PIC Evaluation & Development BoardPIC Evaluation & Development Board

Project Team

Chad Berg – CprELuke Bishop – CprETyson Stichka – EENick Veys - CprE

Financial Budget

Abstract/Background

The objective of this project is to produce a PIC evaluation/development board to be used by future ECPE senior design project teams. Many project implementations call for some sort of microcontroller unit in the final product, and this need can often be met by a simple PIC microcontroller. However, the development of a PIC solution is often beyond the expertise and available time of the design team. The board to be produced by this project will enable design teams to quickly and easily develop a PIC for use in their projects. The board will include a wide variety of input and output devices and interfacing ports. It will also be designed to provide a high degree of flexibility, giving future design teams the needed functionality to produce a successful end product.

•Support a set of PIC microcontrollers that will meet senior design project requirements•Provide a flash and CMOS programmer integrated into the system•Provide the necessary power supply and frequency source•Integrate several input, output, and interfacing components on one board•Create a highly modular design that allows the user to select the components to be used•Develop supporting software to simplify product development for the user

Technical Problem

•Temperature: 0˚C – 60˚C•Humidity: 0 – 90 %•No extreme levels of EMI

Operating Environment

Assumptions•Users have an electrical/computer engineering background•Users have access to a personal computer with a free parallel port (for PIC programming)Limitations•Environmental factors – must function in a normal environment, with no abnormal EMI fields, no water and no extreme temperatures•Budget – must be able to build a prototype board with available funds

Assumptions/Limitations

Milestones

•All peripheral subsystems designed and tested•Board layout completed and all simulations passed•Prototype board fabricated •Programming environment developed •All ASM libraries and sample code written•Final product fully operational

End-Product Description

The end product will be a small, inexpensive evaluation/development board for PIC microcontrollers. Many different peripheral devices will be available along with several different supported microcontrollers to provide solutions for a variety of applications. The board will have sockets for each part to allow ease in swapping parts when one or more have failed. The board will be simple enough that the user will be able to easily understand the layout and be able to develop a microcontroller solution for the current application.

Design Constraints

•Size – board dimensions will not exceed 12”x12”•Weight – finished product will weigh less than 3 kg•Cost – cost to the end user must be less than $100•Simplicity – layout must be simple enough for end user to understand

Functional Requirements

•Compatible – support for several selected PIC models•Versatile – provide solutions for a variety of applications•User-friendly – design environment will include several ASM libraries to support devices•Well-documented – including tutorials and design guides

Technical Approach

•Design and test the socket(s) and additional circuitry for the microcontroller units•Design, prototype, and test the peripheral components and the interface circuitry•Complete and simulate board layout using Eagle or a similar tool•Develop software libraries to support the board components

Testing Approach

•Design and testing will occur on component-level basis•Prototyping will generally occur on solder-less breadboards•Each device added to final product only after testing ensures requirements are met•Layout will be extensively simulated to ensure it meets operating requirements•Sample code will be written to test components of end product

http://seniord.ee.iastate.edu/dec0212/

Intended Users & Uses

Users•Future ECPE senior design teams•ECPE undergraduate labsUses•Data acquisition•Control•Information processing•Communications

Electronic Components

Serial Character LCD Display

Dual-Layer PCB

Power Supply

PIC Microcontrollers

Poster

Ethernet Module

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Estimated Hours

Chad Berg

Luke Bishop

Tyson Stichka

Nick Veys

PIC Microcontroller

7-Segment Displays

RS-232 Transceiver

Ethernet Interface

LEDs

LCD Display

Infrared Interface

Matrix Keypad

RF Communicatio

ns

Speaker

Programmer

Temperature Sensors

Personnel Effort

Dr. Diane RoverDr. Robert Weber

Advisors

ECPE Senior Design

Client

Design Objectives

Design Team Dec02-12

Personal Computer