Startup Guide: Trying out the FRDM-A-S32K344

Sign in to your NXP account

Enter the email address you registered and click "Continue".

Figure 4: Sign-in screen (email address)

Next, enter your password and click "Sign In".

Figure 5 Sign-in screen (password)

*If you have enabled multi-factor authentication in your NXP account settings, you will need to enter an additional passcode.

Bundle generation and download

The In-Vehicle Software Package Manager will open.
On the left side, under DEVICES, check the box for General-Purpose MCUs > S32K3.
On the right side, under SDK, BUNDLES AND USE CASES, check the box for "FRDM Automotive Board Installation Package," and then click "GENERATE BUNDLE INSTALLER" at the bottom of the screen.

Figure 6: Screen for selecting the bundle to install.

In "Review package selection," review and select the packages to add to the bundle. In this example, we select Real-Time Drivers 7.0.0 QLP03 D2512 and S32 Design Studio and Configuration Tools 3.6.5 D2511, and click "NEXT" (FreeMASTER, FreeRTOS, LIN Stack, TCP/IP Stack, etc. are also available as selections).

Figure 7 REVIEW PACKAGE SELECTION screen

In "Export control," enter the product/project type (e.g., Automotive) and application (e.g., development and evaluation of in-vehicle ECUs), and then click "SUBMIT EXPORT CONTROL."

Figure 8 EXPORT CONTROL screen (product/project type and application are indicated)

Once you see the message "The following packages have passed export control checks." and the packages you selected in "Review package selection" are listed, click "NEXT".

Figure 9 EXPORT CONTROL screen (Export control check passed)

Read the entire "License Agreement" and click "I ACCEPT THE TERMS OF THE LICENSE AGREEMENT" at the bottom of the page (you cannot click it until you scroll all the way down).

Figure 10 LICENSE AGREEMENT screen

Click "DONE" in "Generate bundle installer".

Figure 11 GENERATE BUNDLE INSTALLER screen

After a short while, the download will start automatically, and "NXP_Multi_Installer_XX.XX.XX.XXXXXX_setup.exe" and "NXP_Multi_Installer_XX.XX.XX.XXXXXX_User_Manual.pdf" will be saved to your PC's "Downloads" folder.

*The XX.XX.XX.XXXXXX listed here represents the date and time of download.

Figure 12: The "Downloads" folder on your PC

Installation using NXP Multi Installer

When you run the executable file (NXP_Multi_Installer_XX.XX.XX.XXXXXX_setup.exe) downloaded in the previous chapter, the "Welcome to the NXP Multi Installer XX.XX.XX.XXXXXX Setup Wizard" will be displayed. Click "Next >".

*The executable file has a limited usage time, and after this time (2 hours), the executable file will no longer be usable. Please proceed with the installation as soon as possible after performing "Bundle Generation and Download" (if the usage time has expired, please perform "Bundle Generation and Download" again to download a new executable file).

Figure 13: WELCOME TO THE NXP MULTI INSTALLER SETUP WIZARD screen (normal operation)

Figure 14 WELCOME TO THE NXP MULTI INSTALLER SETUP WIZARD screen (in case of error)

The "License Agreement" will be displayed. Review the contents and click "I Agree".

Figure 15 LICENSE AGREEMENT screen

The "Choose components" screen will appear. Click "Next >".

Figure 16 CHOOSE COMPONENTS screen

The "Choose Download Location" screen will appear. Set the folder where you want to download the file (the default is the same location as the executable file). Click "Next >".

Figure 17 CHOOSE DOWNLOAD LOCATION screen

The "Ready to Download the Packages" screen will appear. Click "Launch executable after download" and "Installation and configuration without any interaction," then click "Download." This will install the FRDM bundle and all available components together.

Figure 18 READY TO DOWNLOAD THE PACKAGES screen

The "Installation" process will begin.

*This process connects to NXP's download server and downloads the package. Please note that Access via a proxy server may cause the download to fail.

Figure 19 INSTALLING screen

Once the installation is complete, "Advanced Configuration" will open. Confirm that "Completed" is displayed, and then click "Next >".

*The log will contain "[FAILED]", but this is not a problem as FreeMASTER was not downloaded this time. We will proceed to the next step.

Figure 20 Advanced Configuration Screen

The "Completing the NXP Multi Installer XX.XX.XX.XXXXXX Setup Wizard" will open. Click "Finish" to complete the installation.

