Getting Started with the FRDM-MCXE31B Board

2.1 Install Your Toolchain

NXP offers complimentary toolchains. Select either MCUXpresso IDE or MCUXpresso for VS Code.

Get MCUXPRESSO IDE

Get MCUXPRESSO FOR VS CODE

Learn how to install VS Code for your host PC with the following tutorial.

Want to use a different toolchain?

If you need help choosing, explore the MCUXpresso Suite of Software and Tools.

The MCUXpresso 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 MCUXpresso SDK is complimentary and includes full source code under a permissive open-source license for all hardware abstraction and peripheral driver software. You may install the MCUXpresso SDK directly from the MCUXpresso SDK website . Click on the button below to open this board's SDK builder.

Get MCUXPRESSO SDK

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 and also as a separate tool if using a different IDE.

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

Get MCUXPRESSO CONFIG TOOLS

2.4 Programming and Provisioning Tools

NXP provides MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning (SEC) for trial run and mass production use. It supports secure programming and device provisioning on NXP's microcontrollers at the production stage. The MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning (SEC) Tool is a GUI-based application provided to simplify generation and provisioning of bootable executables on NXP MCU devices.

The Secure Provisioning SDK (SPSDK) is an open-source development kit with its source code released on GitHub and PyPI . This command-line tool is useful when interfacing with a custom or partner programming tool.

SEC INSTALLATION

If one or more of the demo applications or driver examples sounds interesting, you're probably wanting to know how you can build and debug yourself. The Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK guide provides easy, step-by-step instructions on how to configure, build and debug demos for all toolchains supported by the SDK.

3.1 Build and Flash Application using MCUXpresso IDE

The following steps will guide you through the hello_world demo application using MCUXpresso IDE for the application. The MCUXpresso IDE installation and the SDK for the MCX E-Series can be found at the section Get Software of this Getting Started guide.

1. Find the Quickstart Panel in the lower left-hand corner
2. Then click on Import SDK example(s).
3. Click on the FRDM-MCXE31B board to select an example that can run on that board, and then click on Next.
4. Use the arrow button to expand the demo_apps category, and then click the checkbox next to hello_world to select that project. To use the UART for printing (instead of the default semihosting), select UART as the SDK Debug Console checkbox under the project options. Then, click on Finish.
5. Select the project and build it by either clicking on the “build icon” in the shortcuts provided above or by clicking “Build” in the Quickstart Panel.
6. The project should build without presenting any errors or warnings in the console.
7. Connect the board to your computer with the micro USB to J13 ‘MCU-LINK’ port.
8. Download the application to your board by either clicking on the “debug” icon above or clicking on “Debug” in the Quickstart Panel.
9. Select the MCU-Link CMSIS-DAP debug probe.
10. Open up a serial terminal to be able to see the application’s output. Select the “Terminal” window and press the “new terminal” icon.
11. Choose a “Serial Terminal” and then set the UART settings to 115200 baud rate, 8-bit data size, no parity and 1 stop bit. Press OK.
12. Run the application by pressing the “run” icon. See the output printed on the terminal.

3.2 Build and Flash Application with Alternative Toolchains

MCUXpresso for Visual Studio Code (VS Code) provides an optimized embedded developer experience for code editing and development. Learn how to build and flash an application with VS Code.

Using a different toolchain?

This demo is also available for IAR and KEIL.

4.1 Clone an Example Project from MCUXpresso IDE

The following steps will guide you through the manipulation of the general-purpose outputs. The example is supported by the set, clear and toggle write-only registers for each port output data register. The example uses the software button to control/toggle the LED.

1. Find the Quickstart Panel in the lower left-hand corner and click on Import SDK example(s).
2. Click on the FRDM-MCXE31B board to select that you want to import an example that can run on that board, and then click on Next.
3. Use the arrow button to expand the driver_examples category, then expand the siul2 examples, click on the check box next to input_interrupt to select it. To use the UART for printing (instead of the default semihosting), Select UART as the SDK Debug Console checkbox under the project options. Then, click on Finish.
4. Click on the “siul2_input_interrupt” project in the Project Explorer View and build, compile, and run the demo as described in the previous section.
5. Press the SW3 button on the board, the red LED will be toggled once you press SW3 button.
6. 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 features evaluation kits include extended I/O and interface access, extendable with WiFi and additional MCU-Link features. There are also many compatible Click Board 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.