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Original question:

AM3351: Pin list

AM3351: PinMux tool generates incomplete pinlist

Ulf Samuelsson42
Prodigy 175 points
Part Number: AM3351

I want to to generate custom schematics symbols automatically for the AM335x family.

TI has a pin mux tool which I can use to define the pin multiplexing for the current project.

Inside this, I can generate a csv file with the pinlist, but only for those pins that can be multiplexed.

What about the fixed pins?

There are plenty of VDD, VSS and other fixed pins that are needed in a pinlist.

I have found out that you do not supply pinlists through my local TI contact,
and is told that the information is in the datasheet.

Trying to extract things from a datasheet is work-intensive, and error prone.

It costs companies a lot of money to extract something.

If an error results, this means that the product will be delayed, which in turns
means that TI gets their revenue delayed. It should be in TI's interest
to make sure that developoment is smooth.

In this case, I think that extending the PinMux tool to generate a complete pinlist
would be a very good first step.

A good second step would be to work with the major manufacturers to ensure
that they can read in the pinlist generated by the pinmux tool.

This can be done by OrCad etc generating a special read routine for TI pinlist csvs,
or TI adopting a known format for the csv file.

  • 0
    TI__Guru**** 393215 points
    Hi,

    Thanks you for your suggestions. They will be conveyed to the team developing the Pinmux Tool. In the meanwhile, there are two approaches you can use:
    1. Extract the schematic symbol from existing reference designs: processors.wiki.ti.com/.../AM335x_Boards However this will not work in your case, as AM3351 is in a ZCE package, for which we don't have reference designs.
    2. Use the CAD symbol, available on the AM3351 product page: www.ti.com/.../pinout-quality
  • 0 in reply to Biser Gatchev-XID
    Prodigy 175 points
    Thank You, I did not realize that there was a package limitation. I created this as a "related question",
    which by default selected the 3351. We are going to use the 3352, 3354 or 3358 in a BGA324.

    We already have symbols for the correct part, but these are "generic" symbols.

    We believe that if we can have optimized symbols, we will save considerable time on schematic capture.

    With traditional symbols, we will get a few very large symbols with all the pin multiplexing options in the symbol.

    With the symbols we are looking for, the pin multiplexing is not obvious, only the option we selected in the PinMux tool
    We would like to have multiple symbols, divided on a peripheral level.
    I.E: The DDR3 interface should be one symbol, containing nothing else.

    This will allow us to create a single schematic sheet with both the CPU DDR3 interface and the DDR3 memory.

    With our current schematic symbol, we will have to put a large CPU symbol containing a lot of functionality on one or more sheets,
    create inputs/outputs on those sheets, and then we have to create another sheet with the DDR3 memory, connected to a lot of inputs/outputs. This structure is timeconsuming to generate, timeconsuming to review. It is also not fit for reuse.

    I do not think that any existing symbols are of any use to us, unless they are partitioned according to our thinking.

    Obviously, if TI added this to its internal procedure to make development tools,
    then TI would enjoy the same benefits as we do.
    It there is a problem with the pinmux tool, then the development board will not work.
    This info can be used to fix bugs in the pinmux tool, improving quality in your offering.

    If a correct csv file is generated, then we can run some scripts to ensure that the symbols look exactly as we want
    them, but if TI added support for defining symbol split, location and side inside the symbol there would be benefits.

    Other things that could be considered is that you would like to have better control over the name of the pin.
    We want custom symbols, but TI might for a development board look for the generic symbols with all multiplexing options. I would be happy to be a betasite for a new pinmux tool.