The Blog

This article is the first in a DMA series from Nuvation Senior Design Engineer, Steve Munnings. Today we’ll start with an introduction to what DMA is, and how it can help you improve processing speeds in your microprocessor or microcontroller design.

DMA Fundamentals

DMA, or Direct Memory Access, consists of circuits (often called a peripheral) separate from the CPU proper. The basic concept is that these circuits have access to memory within the system and can move data in memory without the processor having to issue the ‘load’ and ‘store’ instructions directly. 

The benefit of using DMA for memory transfers is that the data movement can be in progress while the CPU in involved in handling other tasks. This results in an increased effective bandwidth for the CPU. The implementation details are widely varied from manufacturer to manufacturer, and even from processor family to processor family by the same manufacturer.

Tags: DMA, embedded, firmware

By now many people have heard of Angry Moose, the geeky game that draws crowds of engineers and fans wherever it goes. It’s a real-life version of a popular iOS game, but with a Canadian twist. The Beavers have stolen the Moose's beer, and the Moose want it back. Players use an iPad to control the pitch, yaw, and stretch of a giant slingshot The slingshot launches plush moose at the beavers, who are hiding behind a beer-can dam. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the iPad app development process from Nuvation Lead Design Engineer Gwyneth Saldanha.

Tags: Angry Moose, fun stuff, iPad, iPad app

The Nuvation Battery Management System (BMS) team will be appearing at Design West next week to showcase its next-generation battery management system design.  The team will be charging, monitoring and balancing multiple battery packs in real-time using the BMS platform. The demonstration features a Microchip dsPIC33 processor and will be in booth 1116 alongside design partners, Microchip.

Tags: eRex, News, tradeshows

To create robust and cost-effective printed circuit boards, layout designers need to follow best practices for PCB footprint generation.  The quality of a PCB footprint directly impacts the performance, reliability and quality of the PCB assembly.

The first step in designing a perfect PCB footprint is contacting your chosen fabrication vendor and contract manufacturer, and understanding their specific DFM guidelines.  Whether you’re designing a prototype PCB or a high-volume product, following DFM (Design for Manufacturing) guidelines will reduce the number of manufacturing defects you encounter, saving money by improving yield and eliminating debug time.

Tags: layout, PCB design, tips