Designers of compact, sensorless motor systems in the mass consumer, industrial, and automotive markets are under increasing pressure to improve efficiency, acoustic performance, and reliability while keeping costs and development effort under control. Basic solutions based on single-coil controllers remain common due to their low cost, but they can compromise efficiency and acoustic performance.
Three-phase solutions offer superior results, but have traditionally required complex integration and longer development cycles. The MLX80339 bridges this gap, providing the performance advantages of three-phase motor control in a cost-effective and user-friendly integration model. As part of Melexis' growing family of no-code integrated circuit solutions, the device incorporates configurable motor control logic directly on the chip, enabling engineers to configure and design their application without requiring specialized knowledge.
The no-code configuration and "Start-to-Run" support tool dramatically shorten motor controller prototyping, enabling designs to be operational in under 15 minutes when used with the evaluation kit and the Melexis Compact Master. This intuitive ecosystem generates the configuration parameters necessary for robust motor start-up and operation, replacing significant engineering tasks with simple user inputs. Because the motor behavior logic is pre-characterized and validated by Melexis, engineers only need to perform the final application-specific system validation, further accelerating time to market.
Designed for silent, sensorless operation, the MLX80339 supports control of up to 20 W at 12 V and 40 W at 24 V, with a configurable current limit of up to 3 A and built-in protection against undervoltage, overvoltage, overcurrent, and overtemperature to ensure reliable operation. The compact SO8-EP package is optimized for small fan applications, such as cooling fans, ceiling fans, and automotive seat vents, while also covering small motors, actuators, pumps, and related systems. A wide supply voltage range of 6 V to 26 V and an operating temperature range of -40 °C to 125 °C, with junction temperatures up to 150 °C, further facilitate system integration.
The MLX80339 supports legacy PWM-based fan control for straightforward replacement, while also offering digital interfaces such as UART and I²C for customers requiring additional diagnostics or multi-fan coordination. This allows designers to adopt more advanced control concepts where needed without sacrificing simplicity for conventional designs.
"With the MLX80339, we are making three-phase fan control accessible far beyond traditional expert users," said Marc Lambrechts, Product Line Director at Melexis. "The combination of pre-validated motor control logic, quick no-code setup, and high-quality performance enables engineers to move quickly while delivering cost-effective, quieter, and more efficient end products. This is a key step in expanding more sophisticated motor control to much broader markets."
By completely eliminating system complexity, the MLX80339 also enables access through new distribution channels and supports smaller-volume projects that were previously impractical with integrated three-phase motor controllers. The MLX80339 for small fan control is now available for sampling and serial production in the standard SO8-EP package.
