[Home]Editing MESA Bitfiles Spartan2

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Linuxcnc Bitfiles for MESA HostMot2 Spartan2 boards

If you have a 5I20 or 4I65 you are in the right place otherwise follow the directions for the other newer mesa cards.

This is a step by step guide showing how to install xilinx and make bitfiles for your Spartan2 (5I20, 4I65) [MESA] boards running running [HOSTMOT2] in [LINUXCNC] or at least what I encountered along the way.

Bitfiles for other boards should be built with Xilinx ISE 14.5 or greater which is covered in another tutorial. This software was installed on Ubuntu 10.04 from the live CD install.

Get the software

Navigate to the [xilinx website] and download the xilinx ISE Foundation tar/gz file. Notice to the right of the download link you can obtain a Registration ID. It is free however you will need it to install the webpack software. Save these numbers for later on. You can also download the latest service pack here or do it as an update during the install. I chose ver 9.2 from the Archives because I'm told it is the most compatible version for earlier MESA boards.

upload:xilinx_downloads.jpg

Once you have downloaded the file unpack it. Open a terminal window and navigate to that directory. In my case it was /tom/xilinx/ISE_DVD_92i/.

Next type in:


   sudo ./setup

and the install should begin. If it complains about not having libstdc++ 5 (I didn't catch the exact libstdc++ error I got.) you can download and install it from a terminal window as shown below then run the setup again.


   wget http://mirror.pnl.gov/ubuntu//pool/universe/g/gcc-3.3/libstdc++5_3.3.6-20~lucid1_i386.deb

   sudo dpkg -i libstdc++5_3.3.6-20~lucid1_i386.deb

You should be greeted with the following splash screen

upload:welcome.jpg

Click on the Next button and you will be prompted to enter your registration id.

upload:enter_registration_id.jpg

After entering it, you can pick the destination directory for the install. I chose the default.

upload:destination_directory.jpg

After choosing your installation options you will be presented with the option for a web update. This will download the latest servicepack after the install has completed.

upload:installation_options.jpg

Once you have installed xilinx, you will need to install [GHDL] by typing the following in the terminal window. (You may or may not need to add it to the repository but the commands are shown.)


   sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pgavin/ghdl
   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install ghdl

Make sure you have the latest [mesa source] files for your board before you begin.

To launch the program, open a terminal and navigate to where you installed Xilinx 9.2 and type:


   sudo su 
   source settings.sh
   ise

This will run as root, set up the environment and launch ISE Webpack.

Click on Files -> open project and navigate to where your mesa source is located.

In this example it is: /home/tom/linuxcnc/mesa/5i20/CONFIGS/HOSTMOT2/SOURCE/

Open the fivei20.ise project file:

upload:xilinx2.jpg

You will want to make a copy of one of the .vhd pin files to edit that will best match what you want. It is not a good idea to edit the original ones.

A Bit on Bitfiles

This is not a tutorial for editing bitfiles however here are a few things I have figured out about them:

     'TAG,  VERSION,  CLOCK,  INSTANCES,  BASE ADDRESS,  NUMBER OF REGISTERS,  STRIDES,  MPBITMASK'

Time to build the file

Once you have edited your pin file you need to add the vhd file to the library.

The top left window shows 3 tabs, Source, Snapshots, Libraries. Select Libraries and click on work.

upload:xilinx92_1.jpg

A list of all the source files will be seen then. Right click on work and Add Source then navigate to your new pin.vhd file and add it to the library.

Now chose the design pane. The top level file should have a little green pawn shop symbol by it double click on that file.

Top9030HostMot2 - dataflow (Top9030HostMot2.vhd)

Scroll down in the file and clone one of the pinout lines (and comment out the currently selected one) as shown below.

For example:


   --use work.PIN_SVST8_4_72.all;

Scroll up a bit in the file and make sure the proper board is selected.

For example:


   use work.i20card.all;

Ok save the file (control s).

You will want to change the synthesize setting to optimize for speed so right click on Synthesize - XST in the Processes window as shown:

upload:xilinx92_2.jpg

upload:xilinx92_3.jpg

Under Synthesis Options set Optimization Goal to Speed instead of area an click on OK.

Now you should be good to go so double click on Generate Programming File in the pane to get a .bit file.

Copy and rename the file

The bit file will be located in the source directory and named TopE9030HostMot2.bit in this case.

When it is done, navigate to the directory linuxcnc looks for your bitfiles and copy the new file over renaming it as you do:


cd /lib/firmware/hm2/5i20/

cp /home/tom/linuxcnc/mesa/5i20/CONFIGS/HOSTMOT2/SOURCE/Top9030HostMot2.bit /lib/firmware/hm2/7i43-4/SVST8_4_72NEW.BIT


That's it!

I hope this was in some way helpful.


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Edited December 7, 2014 8:21 pm by Tlightus (diff)
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