Development controller – rapid prototyping applications
Embeddable controller, industrial applications
Power electronic controllers
Specialized control solutions
Fully-programmable DSP+FPGA digital controllers for power converters
Thanks to the high flexibility of their software and hardware, our power electronic controllers facilitate the prototyping and experimental validation of control techniques for all sorts of power converters.
Digital controllers for power electronics
A complete family of power electronic controllers
Our programmable controllers help engineers design, test, and validate digital control techniques for power converters. They enable them to save time during both development and product prototyping phases, thanks to their high level of specialization.
Typical applications include electric motor drives, grid-tied inverters (e.g. solar inverters), energy storage systems (e.g. battery), or multilevel converters. Our control hardware includes two control systems for two distinct use cases:
- B-Box RCP is a rapid control prototyping system, dedicated to laboratory applications.
- B-Board PRO is a fully-programmable controller that can be directly embedded inside power converters.
1 – System programming
The digital controllers can be easily programmed using C/C++ code or using our automated code generation toolboxes for Simulink and PLECS.
All it takes to flash a user code on a target hardware is only one click. Code generation, compilation, and upload are fully automated. Besides, no particular skills are needed.
2 – Run-time execution
The controllers can be used alongside a computer or as standalone devices. In both cases, direct access to the code execution is guaranteed by the Cockpit software.
Both control targets can be used to build fully-programmable power converters. Both the DSP and FPGA can be edited and have their parameters tuned during run-time.
3 – Live monitoring
The programmable controllers support real-time access so that engineers can monitor and tune any variable, facilitating the debugging and/or maintenance of the control software.
The monitoring utility also provides datalogging capabilities similar to an oscilloscope. This allows logging every data point or observing control variable over longer time intervals.
B-Box RCP
DSP+FPGA controller for rapid control prototyping applications
The B-Box RCP is a highly flexible power converter control system, tailored for rapid control prototyping applications in power electronics. Thanks to its high performance and flexibility, it facilitates the experimental validation of power converters control techniques in laboratory environments.
Keywords:
- Rapid prototyping controller
- Inverter control hardware
- Electric motor drive controller
- Power converter controller
- Programmable inverter controller
- DSP+FPGA control system
TAILORED DESIGN
Also, the controller has been designed to guarantee a very strict management of timings, from analog inputs to PWM outputs, including in stacked configurations.
HIGH-END DESIGN
Together with an ultra-light and specialized operating system, this guarantees state-of-the-art performance for all closed-loop control applications. Running a converter control algorithm in the hundreds of kHz range becomes no longer a challenge!
SCALABLE DESIGN
Multiple converter control units can be stacked together to build up larger controllers. Up to 64 boxes can be combined, extending up to thousands of I/Os!
This brings high flexibility in time and across multiple projects. It is always possible to combine (or separate) units depending on the varying needs of their applications.
FUTURE-PROOF DESIGN
This way, it is guaranteed that a code that works today will still work in the future, even though the hardware will most certainly change in-between.
B-Board PRO
Converter controller module for product-embedded applications
The B-Board PRO is the heart of the B-Box RCP controller but it is also available as a standalone controller for embedded applications. The board feature a ZynQ-based dual-core ARM processor and a Kintex-grade FPGA (Xilinx Zynq), plus advanced communication capabilities and extensive I/Os.
Keywords:
- Embedded control board
- Programmable digital controller
- Converter control hardware
- DSP+FPGA control module
- Power inverter control module
INTEGRATED WITH SIMULINK AND PLECS
With Simulink, the provided blocksets also embed simulation models so that the system behavior can be accurately simulated and tuned before run-time. Then, everything truly works from the first test!
USER-PROGRAMMABLE FPGA
Absolutely no expertise in FPGA-based development is needed to work with our embeddable controller, as it operates readily with a highly flexible and highly configurable FPGA firmware.
Nevertheless, for the most advanced users who require to alter the FPGA code, the module allows doing so. In this case, dedicated areas are provided, with straightforward integration within the existing DSP software.
HIGH PROCESSING POWER
This results in the full dedication of a fast floating-point processor core to real-time control tasks, with best-in-class performance, ranging up to 200kHz control frequencies in closed-loop operation.
QUICK INTEGRATION
Overall, most of the specific integration efforts are only those related to the mechanical aspects as well as the signal conditioning and protection, which are often tailored to the application anyway.
Complementary power electronic controllers
FROM THE LAB TO THE FIELD!
What if you could simply take the result of your research and put it into an affordable controller, directly embedded inside your own power electronic systems?
Development phase
- Flexible control hardware
- Rapid prototyping
Production phase
- Cost-optimized hardware
- Product integration
Embeddable controller
Prototyping controller
Development phase
- Flexible control hardware
- Rapid prototyping
Production phase
- Cost-optimized hardware
- Product integration
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Software solutions
The Automated Code Generation (ACG) SDK enables engineers to program the power electronic controllers directly from Simulink or PLECS. The provided toolchain handles fully automated code generation, compilation, and upload in just one click.
In addition, the SDK contains simulation models of each controller peripheral, so that the exact behavior of the control system can be simulated – and hence easily anticipated – before code is generated.
Power modules
Imperix power modules are ready-to-use building blocks allowing to build up almost any converter topology. They exist in various power ratings and internal structures. Each module features:
- Power semiconductors
- Gate drivers
- Voltage and current sensors (with local protection)