Staging:Designing a Product with SimpleLink WI-FI CC31xx & CC32xx

Design your Simplelink Wi-Fi based product in 11-steps

This is a step by step guide to designing Wi-Fi® product based on the CC31xx/CC32xx family of SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi® Internet-on-a-chip™ solution. It provides the resources that are relevant at the different stages of the design process. If you face hurdles or have questions anywhere along the line, please post your questions on CC31xx & CC32xx E2E Forum

Step 1 - Decide on the product to use based on your need for MCU

 * CC3100 - A Wireless Network Processor with on-chip Wi-Fi, internet, and robust security protocols. It can be used to connect any low-cost, low-power microcontroller (MCU) to the Internet of Things (IoT).
 * CC3100 product page


 * CC3200 - A Wireless MCU integrating high-performance ARM® Cortex™-M4 MCU with on-chip Wi-Fi, internet, and robust security protocols. It can be used to develop an entire IoT application with a single IC.
 * CC3200 product page

Step 2 - Decide on the module or chip on board (QFN)

 * CC3100/CC3200 - CC3100/CC3200 QFNs are WiFi® alliance certified, for the Radio Certification your company needs to submit its own.

For more details, visit the CC31xx & CC32xx Certifications page
 * CC3100MOD/CC3200MOD - CC3100/CC3200 modules are WiFi® alliance certified, they are also Radio certified, In order to take full advantage of the certifications, developers must follow the antenna design/layout guidelines exactly as shown in the datasheet, and the layout design guidelines.

Step 3 - Buy the relevant development kit

 * Find the available ones on the product page:
 * CC3100/CC3100MOD http://www.ti.com/product/CC3100/toolssoftware#desKits
 * CC3200/CC3200MOD http://www.ti.com/product/CC3200/toolssoftware#desKits


 * Let yourself be inspired by the out-of-the box demo experience !

Step 4 - Download a Software Development Environment:

 * Download the relevant SDK (software development kit) and it is service pack according to your choice of technology below (follow the associated link to download and install)
 * CC3100/CC3100MOD SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3100 Software Development Kit (SDK)
 * CC3200/CC3200MOD SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3200 Software Development Kit (SDK)


 * Download CCS Uniflash. This is a flash programmer with Windows and Linux support


 * You have the flexibility of IDE, for software development. The supported development environments are:
 * Code Composer Studio Download
 * IAR Embedded Workbench Kickstart Download
 * Microsoft Visual Studio Download
 * Eclipse IDE for C++ Download
 * GCC (Cygwin) Download

Step 5 - Download an Evaluation Tool

 * CC31xx SimpleLink Studio - Is a Microsoft Windows-based software to aid in the development of applications designed to work with the SimpleLink WiFi CC3100 devices or module. This is very useful, if you haven't decided on the MCU to use.


 * CCS UniFlash - CC31xx & CC32xx UniFlash Quick Start Guide
 * ''Wi-Fi Starter App - The SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi® Starter mobile App is a convenient tool for users to configure, connect, and communicate to the CC3100 BoosterPack or the CC3200 LaunchPad
 * Radio Tool - The main usage of the Radio Tool is to serve as a control panel for direct access to the Radio, more information
 * Pin Muxing Tool - The CC32xx Pinmux Utility is a PC based application that allows CC32xx developers to configure your device's peripherals in an intuitive and rapid manner.

Step 6 - Design the Hardware
-The purpose of Hardware Design Process is to ensure that your board follows the guidelines provided by TI
 * Needed Documents - Select the documents needed, based on the device that you will use in your final solution
 * QFN
 * Datasheets: CC3100, or CC3200
 * Reference Designs
 * CC3100 Boosterpack design file
 * CC3200 Launchpad design file
 * PCB Layout Guidelines
 * MODULE
 * Datasheets: CC3100MOD, or CC3200MOD
 * Reference Designs
 * CC3100MOD Boosterpack design file
 * CC3200MOD Launchpad design file
 * PCB Layout Guidelines included in the datasheets
 * Recommended Steps
 * 1) Additional Reference materials: http://www.ti.com/simplelinkwifi
 * 2) Take TI Reference design ( CC3100 Booster Pack/CC3200 Launch Pad Schematics and layout) and make your schematics
 * 3) Go through the Schematics Checklist and ensure that your design follows our recommended guidelines
 * 4) Use the design files of the BP and LP along with Layout User Guidelines as references
 * 5) Go through the layout Checklist and ensure your design follow the recommended layout guidelines
 * 6) If you still have questions/concerns on your design, complete the design guide checklist.
 * 7) Post your question on the CC31xx & CC32xx E2E Forum E2E forum

Step 7 - Bring Up / Test the hardware
document ensures that the customer has gone through the schematic checklist, layout guides, board documentation and datasheet before building the boards.
 * HW Debugging AppNote - This application note serves as a guide to debug problems on the CC3X00 QFN based boards, Suggested Hardware Debug Process
 * You can also use the Radio Tool - The main usage of the Radio Tool is to serve as a control panel for direct access to the Radio, more information

Step 8 – Test the software and application functionality

 * Test your software running on your hardware – you’re getting close !
 * If the software doesn't work ensure that you've followed the design guide process.
 * Record any error message that you see on the hyperterminal, and during the software's compilation
 * Post your question on CC31xx & CC32xx E2E Forum E2E forum

Step 9 – Certify your product
for more information you can see the CC31xx & CC32xx Certifications page.
 * There are mainly two parts of certifications process for the TI SimpleLink™ CC31xx & CC32xx devices :
 * Radio Frequency (RF) Certifications Texas Instruments has obtained FCC, IC, CE, and TELEC modular transmitter certifications for the CC3100MOD and CC3200MOD devices but not for the QFN.
 * Wi-Fi Alliance Certification both the module and the QFN are Wi-Fi Alliance Certified.

Step 10 – Production Test and Programming

 * You can start with CC3100 Power Management Optimizations and Measurements page if you decided to go with CC3100, The CC3100 SimpleLink Power Management Measurement application provides users the ability to configure the device in various low power modes and profiles, for the purposes of current consumption measurements.
 * Once you are ready for production you can follow the steps in the Production Line Guide based on the device that you are using in your final solution.

Step 11 – Production

 * Send your product off to pilot production
 * Start production
 * Sell a lot of them and keep improving the production flow throughout the lifetime of the product.

Don’t hesitate to contact us on the e2e forum if you have any questions along the way!

CC31xx & CC32xx E2E Forum