microchip Motor Control GUI

4.1 HIGHLIGHTS

The items discussed in this chapter are:

• Software Overview

• Starting the Program

• The Main Window (Control Panel)

• The Setup Window

4.2 SOFTWARE OVERVIEW

The Microchip Motor Control GUI provides a convenient computer-based interface for

most PICmicro

device-based motor control applications. It is designed to work with a

number of electrical designs and motor control paradigms, and provides a wide range

of control functions for motor operations. Not only can users set speed and rotation

direction, but also program acceleration, deceleration and variable run patterns.

The Motor Control GUI has been designed to communicate with a range of currents

and planned Microchip motor control kits and applications. A feature of its design is to

poll the on-board control firmware on initial communication and automatically configure

its options accordingly. As such, some features discussed here may not be available in

certain situations. They are presented here for the sake of completeness.

4.3 STARTING THE PROGRAM

To run the program, select

Programs>Microchip Motor Control Solutions>

Motor Control Demo

from the Start menu. Alternatively, double click on the Motor

Control GUI shortcut on your desktop. This launches the Main window of the GUI

(Figure 4-1).

In this version of the Motor Control GUI, all of the operations are controlled through two

windows: the Main window (control panel) and the Setup window. Their operation is

described in the following sections.