onsemi STR-NCS32100-GEVK User manual

USER MANUAL
www.onsemi.com
©Semiconductor Components Industries, LLC, 2022
July, 2022 − Rev. 0 1Publication Order Number:
UM70073/D
NCS32100 Rotary Inductive Position Sensor
Evaluation Board User Manual
STR-NCS32100-GEVK
INTRODUCTION
The STR−NCS32100−GEVK evaluation board provides
hardware and a PCB rotary sensor for full demonstration of
the NCS32100. The block diagram below shows the signal
path used to communicate with the NCS32100 through a
master controller. The NCS32100 is connected to a fully
functional PCB rotary sensor capable of sensing positions
with an accuracy of <±50 arcsec. The board can be
connected to a computer running the onsemi Strata
Application, which provides a user interface for accessing
position and velocity data, as well as a number of other
auxiliary features that will be explained in this quick start
guide. Figure 1. NCS32100 Evaluation Board
Figure 2. NCS32100 Inductive Rotary Position Sensor Evaluation Board Block Diagram
NCS32100
RS485
Tranceiver
Level
Shifter
Master
(STM32 MCU)
3.3 V
Regulator Adjustable Regulator
USB
J17
USB
J10 JLINK OB
FTDI Virtual
Serial COM
Module
Connector
Master Control Circuitry NCS32100 Application Circuitry
PCB
Stator
PCB
Rotor
5 V
5 V
5 V
RS485
Tranceiver
The NCS32100 evaluation board houses a full rotary
sensor application with a master controller for accessing
position and velocity data. Data is displayed through the
onsemi Strata application (available for download from
onsemi.com). The evaluation board is programmed,
calibrated, and ready for demonstration. This quick start
guide will explain how to connect the evaluation board for
plug and play evaluation.

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FEATURES
NCS32100 IC •Interfaces with up to 8 inductive coils
•Supports Low Power Battery Mode
•Delivers Rotary position and velocity over a 2.5 MHz RS485 Bus
RS−485 Interface •Connection between external master and NCS32100 is implemented with a 2.5 MHz
RS−485 interface.
Adjustable Regulator for Battery Voltage
Generation •Backup battery voltage to the NCS32100 can be adjusted with R350 (potentiometer) from
1 V to 5 V. Clockwise turn lowers VBAT voltage.
40 mm PCB Inductive Position Sensor •Sensor portion of board houses a PCB inductive sensor that uses a rotor and a stator.
The rotor is mounted above the stator with a fixture designed to mount to standard
motors. The rotor can be turned by hand in the absence of a mounted motor.
STM32 Master Controller •Evaluation board houses a master MCU that is programmed to communicate with the
NCS32100 over the RS−485 interface. The STM 32 MCU also communicates data to
an external computer via a virtual Serial COM port. Application is plug and play with
the onsemi Strata App.
Pre−Calibrated •Evaluation board has been configured and calibrated to work with the attached 40mm
PCB rotary sensor.
Removable Master Module •NCS32100 IC and PCB sensor portion of the board can be snapped off for application
evaluation. The master portion of the board can be replaced with a different system
master. Interface protocol details are defined in the NCS32100 Reference Design Manual.
APPLICATIONS
Rotary Position Encoding •Industrial Factory Automation
•Robotics Applications
•Precision Instrumentation
•Packaging
•Food and beverage
•Printing
•Textiles
•Mobile vehicle
•Aerospace
•Material Handling
•Lift Industry
•Automation
•Conveying
•Motor Feedback

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QUICK START PROCEDURE
1. Download the onsemi Strata Application. The latest
Strata release is available for download from
www.onsemi.com/support/strata−developer−studio
2. Connect computer running the onsemi Strata
Application to the evaluation board (U17 →
highlighted in blue in the image below) using the
provided USB cable. No other power supplies or
bench equipment is needed.
Figure 3. NCS32100 Evaluation Board (Front)
Figure 4. NCS32100 Evaluation Board (Back)
PCB Rotor and Stator Fixture
RS−485 External Connection
USB to PC Strata Application
Master Controller
(STM32)
VBAT Adjustment
Potentiometer
NCS32100Sensor Module / Master
Controller Perferation
3. If the Strata App is not already running, start the
application.

