Bradley Ferguson wrote:
> For production, I would like to be able to load panels (16 boards)
> into a bed-of-nails fixture and gang program all (or most) of the 16
> boards, then individually verify each board, run calibration, and
> program the internal EEPROMs with the calculated calib
>
> The issues are:
> 1. I cannot find a programmatic method of using the PICStart Plus in
> Windows.

Right.  I think Microchip only supplies the clickety-click interface in
MPLAB.  To be fair, Microchip sells the Picstart+ as a "development" versus
"production" programmer.  It has limited Vdd drive capability and does not
do verification at the Vdd limits.  It really isn't meant for your
application.

> I have read the the MPLAB PM3 (ProMate III) has a command
> line utility (as well as an ICSP jack), but is this really the best
> option?

The ProMate is the Microchip high end production programmer, and I would
believe it does what they say it does.  The biggest issue with ProMate is
its price.  16 of those won't be cheap, and they are also physically rather
clunky.

> I have found a CLI for Linux at:
> http://www.piclist.com/techref/com/cosmodog/www/http/pic/index.html
> But, I won't be able to run a Linux on this computer and would prefer
> to program the operator interface in Visual Basic or LabVIEW.
>
> 2. Even if I were to find a way to use PICStart Plus, would I run
> into difficulty in its ability to drive multiple PICs?  Could this
> be overcome with the use of some buffers?

You can not just tie the programming lines of multiple PICs together even if
the drive capability is high enough.  The serial interface is
bi-directional, and the overall task of programming a PIC in production
requires reading information back from it.  This would generally include
reading the processor ID in the beginning, and certainly reading the
programmed code to verify it.

> What else are people doing in this situation?

This is exactly the target application the ProProg was designed for.  See
http://www.embedinc.com/proprog.  Note that it can drive significant current
on Vdd in case parts of the target circuit come on when Vdd is applied.  It
also performs two verification passes, one at each Vdd limit for the chip.
This makes it a production versus development programmer according to the
Microchip definition.  The software is command line driven, and we have a
customer that has encapsulated it into a LabView environment running a
production test fixture.  They are also using the bed of nails method to
connect to the programming lines during production.

The ProProg is an almost-released product.  So far 4 prototypes have been
built.  They performed so well that we actually sold 2 of them, one of them
to a PIClist member who is very happy with it last I heard.  We are
arranging for the first production run right now.  I think the final price
will be $295 in single quantities, which is a lot less than the ProMate.  We
have been considering giving the $200 introductory price to customers that
are willing to work with us thru the first production run.

Please contact me if you are interested.  If possible, send me your phone
number via email, and I'll try to call you back after 4:30pm eastern time.
I won't be here earlier in the day, so you won't be able to call me.


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Embed Inc, embedded system specialists in Littleton Massachusetts
(978) 742-9014, http://www.embedinc.com
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