The STMicroelectronics L6470 has several advantages in motor control applications, such as: it reduces the design effort needed, since the IC contains virtually everything needed to drive the motor; it significantly reduces the overhead needed in the firmware to drive the motor;  and it drives the motor smoother than conventional techniques. Shown on this slide is the block diagram of the L6470 fully integrated microstepping motor driver with motion engine and SPI. The device incorporates the power bridges, the microstepping control, and a digital state machine, the dSpin core, to control the motor movements. It communicates with the microcontroller using an SPI interface. The configuration information and movement commands are sent to the L6470 across the SPI and the device sends status and fault information back to the microcontroller.