Getting Started with FRDM-MCXW72

Watch the video below for directions on how to get the software.

2.1 Install Your Toolchain

NXP offers a complimentary toolchain called MCUXpresso Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Please download MCUXpresso for Visual Studio (VS) Code v25.06 or MCUXpresso IDE v25.06.xx

Get MCUXpresso for VS Code

Follow the tutorial for installing Virtual Studio Code (VS Code)] on your host PC.

Want to use a different toolchain?

For help selecting and alternative toolchain, explore the MCUXpresso suite of software and tools.

The MCUXpresso software development kit (SDK) includes support for other tools such as IAR , KEIL  and command-line GCC .

2.2 Jump Start Your Design with the MCUXpresso SDK

The NXP extension adds tools to help add software repositories into the VS Code workspace. The software repository can be accessed from three sources:

• Remote Git URL
• NXP MCUXpresso SDK archive file
• Existing Git folder

This section will import the MCUXpresso SDK using the remote Git repository option.

For the remote Git repository option follow these steps.

1. Click on the MCUXpresso extension icon
2. Click on the “QUICKSTART PANEL” tab and then click on the "Import Repository" button, then after pressing that button a new import window will appear on your IDE

3. Select the “Remote” option to import the provided SDK files
4. Access the Repository options by clicking on the arrow button and search for "MCUXpresso SDK - 24.12 or newer" option
5. Access the Revision options by clicking on the arrow button and search for version "v25.06.00" or newer
6. Designate a folder to be a common destination to store SDKs (i.e. C:\VS_CODE_SDKs) , then enter a name for the new SDK, in this case "\mcux_sdk_v25_06_00"
7. Click on the "Import" button and wait for the installation

2.3 MCUXpresso Config Tools

The MCUXpresso Config Tool is an integrated suite of configuration tools that guides users in creating new MCUXpresso SDK projects, and also provides pin and clock tools to generate initialization C code for custom board support. It is fully integrated as a part of MCUXpresso IDE, but also as a separate tool when using a different IDE.

Click the Get MCUXpresso Config Tools below to get the Config Tools button installer.

Get MCUXpresso Config Tools

2.4 Programming and Provisioning Tools

The MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning (SEC) Tool is a graphical user interface (GUI)-based application provided to simplify the generation and provisioning of bootable executables on NXP MCU devices. We recommend all users to begin with the MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning (SEC) tool for trial run and mass production use. This supports secure programming and device provisioning on NXP's microcontrollers at the production stage.

After downloading the tool, find the user guide under the ‘Help’ tab. Next, follow the instructions for your board in the ‘Processor-specific workflow’ chapter.

SEC Installation

2.5 Install Drivers

MCU-Link is supported on host computers running on Windows 10, MacOS X and Ubuntu Linux operating systems (OSs). For each OS, an MCU-Link firmware package is available that includes the host device drivers, MCU-Link firmware and scripts to program CMSIS-DAP and J-Link firmware options.

To download and install the host device drivers and update the MCU-Link firmware, follow these steps:

1. Go to the MCU-Link page on the NXP website
2. Click Design Resources, then, click the SOFTWARE category (the latest version installation packages are displayed at the top for all three compatible OSs)
3. Download the package for your host OS and install it (Linux/MacOS) or execute the installer program (Windows) (the package is installed/unzipped to the MCU-LINK_installer_Vx_xxx directory)
4. Switch MCU-Link to (USB) ISP mode by shorting the jumper JP5
5. Connect the J10 connector on the board to the USB port of the host computer through a USB micro-B cable so that the MCU-Link gets powered up in (USB) ISP mode and the board gets enumerated as a human interface device (HID) class device
6. Program the MCU-Link firmware into the MCU-Link internal flash using the instructions provided in the "Firmware Installation Guide" section of the "Readme.txt" file (this file can be found in the MCU-LINK_installer_Vx_xxx_directory) then use the scripts provided to program the CMSIS-DAP or J-Link firmware option
7. Disconnect the board from the host computer, remove the jumper JP5 and reconnect the board

2.6 LinkServer for Microcontrollers

LinkServer is a utility for launching and managing GNU debugger (GDB) servers for NXP debug probes, which also provides command-line target flash programming capabilities. LinkServer can be used with NXP MCUXpresso for VS Code implementation with custom debug configurations based on GNU tools, or as part of a headless solution for continuous integration and testing.

To install the Linkserver you can download it from NXP's webpage Linkserver by clicking on downloads, then selecting the package corresponding to your OS. You can also use the MCUXpresso installer within the VS code extension by selecting the Linkserver checkbox and clicking Install.