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4. Create a login.
Figure 5. Strata Login Window
The Strata Application will recognize the evaluation
board connected via USB and will bring up the evaluation
board specific user interface. (The evaluation board can be
connected before or after the Strata App has been launched).
Once the board is recognized, the NCS32100 Inductive
Rotary Evaluation Board will be selectable in the list of
Strata supported boards. The user can update the Strata
settings to open the UI automatically upon connecting to the
board if desired.
Figure 6. Strata UI Board Identification Bar
5. The user interface, as shown below, allows the
user to see the current position and velocity in the
time plots. The current position and velocity
outputs are also shown near the bottom of the
window. The left hand side of the window has a
number of user inputs that can be set to configure
the NCS32100. The right side of the window has a
variety of diagnostics.

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Figure 7. NCS32100 Evaluation Strata UI
Configuration Details
In the upper left side of the NCS32100 Strata UI, device
configuration inputs are made available to the user. 3 input
boxes allow the user to set the low battery threshold, the over
temperature threshold, and the resolutions for the velocity
outputs. The gray text that is displayed in the input field
shows the valid input range for each setting. Deleting an
input after a setting has been modified does not reset the
setting to its default state. Instead, a user may return the
configuration to its default state by inputting the default
values or power cycling the evaluation board.
Low Battery Threshold
The low battery threshold setting allows the user to choose
a voltage at which the low battery error will be reported. The
battery threshold input range is 1 V to 3.3 V. If the user types
2.1 V in the low battery threshold input box, then the Low
Battery Threshold on the right side of the UI will be updated,
and the Low Battery LED in the lower left of the GUI will
turn red if the battery voltage falls below 2.1 V. The user can
change the actual backup battery voltage going to the
NCS32100 by dialing the blue R350 potentiometer. Turning
the potentiometer clockwise will lower the VBAT voltage
(see Battery Backup Mode section).
Over Temperature
The over temperature setting allows the user to choose a
temperature threshold for the over temperature error. The
user can choose a value between 0°C and 125°C. If the
internal temperature of the NCS32100 device rises above
the selected temperature threshold, then the Over
Temperature LED in the lower left of the GUI will turn red.
Velocity Resolution
The velocity output from the NCS32100 is a 20 bit value,
however, the noise floor for the velocity measurements will
occupy some of the least significant bits. The lower bits of
the velocity measurement can be ignored by setting the
velocity resolution to a value lower than 20. For example, if
the user sets the velocity resolution to 16, then the last four
LSB of the velocity value will be zeroed out and will not be
reflected in the velocity output.
Error Report
The lower left side of the NCS32100 Strata GUI has a
number of indicators to signal to the user when certain system
errors have occurred. The supported error indicators are:
Over Speed
The ‘Over speed’ indicator will turn red if the velocity of
the rotor exceeds 6,000 rpm.

