Getting Started with the SiC EV Power Inverter Control Reference Platform

2.1 Board Features

Benefits:

• Increases speed of development
• Full platform solution
• Provides functional safety options
• Optimizes performance

Featured Products:

• GD3160 isolated SiC MOSFET or IGBT ASIL D gate driver
• MPC5775E advanced motor control ASIL D MCU
• FS65XX robust ASIL D SBC
• TJA1051 redundant CAN bus interface
• TJA1100 IEEE 100BASE-T1 compliant Automotive Ethernet PHY Transceiver interface
• Capability to connect to Starpower P6 or equivalent HyperPACK footprint module for three-phase evaluations

2.2 Board Description

The EV-INVERTERHD SiC MOSFET is a reference design enablement kit containing NXP content to develop an EV three-phase traction motor inverter. The system is designed to drive the Starpower P6 footprint module using Wolfspeed SiC MOSFETs die (or HybridPACK equivalent footprint). This kit includes two PCBs and basic configuration and drive software. PCB board layout, schematics, and Gerber files are available on an NXP secured website. To gain access to the secured site, use the registration code provided in the hardware shipment.

Customers must obtain the additional inverter components. These components include the SiC MOSFET or IGBT module, link capacitor, bus bar, cooling plate, mounting hardware, etc. Customers can select their own components when designing and assembling a complete PIM to work with the NXP EV-CONTROLEVMHD and EVPOWEREVBHD boards. As an alternative, a complete pre-assembled reference PIM platform is available through NXP partner Vepco Technologies. The SiC MOSFET module using the Wolfspeed die is available from Starpower Semiconductor LTD.

2.3 Board Components

Overview of the EV-INVERTERHD SiC MOSFET Enablement Kit.

The procedure for assembling an inverter platform that uses the EV-INVERTERHD SiC MOSFET Enablement Kit differs depending on whether the Vepco PIM is employed or whether the users have elected to design their own inverter control platform. The following sections cover both procedures.

3.1 Assemble the Hardware (Vepco Procedure)

The assembly instructions in this section apply to users who have elected to use the Vepco PIM.

The following hardware is required for this procedure:

• Vepco Power Inverter Module (PIM)
• High-voltage cabling for inverter supply (2-wire)
• High-voltage cabling for motor connection (3-wire)
• 12 V power supply (inverter)
• High-voltage power supply (motor)
• Motor
• PEMicro Multilink debugger probe
• Kvaser Leaf Light v2 USB – CAN interface adapter

1. Turn the Vepco PIM upside down and remove the bottom plate. This exposes the EV- CONTROLEVMHD board mounted inside the unit.
2. Connect the 14-pin PEMicro Multilink debugger header to connector P1 on the EVCONTROLEVM with the pin 1 marks aligned. Connect a USB cable from the PEMicro Multilink to the host PC. Both LED lights on the PEmicro Multilink should be on, indicating the CAN bus is live and ready to communicate. For information on installing the PEMicro software and debugging with the PEMicro probe, see PEMicro documentation.
3. Route the Kvaser Leaf Light USB-CAN Interface Adapter from the 23-pin connector on the bottom of the EV-CONTROLEVMHD board to a USB port on the Windows PC.
4. Install the software development tools.
5. Follow the instructions in the Vepco PIM documentation to make the following connections:
   • 3-phase motor
   • Low-voltage DC power supply
   • High-voltage DC power supply. Warning: HIGH DC VOLTAGES CAN BE FATAL. Use extreme caution.

3.2 Assemble the Hardware - Non-Vepco Procedure

The following assembly instructions apply to users who have elected to design their own inverter control platform instead of using the Vepco module. The instructions cover electrical connectivity only. The customer is responsible for assembling the physical structures (bus bar, mounting hardware, etc.) required to support and connect the components in their platform.

• EV-INVERTERHD SiC MOSFET Enablement Kit
• Starpower P6 module or equivalent HybridPACK module
• Cooling plate
• A bus bar compatible with a HybridPACK module
• DC link capacitors
• High-voltage cabling for inverter supply (2-wire)
• High-voltage cabling for motor connection (3-wire)
• High-voltage shielded cable (2-wire) for motor resolver connections
• Low-voltage shielded cable (21-wire) for motor resolver connections
• 23-position Ampseal signal connector (optional)
• 12 V power supply (inverter)
• High-voltage power supply (motor)
• 40-pin flat ribbon cable with one male and one female connector (optional)
• Board stand-offs - .5 in (optional)
• Motor
• PEMicro Multilink debugger probe
• Kvaser Leaf Light v2 USB – CAN interface adapter

