Want to make a FPGA board

EDAboard.com Forum Index -> PLD, SPLD, GAL, CPLD, FPGA Design -> Want to make a FPGA board

Author

Message

staraimm

Joined: 21 Oct 2006
Posts: 134
Helped: 3

11 Aug 2007 11:43 build fpga board

I am not familiar with the electric engineering. But I am interested in the FPGA. Can anybody tell me how to make a FPGA board? Tools to design the PCB? Any knowledge to design the POWER? Thanks a lot.

lucbra

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 161
Helped: 6
Location: Belgium

13 Aug 2007 14:12 making a fpga board

Depends of course of what resources you want to add to the FPGA.
I.e. you can add PHY's for USB, Ethernet, video, ... then add memory (SD/DDR DRAM, ...), flash boot memory (SPI, ...), Power Supply.
You will need to use a schematic editor (like ORCAD, Protel, ...) to draw the schematics, draw your PCB. In the meantime you can build your design to hook all the devices together (functional) and program the flash.
Now when you have built your PCB and stuffed your devices on it, you can start testing.
That's about it - I guess.

Other possibility and probably more reliable: buy one of the existing FPGA board kits. You can find one allready for about $100...$150.
Possible sources for FPGA boards: Altera, Lattice, Xilinx, Digilent, Xess, ...

Hope this helps

staraimm

Joined: 21 Oct 2006
Posts: 134
Helped: 3

13 Aug 2007 15:37 how to make your own xilinx fpga board

Yes. I think it is helpful. I am not a guy from the EE. So I want to know which tool is helpful or popular to create PCB: orcad or protel?

YenYu

Joined: 02 Jul 2007
Posts: 92
Helped: 6

14 Aug 2007 2:06 rules to draw fpga board schematic

Protel or OrCad, both are good.

Protel is an ancient software for schematic and PCB design. I dont know whether there's a new version for it.

But try using OrCad or Cadence. It's rather a better choice. Depends on personal.
Because OrCad has more and stronger functions as compared to protel. I've use protel b4, almost everything is manual.

staraimm

Joined: 21 Oct 2006
Posts: 134
Helped: 3

14 Aug 2007 2:08 how to make a board fpga

Thanks a lot, I think I have to learn how to use the orcad.

crinud

Joined: 14 Aug 2007
Posts: 14

14 Aug 2007 8:38 how to make a fpga

hai,

before choosing the FPGA u should know what type of FPGA your using,ie sram ,anti fuse or flash etc..generally everybody will using only sram based fpga.and from the date sheet u should find on what are the voltages applied on fpga normally three voltage for xilinxs fpga it changes from vendor to vendor .according that u should draw the or-cad and u should make use of voltage regulators

Iouri

Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 687
Helped: 79

14 Aug 2007 13:48 make your own fpga board

You can by development kit for $99 from Altera or Xilinx before making actual board, then decide what do you want from your board

lucbra

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 161
Helped: 6
Location: Belgium

15 Aug 2007 9:32 build your own fpga board

I agree. I also started with a Spartan3 kit, and bought an XO1200 board as well for $49.

After a while, you start thinking of your own needs, and that's the point of developping your own board.
Currently, I'm developping a video board (triple ADC/DVI in, DVI out, SPDIF, DDR DRAM module, flash, ECP2-50)

Regards,
L

mobile-it

Joined: 24 Apr 2004
Posts: 477
Helped: 16

15 Aug 2007 10:23 how to make the fpga board

If you do a Home-build FPGA board I like to now how you will place the FPGA (BGA) on your board...

Google
AdSense
Google Adsense

15 Aug 2007 10:23 Ads

Iouri

Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 687
Helped: 79

15 Aug 2007 12:47 how to make fpga board yourself

to place BGA on your board will cost around $100USD plus cost of the PCB from $50USD, faster and cheaper is to buy one

lucbra

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 161
Helped: 6
Location: Belgium

15 Aug 2007 18:00 schematic of fpga board

I agree that it will cost to stuff the board with the fpBGA's. Therefore, I'm planning to build the board in a small serie, say 50..100 units. If someone is interested, I can make it available through eBay.

Best regards,
L

hm_fa_da

Joined: 16 Sep 2003
Posts: 193
Helped: 6

15 Aug 2007 21:24 how to make fpga board

Altium designer V6 is last version of protel i think ,
i am using it and very good for PCB design , you can both design manually or by schematic and auto route , there are libraries for FPGAs .... , it has some special stuffs for FPGAs too ...
more info on Protel ( DXP ) :
www.altium.com

staraimm

Joined: 21 Oct 2006
Posts: 134
Helped: 3

16 Aug 2007 2:20 how to make a fpga?

As to me, the logic of Pins connection of different chips is not difficult. But the power supply design and the Place & Route seems difficult. So now I try to figure out how to make a simple FPGA board.

Googling on the internet, I find more documentation about the protel than orcad. Whether I have to learn the protel first?

Thanks a lot for all the reply.

lucbra

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 161
Helped: 6
Location: Belgium

16 Aug 2007 15:20 Re: Want to make a FPGA board

I wouldn't recommend Orcad. It will be discontinued over the next year or so.

jhallows

Joined: 01 Jan 1970
Posts: 88
Helped: 3

15 Oct 2007 16:57 Re: Want to make a FPGA board

Quote:

I wouldn't recommend Orcad. It will be discontinued over the next year or so.

It isn't Orcad that is being discontinued. It's support for Orcad Layout. You are suppose to move to Orcad PCB designer, (simple version of Cadence Allegro), to make PC boards.