• State Resolved
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 13 replies
  • Subscribers 83 subscribers
  • Views 5280 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Support feedback
Options
Options
Related

This thread has been locked.

If you have a related question, please click the "Ask a related question" button in the top right corner. The newly created question will be automatically linked to this question.

Batch pre-programming service for MSP430?

Edward Matos
Intellectual 330 points

Hello,

A while back I posted a question about safeguarding firmware in far-east manufacturing. The conclusion seemed to be that the best approach is to give the binary file to a trusted vendor of the chip, so that they can pre-program it. The pre-programmed chips can then be delivered to the (not necessarily trusted) PCB assembly company with the security fuses burned out: https://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp430/f/166/p/323810/1127161#1127161   

I'm at the point now when I would like to order a test batch of 1000 pre-programmed chips. Specifically the model number of the chip I am using is MSP430G2332IPW20. I've checked Digikey, Farnell and Arrow for pre-programming services but couldn't find any. Am I missing something? Should I instead be approaching a local (in my case, British) PCB assembly company rather than an actual vendor? I'd rather work with someone's who's actually done this before. Surely it's a pretty standard service?

I'd be grateful for any links/contacts to companies either in the UK, or in the Pearl River Delta area of South China, that offer such a service. I haven't checked the rules for this forum, so am not sure if you're allowed to promote specific companies here. If this is the case, then I would be grateful if you would message me privately. Otherwise, please post here as no doubt this is valuable information for anyone seeking a similar solution.

Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer. Best,

Ed

  • 0
    TI__Genius 14875 points
    Hi Ed,
    This is most commonly handled through our distribution channels. I know Avnet has a UK branch. Here is a list of other UK: www.ti.com/.../distributorinfo.tsp

    And here is a list of distributors in China. www.ti.com/.../distributorinfo.tsp

    My team has also mentioned checking with Silica, EBV, Serial Systems, and WT.

    If I come across any others I'll let you know.

    When you do find one (or multiple) would it be possible for you to let me know so I can add them to a data base?

    Best regards,
    Cameron
  • 0
    Guru 12050 points

    Problems I can see is that it comes on tape and reel, so it needs to be re-reeled again.

    As G2332 does not have rom bsl, so do you implement in software a way to re-program it even after fuse have been blown?
    I guess if it have not gone on a pcb yet, you could always just throw them out.

    I have a pick-and-place-machine (TM245P) so I'm trying to think how I could do this.
    It's the re-reeling that's hard.
    If I get hold of the tape and glue used I probably could just make the empty reel go across the upper table
    and just have the machine put the IC back, as the spot will always be in the same place.

  • 0 in reply to Tony Philipsson
    Guru 58965 points
    I do not know this kind of operation. Please check it out.

    I think in addition to re-reel re-tape or whatever, you need to worry about moisture get absorbed in the cracks of the plastic package before the chips are soldered. If moisture is present, the heat of wave-soldering will vaporize it and the steam will create a microscopic explosion that might destroy something inside.

    Some IC manufacturers deliver their chip in humidity-controlled envelopes. And the customer is warned to solder the chips within half an hour of opening that envelope. Otherwise you need to "bake" the chips to get rid of the moisture slowly within half an hour before you solder them.

    Does TI give such precaution?
  • 0 in reply to old_cow_yellow
    Intellectual 330 points
    I would imagine that as long as you follow the "moisture sensitivity level" recommendations then you should be ok. E.g. If the chip is "MSL 2A" then as long as you waited no more than 4 weeks between breaching the original packaging for pre-programming and reflowing then you'd be ok. The MSP430G2332IPW20 I want to use is "MSL 1", so in this case there is no maximum time limit.

    I am contacting some of the distributors suggested in the first reply and will post back to confirm whether or not they are able to do this service.
  • 0 in reply to Edward Matos
    TI__Genius 14875 points
    Were you able to get an answer from the distributors on this?
  • 0 in reply to Cameron LaFollette
    Intellectual 330 points

    I have emailed all the Chinese distributors with no response so far. I also contacted Silica (UK), and they confirmed they would be able to do the job, which is great news. I'd still like to try and get a (trustworthy) Chinese distributor to avoid having to mess about with VAT payments on import the preprogrammed chips from the UK. I know I can eventually get this back after exporting the final product from China, but it's a pain. Will post again if I find anything else!

  • 0 in reply to Cameron LaFollette
    Intellectual 330 points
    Just to let the forum know: in the end - because I had actually already purchased my chips and only needed a programming service - I used an outfit called Action Circuits UK that does exactly this. Funny they never came up on my early Google searches, just a question of using the right search terms I guess. Anyway, they were fast and good so would be happy to recommend them to anyone needing a similar service.
  • 0 in reply to Edward Matos
    Guru 74080 points
    Thanks for sharing this information and your experience!
  • 0 in reply to Edward Matos
    Guru 25210 points
    In the US, both Arrow and Avnet provide programming services as a value-add option. And they can re-reel them for you. We buy a ton of pre-programmed chips - from EPROMS, to MSP430s to FPGAs.
  • 0 in reply to Edward Matos
    TI__Guru* 92935 points

    To echo everyone else here... thanks for sharing that!

  • 0 in reply to Brian Boorman
    Guru 74080 points
    Edward, you talked about 1000 pieces - could you give any information to get an idea of the costs for this amount of devices? Or is it too confidential? Would also understand that.

    Dennis
  • 0 in reply to Dennis Eichmann
    Intellectual 330 points
    Hi Dennis, I presume you mean for the devices themselves rather than the programming service? It's not too confidential for me, but I'm not sure what my suppliers would think of disclosing prices on a public forum. Suffice to say that some suppliers are able to offer a slightly better deal than what's automatically offered for 1000pcs on the likes of Farnell or Digikey.
  • 0 in reply to Edward Matos
    Guru 74080 points
    I meant the additional cost for getting them pre-programmed. But as I said - absolutely OK when not posting this information here. Never done this before but would be interesting for us as well. At the moment we program every device ourselves. But I can simply request a quote for it.

    Glad it worked well for you!

    Dennis

**Attention** This is a public forum