Porting Firmware to Digilent's ChipKIT Max32

I covered Digilent's ChipKIT Arduino Compatible MCU boards for them when they launched a few months back. I have 2 of the Arduino Mega compatible boards and was thinking of maybe porting one of the RAMPS firmwares to work. For those of you who do not know what ChipKIT is rather than filling this post up with all of the info on the boards you can read my article here . The ChipKIT boards are programmed with a variation of the Arduino IDE called MPIDE (Multiple Platform IDE article here) MPIDE is able to program all of the original Arduino boards, their clones, and the new PIC 32 Based ChipKIT boards. I am working closely with Digilent to cover their entire product line on my site and have contacts in their engineering dpt who I could ask questions when I hit a speed bump during porting.

The ChipKIT boards are OSHW with the schematics, board files etc all available for download. The IDE is 100% OS as well.

The Digilent ChipKIT MAX32 features the following:

• Microchip® PIC32MX795F512 processor
• 80 Mhz 32-bit MIPS
• 512K Flash, 128K RAM
• USB 2.0 OTG controller
• 10/100 Ethernet MAC
• Dual CAN controllers
• Provides additional memory and advanced communications peripherals
• Compatible with existing Arduino code examples, reference materials and other resources through the use of a modified version of the Arduino IDE, available as a FREE download
• Can also be programmed using Microchip's MPLAB (along with a PICkit 3 or 6-pin header)
• Arduino Mega form factor
• Compatible with Arduino shields
• 83 available I/O
• User LED

And here is a photo of the MAX32 board.



Is anyone interested in seeing RAMPS run on a 32bit processor?

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Charles Gantt.
Build blog [themakersworkbench.com] <---- my personal site
Build worklong [www.thebestcasescenario.com]

I must note the Chipkit is NOT 100% open source.

Note [github.com]

Kliment

I have a max32, and willing to help out.

Also check out Soupcup. I also will assume all licenses are IGI*

*IGI; I Gotz It, can haz playz with it woteva

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2011 10:26AM by nanomid.

I don't see where there is a problem with the compiler being sort of closed. MPIDE is 100% free and will always remain that way. Digilent provides all the schematics, brd files and code free for download on the ChipKIT pages.

The compiler is still GCC based so if someone wanted to write an open libc for it then it would be 100% OS. At least that is my understanding of the matter.

Atmel has closed source compilers, their AVR chips have been so popular for the last 20 years that someone wrote a complete OS tool chain for them. The same may happen in the future for Microchips PIC32. The only alternative for a faster 32bit based board is Maple and I do not know if its entirely open either.

Im going to make a #chipKIT chat on the IRC tonight.

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Charles Gantt.
Build blog [themakersworkbench.com] <---- my personal site
Build worklong [www.thebestcasescenario.com]

forked kliment and triffid [github.com]
don't know your plans, mine are to rebuild from the ground up around Lua

I created a IRC Channel for chipKIT RepRap Dev. its #chipkit

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Charles Gantt.
Build blog [themakersworkbench.com] <---- my personal site
Build worklong [www.thebestcasescenario.com]

Looks like I joined too late.
Anyways... check out eluaproject.net

Works well on stellaris cortex m3. Should work on pic32 based on elua.

Proposal:
Map chipkit c API to lua, construct queue for efficient timed bit bang
Parse g code to model on chipkit
Allows quick experimentation and config without recompile
Should be enough headroom for 200 kHz with interpreter overhead

I was writing an article when you came in the room. The room is always there so pop in and see if I am around

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Charles Gantt.
Build blog [themakersworkbench.com] <---- my personal site
Build worklong [www.thebestcasescenario.com]

Okay, I'll drop in on occasion.

I'll noodle with pic32 lua and soupcup today, see if I can get a dynamic "blink" program working in pure lua.
need to work out the floating/fixed point representation

litmus, change the steps/mm without a recompile

goal, learning parameter macro that can quickly be downloaded and run to learn and diagnose calibration of a prusa
with minimal human intervention or special training/knowledge, meaning a 9 yo should accomplish a prusa calibration

needs instructions like "Find the 3rd pot from the right, make 1/4 turn on the pot counter clockwise; moving Y; does the Y motor still hum or vibrate?"