The MIKROE Clicker 4 development board for the Toshiba M4K MCU, combined with the Clicker 4 Inverter shield, is a simple and cost-effective solution for experimenting with BLDC motor control scenarios. The Clicker 4 for TMPM4K features an onboard debugger, eliminating the need for an external one. It includes four mikroBUS™ sockets for connecting a wide range of different MIKROE Click™ boards, allowing for expanded functionality. Expansion connectors, JTAG/SWD debug ports, LED indicators, and pushbuttons are also provided. This board is accompanied by the Clicker 4 Inverter Shield, which features six MOSFETs for motor drive, a switched-mode power supply used to regulate the motor supply voltage up to 48V, and a 5V regulated power supply that can be used to power an external driver board. Its flexible interconnection allows for positioning feedback from Hall sensors and incremental encoders. Overcurrent protection has been incorporated to ensure reliability.
M4K MCUs are already widely used in industry, demonstrating their popularity in next-generation motor control implementations. Each of these devices is based on an Arm® Cortex®-M4 processor core with a floating-point unit (FPU) and also features memory protection units (MPUs). They can operate at 160 MHz and offer Advanced Programmable Motor Driver (A-PMD) functionality, along with Advanced Vector Motor Plus (A-VE+) capabilities for vector control. Their memory resources comprise 256 KB of code flash and 32 KB of data flash.
The Clicker 4 for TMPM4K and the Clicker 4 Inverter Shield are compatible with MCU Motor Studio software, available on the Toshiba website. This simple, well-structured, and versatile software has two main components: a PC-based motor control tool that allows parameter configuration, drive control, and real-time recording and diagnostics via high-speed UART, as well as scalable and fully configurable motor control firmware for the M4K MCU.
