F ujitsu Microelectronics Europe (FME) has long been well regarded in the auto- motive sector. The company, with its headquarters in Langen, Germany, also produces microcontrollers (MCUs), which are becoming an increasingly popular choice in industrial applications. The company's industrial division accounts for 15% of total sales and this success has led it to increase its market focus in this important area with the launch of a wide range of MCUs for industrial applications. These include electric motor control units, available in many different sizes, so that every customer gets exactly what is required. From automotive to industrial Around 15 to 20 years ago, MCUs launched in Europe were specifically developed for the automotive market. And since then, they have also demonstrated their potential to the indus- trial sector. These devices can now be found in white goods and small household devices such as coffee machines. However, the real demand for them has been found in manufacturing plants in Germany, par- ticularly in production line automation which, like the automotive market, has seen a growth in the number of electronic parts required. As a result, FME began to cater specifically for the demands of the industrial sector around ten years ago and has since come to be recog- nised as a key solutions provider in this critical niche market. “The MB90F497 microcontroller was the first 16bit MCU with a CAN interface that we developed for both markets,” explains Wolf Fronauer. “Although two generations have passed since the first prototype, its suc- cessors are still being sold in growing quan- tities today.” FME’s largest sales market, accounting for some 50% of its revenue, is made up of German speaking countries and regions. Around 30% of the components go to Southern Europe, mainly Italy and Spain, whilst Eastern Europe accounts for 10%, a figure that is experiencing continuous growth. Western Europe and Scandinavia account for 10% of the overall sales figure. “In Southern Europe, we are slightly stronger than the market average,” says Dr Gerhard Roos, Senior Director of FME’s Automotive & Industrial Business Unit. “This is because people in the region tend to be more willing to use new and innovative prod- ucts. And they are backed up by a strong, local, technical support team in Italy.” Understanding customers’ requirements Gaining an understanding of user problems has seen FME deliver its customers complete solutions in addition to individual modules. For example, users whose know-how focuses on machinery and not on motors, that is users for whom controlling the motor is just a means to an end, can concentrate on their core area of expertise with FME’s motor control starter kits. Rising energy costs coupled with regulations demanding lower power consumption have led to an increase in energy efficiency projects, with a trend towards three-phase motors. These elec- tronically controlled motors deliver enormous savings and FME offers special microcontrollers and starter-kits for this purpose. Depending on the type of motor, a different MCU is used: conventional motors frequently use 8bit, while 16bit controllers are used to con- trol simple three-phase drives. FME offers 32bit MCUs for particularly pow- erful motor controllers such as servo drives and some of these can control two motors simultane- ously. The starter kits also contain a CD-ROM with the relevant software environment and comprehensive documentation. In addition to the kits designed for motor control units in par- ticular, the com- pany also offers numerous other demo boards for use in the indus- trial sector: see Figure 1. For three-phase motor control units, FME offers the MB91470 series of MCUs. Two processing elements are integrated in these: a 32bit MCU and a μDSP. The latter is responsible for the specific control and filter algorithms of data that are gained through simultaneous measurement of the phase currents by the three ADCs. The conversion between the co-ordinate systems of the vector control sequence is per- formed in the 32bit CPU. Not only does the user benefit from the integration of both the CPU and the DSP on the one chip but also from the software, which is made available for all relevant units in the form of tested function blocks. This allows optimum use to be made of the resources on the controller: see Figure 2. “Offering the user optimised software rou- tines for the function blocks in question is just one of the many services that accelerate development and simplify optimum use of the microcontroller,” says Fronauer. “This APRIL 2009 Electronics 22 Advertisement Feature Cover Story Complete Industry Solutions Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe, says Industrial Marketing Manager Wolf Fronauer, is concen- trating heavily on software development in order to offer customers complete system solutions. Figure 1: Three-phase motor control unit. coverstory electr april09 pp22_23:centrefold 16/4/09 12:48 Page 22