Integrating Netduino 2 electronics onto own PCB

Hi,

 

I developed a proof of concept prototype using the Netduino 2 which I'd now like to carry forward into small scale production.  

 

Unfortunately, the form factor of the product means that I can't use the Netduino 2 baseboard - instead, I need to integrate the Netduino 2 electronics onto my own PCB.

 

Ideally, I'd like to take a vanilla STM32F205RFT6 microcontroller, configured as per your schematic, and flash it with the Netduino 2 firmware.  Has this been done before?  Is it possible?  If so, are there any licensing terms that I need to be aware of?   

 

Many thanks,

 

Zeke

 

P.S. as a .NET developer, I think your product is amazing.  I was up and running with it in just a few hours. Please keep up the great work.

 

 

Hi zekesteer,

Welcome to the Netduino community! If you can share details about the product you've prototyped with Netduino and your progress towards small-scale production, quite a few folks around here would enjoy your posts.

That's exactly why Netduino is open source You can derive a custom PCB design from our source files, royalty-free.

All of the Netduino code is licensed as Apache 2.0 as is the core NETMF framework.

Enjoy the freedom of open source,

Chris

[Please note that Secret Labs provides the source files in the spirit of open source; we cannot support or warranty derivative designs.]

Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for your reply.  I'm all for open source, and indeed I've made some contributions to open source software in the past.  Unfortunately, this time around, the product is a little sensitive, but I'd be happy to share details about the development process if you feel people would find it useful.

 

In any case, I now have the STM32F205RFT6 set up on my bench, configured as per your schematic (with respect to boot pins, etc.)  I also have the firmware update tool (Netduino Update v1.0.1) running on my laptop.  But when I connect the STM32F205RFT6 to my laptop whilst pressing down the boot switch, it isn't detected by the firmware update tool.

 

However, when I connect my Netduino 2 baseboard to my laptop whilst pressing the boot switch, it appears in the firmware update tool, in the list of devices.

 

I appreciate that you're unable to support specific designs but feel this question will be of broader interest to the Netduino community. Are there any initial setup steps that need to be performed i.e. flashing the STM32F205RFT6 over the JTAG interface, in order to be able load the Netduino firmware? Or should everything work over USB?  In the latter case, is the firmware update tool sufficient for loading the firmware the first time around?  Or must the DfuSe application be used instead?  

 

Many thanks,

 

Zeke

Hi Zeke,

We use Netduino Update to flash brand new Netduinos in the factory. Have you verified that your "activate bootloader" pin is driving the pin to the appropriate voltage (3.3V vs 0V)? And that the level is stable before power is applied to your custom board?

We're always curious to know what cool gadgets people prototyped with Netduino--but we also understand sensitive projects

Chris