SimpleFOC shield for QtPy/Xiao boards - QtPyFOC

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Hi guys,

As some of you might know I really like the Xiao/QtPy format of MCUs and in my mind it fits perfectly with SimpleFOCMini board format. So recently I’ve decided to try to create a new mini board that would be a shield version for the Xiao/QtPy family. I have to say that I really like it so far.

2025-07-25_10-21_1
2025-07-25_10-21_11017×761 51.2 KB
2025-07-25_10-21_2
2025-07-25_10-21_2965×699 41.5 KB

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01920×2560 162 KB

I’m calling it QtPyFOC :smiley:

This MCU format is very limited on pin number but I think that it should be just enough for many applications, to run the

  1. motor (a BLDC or a Steppr with the HybridStepper mode - v2.3.5+)
  2. position sensor (SPI, encoder, i2c or even PWM)
  3. current sensing - Low-side current sensing - 2 pins exposed
  4. some simple communication (like USB or Serial)

So this board is a simple BLDC driver based on DVR8316 chip with the pinout that allows stacking a qtpy/xiao board on it + exposes the non-used pins in a separate header.

Main Features

  • DRV8316CT chip
    • 3x PWM driven
    • 5 to 35V power supply voltage
    • 8A peak current
    • Low-side current sensing integrated
      • Gain: 150mV/A
  • QtPy/Xiao pinout
  • Open source: EasyEDA link

IMPORTANT - LIMITATIONS

  1. While this board is compatible with all the MCU architectures supported by the SimpleFOClibrary, if you wish to use the current sesning on this board make sure to use the MCU wich supports it.
  2. v1.0 does not yet support powering the MCU from the DRV8316’s buck, so the MCU needs a separate power supply.
  3. Depending on the MCU used and the sensor used, there might not be many pins left after the motor+sensor+current sensing are connected:
    • worst case SPI sensor (4pins) only 1 pin left

QtPy/Xiao variants

Here is a list of the MCUs with this format (non-exhaustive) from which I was able to test several.

Board MCU architecture Supported SimpleFOC Low-side current sensing Tested
QT Py SAMD21
Xiao SAMD21		 SAMD21 :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: (v2.3.5+) :white_check_mark:
QT Py RP2040
Xiao RP2040		 RP2040 :white_check_mark: :x: :x:
QT Py ESP32S3
Xiao ESP32S3		 ESP32S3 :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
QT Py ESP32 Pico ESP32 pico :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :x:
QT Py ESP32s2 ESP32S2 :white_check_mark: :x: :x:
QT Py CH30V203 CH32V203 :x: :x: :x:
QT Py ESP32C3
Xiao ESP32C3		 ESP32C3 :white_check_mark: :x: :x:
Xiao RP2040 RP2040 :white_check_mark: :x: :x:
Xiao nRF52x nRF52x :white_check_mark: :x: :x:
Xiao ESP32C6 ESP32C6 :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :x:
Xiao RP2450 RP2450 :white_check_mark: (v2.3.5+) :x: :x:
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