While working with one of the demo applications or driver examples, you may be interested to know how you can build and debug it yourself. The Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK guide provides easy, step-by-step instructions on how to configure, build and debug demos for the supported toolchains.

3.1 Updating NBU for Wireless Examples

Be aware that it is necessary to work with the narrow band unit (NBU) that matches the SDK version of the application you are working with. This means that when you download your SDK, before you load any wireless SDK example, update your NBU image with the provided binaries in the following SDK folder: ../middleware/wireless/ble-controller/bin.

Here you will find the image for the NBU firmware:

BIN File Type

• The FRDM-MCXW72 binary file to program the NBU

To update the NBU, you may use the Link flash tool from Linkserver.

1. Open the path to your Linkserver folder and execute the LinkFlash.exe file

2. Connect your board to your computers USB port
3. Once the device is connected, you may click the 'Refresh' button to update and set your board's probe target

4. Then click on the "Program" tab
5. Then click on "Browse" button and select the NBU firmware (FW) file
6. Set the address to 0x48800000
7. Check the box "mass erase before programming" where you also have the option to select the "Reset target after programming" box
8. Click on the program

3.2 Build and Flash Application Using MCUXpresso Extension for Visual Studio Code

The following steps will guide you through the wireless_uart demo application using MCUXpresso extension for VS Code for the Arm® Cortex®-M33 application. The MCUXpresso for VS Code IDE installation and the SDK for the MCXW72 can be found in the Get Software section of this Getting Started guide.

1. Find the activity bar in the left-hand bar and click to open it, then once it's open, go to the explorer and open the "PROJECTS" tab

2. Click the "Import Example From Repository" option

3. The following tab will open in the editor screen

4. Click on the arrow button on the right side of the "Repository" tab to select your previously downloaded FRDM MCXW-Series board sdk to select an example that can run on that board, and then click on "Next"

5. Select the toolchain, then select the board

6. Use the arrow button to the right to expand the "Template" tab, and then select the "wireless_examples/bluetooth/w_uart/bm/wireless_uart_bm" to use as a template for the project then, click on the "Import" button

7. Select the project and build it by either clicking on the build icon in the shortcuts provided below, or by right-clicking to select the "Build Project" option

8. From there, the project should build without any errors or warnings in the console

9. Connect the board to your computer using the micro USB cable to the J10 MCU-LINK port

10. Download the application to your board by either clicking on the debug icon below, or by right-clicking and select the debug option

11. Open a serial terminal to view the application’s output
12. Select the port corresponding to the MCU-LINK probe on your board (labeled "MCULink-VCOM")
13. Configure your terminal with the following settings: baud rate 115200, 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit. Then connect to that port

14. To run the application, press the run icon (see the output printed on the terminal)

15. Press on board SW4 to change the application's role to peripheral, then press SW2 to start advertising

16. See the output printed on the terminal

17. You can connect the demo to the IoT Toolbox app by following the steps provided in the Plug it in video found in section one of this Getting Started guide

4.1 Clone an Example Project from MCUXpresso IDE

The following steps will guide you through the manipulation of the general-purpose outputs. In this example, the SysTick timer is set up to provide timing intervals for LED toggling.

1. Locate the activity bar in the left-hand bar and click to open it
   To import an example application, you have the following options:
   • Go to the Explorer panel, open the Project tab and click "Import Example Application from Repository"
   • Click the import repository icon
   • Go to the Quickstart panel and click the "Import Example from Repository" button

2. Click and select the Repository for the FRDM-MCXW72 board and select the corresponding toolchain

3. Use the arrow button on the right side to expand the template category, then search for "demo_apps/led_blinky_cm33_core0" and click on the line that matches this text to select it, then click on "Import"

4. Select the “frdmmcxw72_led_blinky_cm33_core0” project from the list, then compile and run the demo as described in the previous section

5. You should now see the RED LED blinking at a steady rhythm
6. Terminate the debug session

4.2 Clone an Example Project using MCUXpresso Config Tool for 3rd Party IDE

The following steps will guide you through the manipulation of the general-purpose outputs. In this example, the SysTick timer is set up to provide timing intervals for LED toggling.

1. Open the MCUXpresso Config Tool
2. In the wizard that appears, select the “Create a new configuration based on an SDK example or hello word project” radio button and click on "Next"

3. On the next screen, select the location of the MCUXpresso SDK (the SDK package must be unzipped beforehand)
   • Then select the IDE that is being used (note that only IDEs that were selected in the online SDK builder when the SDK was built will be available)
   • Next, click on clone select example, then select the project to clone (for this example, we want to use the tpm pwm example, and you can filter for this by typing “LED” in the filter box and then selecting the “led_blinky_cm33_core0” example project)
   • You can then specify where to clone the project and the name
   • Then click on "Finish"

4. After cloning, go to the directory you selected and open the project for your IDE to import,, compile and run the project as you have done in previous sections
5. You should see the RED LED blinking back and forth
6. Terminate the debug session

4.3 Use MCUXpresso IDE Pins Tools

Note: In prior workflows, you had to clone an SDK project as described in the previous step.