Figure 21 Completing the NXP Multi Installer Setup Wizard screen

Startup sequence

1. Connect the USB-C CABLES connected to your PC to the J11 CONNECTORS to power the development board.
2. To POWER SUPPLIES on the board, change the position of SWITCHES SW5 to setting 2-3.
3. Verify that all POWER SUPPLIES LEDs on the development board are lit.

Figure 23 FRDM-A-S32K344 at startup

Launching S32 Design Studio for S32 Platform 3.6.5

Click on the S32 Design Studio for S32 Platform 3.6.5 file created on your desktop. A "Select a directory as workspace" window will open; create a workspace and click "Launch" (the default location is within the "Users" folder on your PC).

*Please do not use the following paths as workspace paths. This may cause problems.

• Paths containing Japanese characters (full-width characters)
• Long/deep paths exceeding 200 characters
• Paths under cloud storage such as OneDrive and Google Drive

Figure 25 Desktop screen

Figure 26 SELECT A DIRECTORY AS WORKSPACE screen

When you launch S32 Design Studio for S32 Platform, "S32DS Extensions and Updates" will open, so click "Cancel".

Figure 27 S32DS EXTENSIONS AND UPDATES screen

Next, click the "×" to close the "WELCOME TO S32 DESIGN STUDIO IDE" screen.

Figure 28 WELCOME TO S32 DESIGN STUDIO IDE screen

Importing an application

Clicking "Import Projects from Application Code Hub" in the bottom left corner will open NXP's "Application Code Hub" (you can also view the contents by Access https://mcuxpresso.nxp.com/appcodehub from your browser).

Figure 29: S32 DESIGN STUDIO FOR S32 PLATFORM 3.6.5 startup screen

By entering "S32K344" and searching, you can find applications for FRDM-A-S32K344. In this example, we will use "GPIO Blinking LED Demo for FRDM-A-S32K344" to build, run, and verify its operation.

Figure 30 APPLICATION CODE HUB screen

Click on "GPIO Blinking LED Demo for FRDM-A-S32K344" and then click on the "GitHub link" on the NXP Application Code Hub.

Figure 31 NXP APPLICATION CODE HUB screen (GPIO BLINKING LED DEMO FOR FRDM-A-S32K344)

Click "Next >" in the bottom right corner.

Figure 32 WELCOME TO S32 DESIGN STUDIO IDE screen

The "Branch Selection" screen will appear. Select "main" and check the box for "When fetching a commit, also fetch its tags". Click "Next >".

Figure 33 BRANCH SELECTION screen

The "Local Destination" will be displayed. Set the "Directory" to its default settings and click "Next >".

Figure 34 LOCAL DESTINATION screen

The "Select a wizard to use for importing projects" screen will appear. Select "Import existing Eclipse project" and click "Next >".

Figure 35 LOCAL DESTINATION screen

The "Import Projects" window will appear. Click "Finish".

Figure 36 IMPORT PROJECTS screen

Please ensure that the source code for "GPIO Blinking LED Demo for FRDM-A-S32K344" has been imported.

Figure 37 Imported screen

Build and Debug

In the previous chapter, we will build and debug the application that we imported. Step-by-step execution or run the application will become available, allowing you to verify its operation on the development board.

*The FRDM-A-S32K344 has an onboard debugger, so you do not need to prepare a separate debugger.

Right-click the project in the Project Explorer and click "Update code and build Project". This will generate pin, clock, and peripheral settings and update the source code.

Figure 38 UPDATE CODE AND BUILD PROJECT selection screen

The build will be performed using the active configuration (e.g., Debug_FLASH). Check the "Console" screen to confirm that the build was successful. If the build completes successfully, a *.elf file will be generated.

Figure 39 CONSOLE screen

Figure 40 Project Explorer screen

Click the ▼ to the right of the [Debug] button and then click "Debug Configurations…".

Figure 41 DEBUG button

The "Debug Configurations" window will appear. Select "FRDM_A_S32K344_BLINKY_Debug_FLASH_PNE" on the left and click "Debug".

Figure 42 DEBUG CONFIGURATIONS screen

The "Confirm Perspective Switch" window will appear. Click "Switch" to switch to the Debug window.

*The development board must be connected during debugging. If it is not connected, an error will occur during the startup sequence.

Figure 43 CONFIRM PERSPECTIVE SWITCH screen (normal operation)

Figure 44 PROBLEM OCCURRED screen (when an error occurs)

The Debug window will open. Please click the Step Execution or Run button to check the operation.

Figure 45 DEBUG window

In this example, the RGB LEDs on the development board light up in the order of blue → green → red, while repeatedly switching the LEDs on and off.

Figure 46 Development board (when blue light is on)