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TM4C1294NCPDT Breakout Board as a Slim Version of the EK-TM4C1294XL Launchpad

John Piliounis
Expert 1690 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: EK-TM4C1294XL, TM4C1294NCPDT, LMFLASHPROGRAMMER

Hello all. By following the schematics and information found in the TI's EK-TM4C1294XL Connected Launchpad User's Guide, I'm trying to design/built a new breakout board for the  TM4C1294NCPDT processor without the debug interface, user switches, LEDs and power options. I need to keep only the the IP and the magnetics  on-board as is and also to use an external 5V 3A power feed for the board. Also I need to have many of the GPIOs streamed onto X-style BoosterPack or VALVANO's style pin-outs. Is there already any board of this or of similar type in the market? Are there already some schematics for such a board or the only available material is the pre-mentioned TI's user's guide? Would someone have to suggest a PCB/prototyping services company for that purpose? Thank you very much. John

  • 0
    TI__Guru 59540 points

    Hello John,

    John Piliounis said:
    Is there already any board of this or of similar type in the market?

    Not that I am aware of.

    John Piliounis said:
    Are there already some schematics for such a board or the only available material is the pre-mentioned TI's user's guide?

    For your specific application, there are no schematics. However, schematics, gerber files, and BOM information is available through several TI Designs that utilize the TM4C1294XL launchpad. If you go here ti.com\tidesigns and search for TM4C1294XL you will see several TI Designs that include the board design files as downloads.

    John Piliounis said:
    Would someone have to suggest a PCB/prototyping services company for that purpose?

    Unfortunately, there are no specific vendor that we can recommend here. We work with many different prototyping and design houses and can only recommend that you employ normal/customary judgment in selection of a partner in your design. Perhaps others on this forum can provide their endorsement to a specific supplier of such services.

  • 0 in reply to Chuck Davenport
    Expert 1690 points

    O.K. Chuck, thank you very much for pointing out the resources. Are you aware of any code example (method) for doing firmware/flash loading onto TM4C1294XL Launchpad over the IP port? Thank you, John

  • 0 in reply to John Piliounis
    TI__Guru 59540 points
    Hi John,

    By IP port do you mean the Ethernet port? If so, then yes, it is capable of this using the took LMFlashProgrammer avaialble for free on the TI website (www.ti.com/.../lmflashprogrammer.

    There is a boot loader in ROM (also are flash versions available in TivaWare) that supports this or that can be used as examples for custom boot loaders (See additional userguides for TM4C DriverLib, TivaWare and other utilities on the TM4C1294 product page (www.ti.com/.../TM4C1290NCPDT).

    Also there several E2E posts discussing this programming method as well if you search using the search utility at the top of the forum page. One such thread is here: e2e.ti.com/.../1891250

    I don't believe that there are any IDEs that support development/debug over Ethernet.
  • 0 in reply to Chuck Davenport
    Expert 1690 points

    All understood. Thank you very much Chuck.

    John

  • 0 in reply to John Piliounis
    TI__Guru**** 244400 points
    Hello John

    Please do note that you would still need the debug interface for programming the MAC address to the device. Without the MAC address the ROM based Ethernet boot loader will not work

    Regards
    Amit
  • 0
    Guru 117855 points

    John Piliounis said:
    trying to design/build a new breakout board ... without: debug interface, user switches, LEDs and power options.

    Many of our firm's clients have attempted similarly - most often w/"less than sterling" results.   Might many/most of those components - destined for the gallows - have served "real" purpose?    Might their (removal) compromise your proposed design?

    Board & software "Test/Verify" performs best when the "Test technology" is carefully considered - and designed in "up front" - rather than an, "After the fact, rushed, add-on."  Those Leds & switches may form a low cost, minimally sized, "Test/Verify" function.    

    Reducing cost & size is most critical in a volume design - almost always "less so" in lower volumes.   Our firm has followed the path you suggest (stripped the board to its essentials) and has achieved comprehensive "Test/Verify" by, "Plugging into a "stylized" Led + Text LCD Diagnostic Board."   This method speeds, eases & enhances "Test/Verify" - while escaping size/cost adders of the test components.

    After, "Patting ourselves on the back" we soon learned that user-clients "missed" the familiar, "Led pattern glow" AND the ability to run, "Confidence Tests" via one or several small, on-board, momentary switches.   