1. Open the pins tool by selecting “ConfigTools” on the top-right hand of the file explorer window and then select “Open Pins”

2. The pins tool should now display the "Start development" window where you will search for the .mex file of the project to select it

If this file is included in your project, you can search for it in the path /mcux/mcuxsdk\examples\_boards\frdmmcxw72\\

Referring to the image provided, navigate to your SDK path and select the .mex file for your project (this file contains the configuration settings), then click "Next" and then "Finish" to load the configuration

4.4 Use the Pins Tools to Modify the LED Routed Pin

In this step, MCUXpresso Config tools will be used. In the Pins view deselect “Show dedicated pins” and “Show no routed pins” checkboxes leaving only the routed pins. Routed pins have a check in a green box next to the pin name. The functions selected for each routed pin are highlighted in green.

1. In the current configuration, PTA19 Is routed as the output of the general purpose input/output (GPIO), so you will add the pin configuration to enable the BLUE and RED LED
2. Select “Show no routed pins” to see the other options (to enable the BLUE and RED LED, search for LED in the search box)

3. After clicking the checkbox, the following window will appear where you will type "GPIO" in the search box, select the "GPIOA:GPIO, 20(PTA20)" and click "Done" (repeat this step for LED_RED ON PTA21)

4. Check the pin configuration to set as an output in the “Routing Details” window and set the GIPO initial state as shown below

5. Now you will implement these changes in the project by exporting the new updated pin_mux.c and pin_mux.h files that are generated by the Pins tool, then click on "Update Code" in the menu bar

6. Now you will save the file so that you can export the new configuration files by pressing either CTRL+S, or pressing on the file tab and clicking "Save"
7. The screen that appears shows the files that are changing and you can click on “diff” to see the difference between the current file and the new file generated by the Pins tool (click on “OK” to overwrite)

Note: Since the header has been changed, the clocks and other files may be tagged as being updated.


8. Now the files that were created inside a new folder called "board" will be replaced and is found in your examples path as shown in previous steps, so to change the project files to a new version, you will copy the files from this folder to the original example folder

9. To add some additional code to the example, open led_blinky.c file and add the following macros to control the output for the BLUE LED

10. Add the following line of code to control the output of the blue LED

11. Build and download the project (as done in the previous section)
12. Run the application (you should now see the RED and Blue LED blinking back and forth)
13. Now you may terminate the debug session

Check out each of the following sections to learn about the ecosystem provided for flexible protyping and development. In the video below, we will introduce you to the FRDM platform, the full-featured EVK and the compatible shields for extended capabilities. In addition we will walk you through our Application Code Hub portal where we provide numerous application examples through NXP's Github.

5.1 FRDM Platform, Full Feature EVK and Shields

For quick prototyping platforms, we offer both the low-cost FRDM platform and the full-featured EVK.

FRDM development boards come with standard form factor and headers, easy access to MCU I/Os, on-board MCU-Link debugger and a USB-C cable. Our full featured evaluation kits include extended I/O and interface access, extendibility with WiFi and additional MCU-Link features. There are also many compatible Click Boards and/or Arduino shields. For those that are supported with an Open CMSIS Pack examples may be available on ACH, but if not, many of them are easy to use via serial interface like I²C, SPI and UART, for which we provide drivers with examples in the MCUXpresso SDK.

5.2 Application Code Hub

The Application Code Hub further enhances our MCUXpresso Developer Experience by giving developers an interactive dashboard to quickly locate software. Visit the ACH  today to start exploring or discover additional details and benefits of the new interactive Application Code Hub.

Software accessible from Application Code Hub is located in NXP’s GitHub repository  so it can be easily accessed and cloned from that location directly.

5.3 Demo Walkthrough

The following demo walks us through importing a project from ACH using a system based on the FRDM platform with a motor control shield and a low cost LCD. Although your evaluation board may differ from this system, the following steps can be replicated and used for all supported platforms.

Additional References

• Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK
• MCUXpresso SDK API Reference Manual
• MCUXpresso SDK Builder
• MCU-Link FW
• Secure Provisioning Tool User Guide
• SPSDK Wiki

Support

• General Support
• Wireless Connectivity Community