1. Attach the P6 module to the cooling plate.
2. Attach the DC link capacitor tabs to the bus bar.
3. Connect the three positive power connectors on the P6 module to the corresponding connectors on the bus bar. Connect the three negative power connectors on the P6 module to the corresponding connectors on the bus bar.
4. Route cables from the three output connectors on the other side of the P6 module through the three motor phase current sensors (U21, U22, U23) on the EV- CONTROLEVMHD board.
5. Connect the 3-phase motor to the three cables that were routed through the current sensors in the previous step. Make sure that the U, V, and W connections match.
6. Connect the motor resolver to the 23-pin connector on the EV-CONTROLEVMHD board. The connections are made as follows:
   • Using the two-wire high-power shielded cable, connect pin 14 and pin 21 (resolver excitation signals) on the 23-pin connector to the corresponding connections on the motor. Connect the shield ground to pin 6 on the 23-pin connector.
   • Using the low-power cable, connect pins 8, 15, 22, and 23 (resolver sense signals) on the 23-pin connector to the corresponding connections on the motor. Connect the shield ground to pin 7 on the 23-pin connector.
   • Using the low-power cable, make all remaining connections (CANH, CANL, etc.).
7. Connect the two enablement kit boards. The connection can be made using two different methods:
   • Method A: Mount the EV-CONTROLEVMHD board on top of the EV- POWEREVBHD board by directly connecting the 40-pin connectors (J1 and P1) and the +12 Supply connectors (P6 and P2). Make sure that the pins on the lower board are inserted into the connectors on the upper board. Use stand-offs to provide structural support between the two boards. Notice that connecting the boards in this fashion blocks access to the test points and components on the top of the EV- POWEREVBHD board.
   • Method B: Connect the two boards with cables. To do so, connect a 40-pin ribbon cable between connector J1 on the EV-CONTROLEVMHD board and connector P1 on the EV-POWEREVBHD board. In this configuration, the EV-POWEREVBHD board must be powered independently from the EV-CONTROLEVMHD board (see Step 7).
8. Connect the EV-POWEREVBHD board to the P6 module. This is best done by aligning the pins on the surface of the P6 module with the P6 module connectors on the bottom of the EV-POWEREVBHD board and mounting the two units together. Alternatively, each of the pins on the PC module can be wired to the corresponding connector on the EV-POWEREVBHD board.
9. Connect the low-voltage DC power supply (12 V) to connector P6 on the EV- CONTROLEVMHD board. If Method B in Step 6 was used to connect the EV- CONTROLEVMHD board to the EV-POWEREVBHD board, an additional connection must be made from the low-voltage DC power supply to the +12 Supply connector (P2) on the EV-POWEREVBHD board. When the two boards are mounted, as in Method A, Step 6, the EV-POWEREVBHD draws power directly through the +12 Supply connector on the EV-CONTROLEVMHD board.
10. Using the 2-wire high-voltage cable, connect the positive connector on the high- voltage/high-current DC supply to the positive DC link capacitor connectors on bus bar. Then connect the negative connector on the high-voltage/high current DC supply to the negative DC link capacitor connectors on the bus bar. Warning: HIGH DC VOLTAGES CAN BE FATAL. Use extreme caution. Before applying high voltage (>300 V) to the DC connection, use a current limited (1.0 A) power supply and apply 15 V to 30 V to the DC to make sure that there is no excessive leakage current.

11. Connect the 14-pin PEMicro Multilink debugger header to connector P4 on the EV- CONTROLEVM with the pin 1 marks aligned. Connect a USB cable from the PEMicro Multilink to the host PC. Both LED lights on the PEmicro Multilink should be on, indicating that the JTAG bus is live and ready to communicate. For information on installing the PEMicro software and debugging with the PEMicro probe, see PEMicro documentation.
12. Attach the Kvaser Leaf Light USB-CAN Interface Adapter to the 23-pin connector on the bottom of the EV-CONTROLEVMHD board and a USB port on Windows PC.
13. Install the software development tools.

The S32 Design Studio IDE is a complimentary integrated development environment for Automotive and Ultra-Reliable MCUs that enable editing, compiling, and debugging of designs.

1. Go to S32DS-PA and click User Guide
2. Follow the instructions within the S32 Design Studio for Power Architecture 2.1 installation guide
3. Run the S32 Design Studio by clicking the S32 Design Studio for Power Architecture V2.1 icon
4. Before flashing the device, verify that the updates have been installed on the S32 design studio for S32_SDK_S32PA_RTM_3.0.0 and AMMCLIB_1.1.20. To do so, go to Help and check for S32DS extensions and updates. It should be up to date with S32 SDK for Power architecture version 3.0.0 RTM and update with AMMCLIB v.1.1.20 for power architecture

   

5. Click Run > Flash from file...

   

6. Double-click the GDB PEmicro Interface Debugging icon
7. Change the name of the new configuration to MPC5775E

   

8. Click the Debugger tab

   

9. Click the Device Name drop-down menu and select MPC5775E
10. Click Apply
11. Flash the .elf file

4.1 Installing the USB - CAN Interface Adapter

1. Browse to Kvaser Downloads
2. Download the latest Kvaser drivers for Windows and install them. The driver page is shown below

   

3. Connect the USB-CAN interface adapter to a USB port on the computer

   

4.2 Kvaser Leaf Light v2 9-Pin Connector Pinout

For Windows 10, disable the storage services: run services.msc; double-click on the storage service from the list and press the Stop button.

Table 1. Pinning

4.3 FreeMASTER Setup

Refer to UM11551 PIM FreeMASTER GUI user manual (available here for customers who purchase the kit) for information on connecting to the PIM and using the FreeMASTER tool to monitor and control the inverter application demo.

Board Documents

• UM11550, EV-INVERTERHD SiC MOSFET Enablement Kit User Manual
• AN13091, EV Traction Motor Power Inverter Control Reference Platform Application Note
• GD31xx Device Driver Example Code

Software

• FreeMASTER Run-Time Debugging Tool

Forums

Connect with other engineers and get expert advice on designing with the RDDRONE-T1ADAPT Evaluation Board on one of our community sites.

• Power Management