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Sensor Error
The ‘Sensor Error’ indicator will turn red if an open circuit
in the sensor coils is detected. Open coil detection is
continuously monitored. If a coil becomes damaged or is not
connected properly, then the system will be notified through
the sensor error bit. It is not recommended that the user
intentionally attempts to cause this error on the evaluation
board because it would involve damaging the PCB sensor.
Turn Count Overflow
The ‘Turn Count Overflow’ indicator turns red if the turns
count crosses 0. For example, if the current turns count is 4,
and the rotor is turned counter clockwise 5 full rotations,
then the turns count overflow error will signal. This is an
indicator to the system master that a multi turn count rollover
needs to be handled properly.
Low Battery
The ‘Low Battery’ indicator turns red if the backup
battery voltage falls below 2.7 V. The low battery error is
different than the low battery threshold that is configurable
by the user. The recommended battery voltage is 3.3 V, and
2.7 V is an indicator that the battery needs to be replaced.
No Power
The ‘No Power‘ indicator turns red if the 5 V VCC supply
is removed from the NCS32100. The user can exercise this
error by switching the red SW1 switch on the board to
disconnect the VCC supply. On a revA board, pulling the
J300 jumper will do the same.
Battery Alarm Threshold
The ‘Battery Alarm Threshold’ indicator will turn red if
the backup battery voltage falls below the user defined
battery threshold.
Over Temperature
The ‘over temperature’ indicator turns red if the user
defined temperature threshold is exceeded.
Any error indicators that have been tripped can be reset
from red to green by pushing the ‘Reset Error’ button on the
right side of the Strata GUI.
Diagnostics
The right side of the NCS32100 Strata GUI displays
encoder diagnostics for the user.
Turns Count
The turns count displays how many full revolutions have
occurred since the board was powered up. The turns count
can be reset back to 0 by pushing the ‘Reset Turns’ button.
Backup Battery Voltage
The ‘Backup Battery Voltage’ output gives the current
backup battery voltage as measured by the NCS32100. This
will change if the user dials around the R350 potentiometer
between 5 V and 1 V. The recommended battery voltage is
3.3 V.
Low Battery Threshold
The ‘Low Battery Threshold’ is the user specified battery
threshold as it is read out from the NCS32100. This output
will update to a new value if the user changes the battery
threshold.
Temperature
The ‘Temperature’ output is the internal temperature of
the NCS32100. The NCS32100 has an integrated
temperature sensor. The NCS32100 evaluation board does
not have a standard grounding plane connected to the back
paddle of the NCS32100 device, allowing it to be closer to
the PCB inductive sensor coils. Because there is not a heat
spreader, the internal temperature will be higher than
ambient room temperature.
Max Temp.
The ‘Max Temp’ output is the NCS32100 readout of the
user specified over temperature threshold. This will update
every time the user changes the over temperature threshold.
Version #
Indicates the firmware version number currently running
on the NCS32100.
Calibration
The NCS32100 Strata UI allows the user to run the
self−calibration routine with 2 different options. The options
can be selected using the pull−down menu underneath the
“Calibration” button, as shown below.
Figure 8. Calibration Options
The “Master” option in the pull down will run the
calibration routine via the master (STM32), while the
“NCS32100” will run the calibration routine in the
NCS32100 internal MCU. Calibration through the master is
faster due to the higher capability of the STM32 processor.
Calibration through the master is expected to take less than
5 seconds, while calibration through the NCS32100 takes
around 10 seconds to complete, but has the added advantage
that no supporting code is needed from the master for the
calibration to run. For the calibration routine to run, the rotor
must be turning at a speed less than 500 rpm. While the rotor
is spinning, click the “Calibrate” button, and the UI will
freeze while the calibration routine runs. Once the calibration
routine has completed, the UI will return to normal operation.

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Resetting Position
The ‘Reset Position’ button allows the user to set the
current rotor position as the 0 index for the encoder. The new
position becomes the absolute reference for all subsequent
position measurements.
Resetting Errors
The ‘Reset Errors’ button allows the user to reset all the
error indicators back to green status.
Battery Mode Evaluation
The NCS32100 allows the user to evaluate the low power
battery mode scenario. In normal operation, the NCS32100
is supplied by 3.3 − 5 V on the VCC pin. If the VCC supply
is lost during operation, then the multi−turn count can be
maintained through a power outage by using the backup
battery pin. On the evaluation board, the backup battery pin
is connected to an adjustable regulator. VCC can be
disconnected while still leaving the battery voltage supplied.
SW1 will disconnect the VCC supply.
With no VCC, the master will not be able to communicate
with the NCS32100 as the RS485 interface will be powered
down, however, the NCS32100 will continue to track the
turns count even though changes to the turns count will not
be updated to the master while VCC is not powered. If the
J300 VCC jumper is re−installed, then VCC will be restored,
and the master will get the updated turns count number.
Figure 9. VBAT Adjustment Potentiometer
VBAT Adjustment
Potentiometer
VCC Jumper
Stand−alone Sensor Evaluation
Figure 10.
The NCS32100 evaluation board is designed so that a user
can use their own master in place of the master controller on
the evaluation board. They can also use the evaluation board
master to communicate with a separated sensor module that
can be connected to a motor or system shaft with a coupler
using the provided mounting holes.
The evaluation board is divided into 2 parts, with a
perforation between the NCS32100 and PCB sensor
module, and the master controller circuitry. There are
surface mount pads on the back of the NCS32100 module
that can be used to connect to an external master.
Figure 11. Encoder Module Portion of the Evaluation
Board
VBAT
VCC
RS485+
RS485−
GND
VDDIO
The VCC, VBAT, VDDIO, RS485+, RS485−, and GND
pins are available for connection. The complete NCS32100
module can be separated from the on−board master circuitry
by snapping the board along the perforation. Once the sensor
module portion has been separated from the master section of
the board, wires can be soldered on to the back of the module
using the provided pads to connect a communication cable.
The RS485 tranceiver for the NCS32100 is local to the
module board portion, and will handle the line drive for an
externally connected cable. If an external master is
connected, but the NCS32100 module is not snapped off
from the rest of the board, then the following jumpers must
be removed before an external master can be used.
Table 1. JUMPER CONFIGURATION
Jumper Designator Purpose
J102 VBatt connection from on−board master
to NCS32100
J2 RS485+ connection to on−board master
J3 RS485− connection to on−board master
J1 VDDIO connection from on−board master
5 V to NCS32100
J300 VCC connection from on−board master
5 V to NCS32100
Figure 12. Rotor Fixture Dimensions
3 mm
29.5 mm
∅8 mm
(Shaft Diameter)