    Lesson learned (may) be that a "skilled surgeon" removes only diseased tissue - too much "removal" may yield unanticipated consequences - most negative...

  • 0 in reply to Amit Ashara
    Expert 1690 points

    Dear Amit thank you very much for your info. Valuable indeed. So, according to your update on the issue, if I want to duilt an IoT board based on the TM4C1294NCPDT processor with a full implementation of the Ethernet module on board, as is on the EK-TM4C1294XL launchpad, then I must provide a debug interface bus on this IoT module, just and only for entering only once a MAC address. Then all subsequent firmware updates may be done by the IP/Ethernet port, or via the USB OTG port.So IF it is to prototype my IoT module WITH Ethernet on module's board, THEN I need to provide debug functionallity interface and there is no other way to assign a MAC on that IoT board of mine. Not even via a U7 like USB port (like the one on the EK-TM4C1294XL launchpad). Is it so? Meaning that IT IS COMPULSORY to design and have a debug interface on any design based on TM4C1294 processors if the Ethernet is to be utilized and there is no other way to achive that?

    Thank you very much,

    John

  • 0 in reply to cb1_mobile
    Expert 1690 points
    cb1_mobile, thank you very much for your suggestions and wise advices. I know that "anamorphing" an already working module is not an easy task and I agree with your opinion on that. But I really need to have a prototype of this type, as described, if we are to go in a volume production with TI's Cortex-M specific processor. Again, thank you very much.
    John
  • 0 in reply to John Piliounis
    TI__Guru**** 244400 points

    Hello John,

    John Piliounis said:
    then I must provide a debug interface bus on this IoT module, just and only for entering only once a MAC address

    Yes

    John Piliounis said:
    Then all subsequent firmware updates may be done by the IP/Ethernet port, or via the USB OTG port

    Only for Ethernet. USB does not require any specific programming other than what is provided on the device.

    John Piliounis said:
    Not even via a U7 like USB port (like the one on the EK-TM4C1294XL launchpad). Is it so?

    It is possible to have an application program the MAC address by downloading it to the device's flash using DFU. The program then will invoke the Ethernet boot loader. Complicated but possible.

    Regards

    Amit

  • 0 in reply to Amit Ashara
    Expert 1690 points

    Thank you very much Amit. Things seem to gradually clearing up. In case we'll go into production with this IoT module of ours , who is going to provide us with a couple of thousandths of MAC addresses? TI?

    Thank you,

    John

  • 0 in reply to John Piliounis
    TI__Guru 59540 points
    Hello John,

    TI does not sub-license MAC addresses nor preprogram them into the devices.

    See this thread for information on where/how to get a block of addresses assigned to your organization:
    e2e.ti.com/.../45633
  • 0
    Expert 1690 points
    
    Dear Amit hello again.
    I would need to ask you one more question regarding the EK-TM4C1294XL launchpad's
    debug interface. For the design of our IoT's module we'll use only the part of the
    EK-TM4C1294XL launchpad schematics that hosts the TM4C1294xx processor and the
    needed parts and pins.
     
    1) Can we then somehow use the debug interface of any EK-TM4C1294XL launchpad
    for the bootloading of our IoT modules? Where should we connect our IoT module
    on the EK-TM4C1294XL launchpad so to use its debug interface as the mean  for
    bootloading our module?
     
    2) Does the debug interface of the EK-TM4C1294XL launchpad  already contains
    program source onto the EK-TM4C1293 processor from TI that manages the bootloading?
    If we build, according to your schematics, just a couple of debug interfaces, can
    we then connect them directly onto our IoT module and bootload/program it directly
    like as if they were one EK-TM4C1294XL launchpad board, OR we need special source
    that needs to be bootloaded on the TM4C1293xx processor to make it behave as a debug
    interface?
     
    Is question/solution (1), as I describe it above more appropriate for our
    purpose?
     
    Please advise on the above and help us conclude on a neat solution for the
    bootloading procedure. 
     
    Thank you very much,
    John 
     
     
     
     
     
    -----
  • 0 in reply to John Piliounis
    TI__Guru**** 244400 points
    Hello John

    1. Yes you can. However the layout is not in the form of a standard JTAG header. So making connections manually every time would be a time consuming hassle. Rather I would suggest using a standard debugger like XDS100v2.
    2. The source code or firmware binary are not released by TI.

    Regards
    Amit