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Inaugural PowerUP Virtual Expo Convenes on June 16

Controlling a motor’s speed and direction requires the operating After that, Maxim Integrated will analyze the challenges of intel-
system and a range of techniques that will vary with the motor type ligent motion control and the technology’s impact on Industrial
and the application requirements. Power semiconductors can improve 4.0. Industrial convergence is driving discussions in the automation
positioning, torque, and efficiency in motor drive and power control industry about the need for more intelligence at the edge. A new way of
applications. thinking is needed to translate semiconductor solutions into products
that provide better real-time information so that AI algorithms can be
CONFERENCE DETAILS used to optimize an entire factory as well as its individual machines.
Bolaji Ojo, group publisher and global co-editor-in-chief at AspenCore, To accomplish this level of automation and flexibility, every aspect of
and Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio, editor-in-chief of Power Electronics News the equipment needs to evolve. In the area of motion control, there is a
and EEWeb, will open the conference on Tuesday by discussing the im- need to develop smart actuators that can provide the necessary control
portance of new strategies to support the power electronics ecosystem. of the flow and the speed with which a product is moved through its
operations. Because all applications require their own unique set
June 16: Motor Control of motion control and motor drive, these smart actuators will need
The first day of the conference will be devoted to motor control topics. to provide higher efficiency to limit power dissipation and enable
Infineon Technologies, in its opening paper, will provide an analysis of smaller sizes, better control of positioning and torque, and the ability
motor inverter trends and solutions. Infineon optimized its TRENCH- to self-tune and optimize their performance while in operation. This
STOP IGBT7 technology for motor inverters, enabling low conduction combination of smart integration will enable a new class of products to
losses. Meanwhile, for integrating the inverter into the motor, Infineon’s meet the demands of Industry 4.0 and beyond.
CoolSiC MOSFETs are a good choice because of their low switching After these speeches, a panel titled “Motor Control Solutions for Any
losses and low-ohmic-loss behavior during conduction. Power Requirements” will feature panelists from major participants in
Power semiconductors are a key component of every electric- the sector, including Infineon, Maxim Integrated, Power Integrations,
motor inverter because they make it possible to control both speed and Texas Instruments, and Trinamic.
torque. Power semiconductor controlling and sensing are also import- A series of technical talks will follow, covering motor control topics
ant motor inverter functions. including microstepping control solutions and noise reduction in
Analog Devices’ keynote will offer insights into motor control stepper motors. Analog Devices will present a talk on slew-rate control.
design. Synchronization in motor control applications directly relates Slew-rate control of the inverter switch node provides a degree of
to process and production efficiency and quality. It is a multilayered control over conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI) in a motor
requirement, starting with the alignment of the motor phase-cur- control system. This can help reduce requirements on input and output
rent–sensing methodology with the motor actuation via the power filters, which are often designed around light-load, worst-case EMI. By
inverter and continuing through the interconnect between motion axes contrast, full-load efficiency requirements are generally better met by
and between networked nodes. The keynote will highlight the value faster switching of the inverter node. A dual-mode slew rate control
and importance of tight synchronization in networked and multi-axis gate driver will be presented, and its benefits in motor control systems
motion control applications for industrial automation. from this perspective will be outlined.

www.eetimes.eu | JUNE 2020