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The sensor module fixture provides 4 mounting slots used
for interfacing to a motor or shaft for lab evaluation. These
slots allow for connection to a variety of standard motor
mounts between 15 mm and 29 mm in radius. A 6 mm shaft
is connected to the PCB rotor on the evaluation board. This
8 mm shaft can be coupled to an external motor for
evaluation.
Performance Considerations
Although the NCS32100 evaluation board allows the user
to mount the PCB sensor to an external motor, the bearing
and rotor fixture are not designed for high speeds. The
NCS32100 is capable of maintaining accuracy all the way up
to 6,000 rpm, and will still provide position data at reduced
accuracy up to 45,000 rpm, but this evaluation board is not
built to exceed 2000 rpm. If evaluation at higher speeds is
desired, then a fixture designed for higher speeds should be
used. Users should also note that the sensor module on the
evaluation board is assembled with materials that will
expand / contract over temperature. End applications should
take thermal expansion into account when considering end
use temperature ranges.
NCS32100 Application Circuit
The circuit below shows the NCS32100 application used
on the NCS32100 evaluation board. This contains all
circuitry on the NCS32100 sensor module that can be
snapped off using the perforation. The NCS32100 only
requires bypass capacitors on its supply pins, an RS485
driver (if RS485 is needed for the application), and the PCB
coils that make up the stator portion of the sensor. The RJ1
through RJ6 resistor network is only used for selecting
excitation coil inductances, and is not required for an end use
application. For more details on the direct application of the
NCS32100, please refer to the NCS32100 Reference Design
Manual. The reference design manual defines supporting
circuitry needs, sensor connection information,
configuration details, and interface protocol details.
Figure 13. NCS32100 Connection Schematic

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NCS32100 Evaluation Board Master Circuitry
The circuit below shows the schematics for the master
controller portion of the board. This circuit is used to
communicate with the NCS32100 sensor module portion of
the board, and to communicate data to the Strata UI. In
application, this circuitry would be replaced with the users
own master controller, which would communicate with the
sensor module through the RS−485 interface. J303 is a
terminal block that allows the user to connect the RS485
(with GND, VBAT, and VCC) to an external cable if desired.
Figure 14. Master Side RS−485 Transceiver and Level Shifters
Figure 15. Master Controller MCU for Strata UI Interface

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Collateral Viewing
Click the “Platform Content” button at the top of Strata to
view system content. Collateral will be available here upon
release of the NCS32100. This content always pulls from the
most current documentation and allows the user to access the
following documentation all in one place:
•Evaluation Board Schematic
•Evaluation Board Layout
•Evaluation Board BOM
•Test Report
•Evaluation Board Users Guide
•Block Diagram
•Demo Setup
•Part Datasheets
•NCS32100 Reference Design Manual
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