MAX32630 Feather

The MAX32630 Feather is a development board from Maxim Integrated based on the MAX32630 ARM Cortex-M4F microcontroller. The board is compatible with Adafruit Feather boards and most FeatherWings to maximize its capabilities, and comes with a number of onboard periperhals, as well as a six-axis inertial sensor and RGB LED.

Project Specifics

MAX32630 Feather projects start with the following sensor elements imported from the Element Library:

BoschBMI160Element icon for the element library

Bosch BMI160

Hardware Specifics

Some devices may have limitations or design restrictions that cause unexpected behavior when used with Atmosphere. Specific information and details pertaining to the MAX32630 Feather and its performance on Atmosphere is noted below.

  • All analog pins have a reference voltage of 1.8v
  • A micro SD card is required for this platform to run properly. The Maxim Feather has no onboard storage. There is a micro SD card slot on the underside of the device.

Default Pin Mapping

Atmosphere configures each peripheral to a default pin for every supported device, based on ideal pairing of pins and their usage. The default pin configuration is set for convenience and enables each peripheral to work naturally without needing to be modified.

All pins can be used as general purpose input/output (GPIO) unless otherwise specified.

MAX32630 Feather projects start with the following pin configuration:

Pin Table

Pin Description Notes
AIN0 Analog Input 0  
AIN1 Analog Input 1  
AIN2 Analog Input 2  
AIN3 Analog Input 3  

This kit has no pin labels, so use the internal pin port and number to reference the pin.

Internal MAX32630 Feather

The MAX32630 Feather is compiled using the MBED SDK. Each GPIO pin can be accessed using the following nomenclature: P[PORT]_[PIN]. For example, Port 5 Pin 7 (I2C2 SDA) can be accessed with P5_7.

The default pin for any peripheral can be changed within an element's properties, from an element that references that particular peripheral.

Peripherals

Below is information regarding the [Name]’s exposed peripherals.

I2C

I2C1

This I2C bus is exposed via P3_5(SCL) and P3_4(SDA).

I2C2

This I2C bus is exposed via P5_7(SDA) and P6_0(SCL). It is shared with the BMI160 and MAX14690.

SPI

SPI1

This SPI bus is exposed via P4_4(SCK), P4_5(MOSI) and P4_6(MISO).

UART

UART1 (USB Debug Console)

This UART is exposed via the USB connector.

UART2

This UART is exposed via pins P3_0(RX) and P3_1(TX).

PWM

All GPIO pins can be used as PWM outputs.

Programming Method

Programming the MAX32630 Feather involves downloading its project firmware from Atmosphere Studio and directly transferring it to the device over USB. However, unlike many devices supported in Atmosphere, the MAX32630 Feather doesn’t contain a built-in programmer. Instead you must use a MAXREFDES100HDK Programming Adapter or external DAPLink to program the device.

Setup Configuration

In order to program a MAX32630 Feather, ensure you have the following initial setup configuration:

  • Connect the fine 10-pin ribbon from the SWD (J3) header on the MAXREFDES100HDK to J4 on the MAX32630 Feather.
  • Connect the MAX32630 Feather to a power source via micro USB.
  • Connect the MAXREFDES100HDK to the computer via its micro USB connector labeled HDK.

MAX32630 Feather Programming Setup

When connected, the MAXREFDES100HDK will expose itself as a drive labeled “DAPLink.”

You may need to update the board's native firmware in order to program the MAX32630. For information on performing a firmware update, see the official MBED MAXREFDES100HDK docs.

With the initial setup finished, complete the remaining setup configuration steps:

  • The MAX32630 Feather is connected to the computer via USB.
  • The project to be programmed has been compiled.

Programming Instructions

With setup complete, you can program your MAX32630 Feather:

  1. From Atmosphere Studio’s Embedded tab, click the Program Firmware button from the tab’s toolbar. This downloads a .bin file containing the project’s compiled firmware.
  2. Locate the downloaded file on your computer, and move it into the DAPLink drive. This initiates programming of the MAX32630 Feather.
  3. Once programming is finished, the DAPLink drive will unmount and then mount again indicating programming is complete. Then press the board’s reset button to start your application.

When complete, the MAX32630 Feather is programmed with the project’s embedded firmware.

Guides and Tutorials

Get started using the MAX32630 Feather with Atmosphere by walking through the following guides:

MAX32630 Feather Guides
Getting Started with MAX32630 Feather

Demo Projects

Atmosphere includes a variety of MAX32630 Feather demo projects for users of all levels. Check them out by clicking the demo’s name to open the project in Atmosphere.

Name Description
MAX32630 Feather Demo A complete demo that showcases the onboard Accelerometer/Gyroscope and ADC of the SensorTile. Measure ADC value on AIN_0 and send it to the cloud. Measure motion data and send to app.
Comparison Element Chain Demo The comparison element is used within this advanced demo project by chaining of comparison elements to create a “Logical And.” This demo lights the blue LED on the MAX32630 Feather board whenever the app’s slider value is between 10 and 20.

Videos

The Atmosphere video library contains the following videos on the MAX32630 Feather:

Getting Started: MAX32630 Feather video picture
4:11

Resources

The following additional resources and downloadable files are available for the MAX32630 Feather: