TRINAMIC Motion Control, now part of Maxim Integrated, announced the TMC4671+TMC6100-TOSV-REF design board, a BLDC servo driver capable of 12V to 36V with up to 6A RMS to accommodate medical ventilator and respiratory system design. To shorten design cycles, the open-source module features a session border controller (SBC) connector in Raspberry Pi style and space for a pressure sensor add-on board.

Trinamic's reference design board includes a Hall sensor interface and connectors for an optional pressure sensor add-on board. As a result, pressure data can be visualized on a Raspberry Pi with touch screen using the free firmware developed by Trinamic for the reference design board. Hardware and software are open-source, meeting the goals of the Trinamic Open-Source Ventilator (TOSV) project, which led to this reference design.

Thanks to the embedded TMC4671 servo controller IC, the module generates a pulse-width modulation (PWM) frequency and a current controller clock of 100 kHz independent of the microcontroller. According to the company, this approach reduces the system's current consumption by up to 15 percent, compared with a frequency of 25 kHz, without compromising performance.

An add-on board for I2C and analog sensors supports pressure sensors offered by various manufacturers. The TMC4671+TMC6100-TOSV-REF plugs into a single-board computer to access the user interface and high-level control functions. Following the example of the TOSV project, the module uses Raspberry Pi with touch screen display.

The complete TMC4671+TMC6100-TOSV-REF reference board is available now through Trinamic's distribution channels. All hardware, firmware, and software are open source under the MIT license.

Features include:

• Single-axis BLDC servo driver for up to 6A RMS/phase
• Supply Voltage 12V to 36V
• Integrated over-voltage protection
• HALL sensor interface
• Onboard temperature sensor
• Digital I/O and analog inputs
• Add-on board connector for standard or custom sensor interface board
• Raspberry Pi connector for external SBC

For more information, visit: https://www.trinamic.com/company/news/news-detail/accelerating-development-of-medical-ventilators/