BeginnerTopic 32 of 104Electronics & Embedded
Printed circuit board design
Schematic capture, placement and routing produce manufacturable boards.
In depth
Workflow: schematic, component library, layout (stack-up, placement, routing, design rules), design-rule check, Gerber and BOM, assembly. Considerations: trace width for current, impedance control, thermal vias, solderability, test points. Tools: KiCad, Altium, Eagle.
Key points
- Layers and stack-up
- Manufacturing tolerances
- Silkscreen and fiducials
ExampleA two-layer Arduino shield is routed with 0.25 mm traces.
What is Printed circuit board design?
Schematic capture, placement and routing produce manufacturable boards.
Why is it important to understand printed circuit board design?
Designing a PCB well avoids costly respins, so each step from schematic to manufacturing must be done with care.
What is a schematic used for?
It shows the electrical connections and component values, and it is the source for the PCB layout and bill of materials.
Why do designers check the design rules?
Design rules such as trace width and spacing ensure the board can be manufactured reliably, so violations can cause yield problems.
How is Printed circuit board design used in practice?
Typical applications include creating a two-layer board for a sensor node, routing a high-speed USB connection on a four-layer board and preparing gerber files for a PCB manufacturer.
What should I learn before Printed circuit board design?
Study "Grounding and PCB layout" first (topic 31 of 104 in Electronics & Embedded). It covers the groundwork this topic builds on.
What are the key points of Printed circuit board design?
Layers and stack-up. Manufacturing tolerances. Silkscreen and fiducials.
Can you give an example of Printed circuit board design?
A two-layer Arduino shield is routed with 0.25 mm traces.
What comes after Printed circuit board design?
The next topic is "Datasheets", which builds directly on this one.
How difficult is Printed circuit board design?
It is classed as Beginner in Electronics & Embedded (topic 32 of 104). It is an entry-level topic. It relies only on basic school mathematics and the ideas introduced earlier in this discipline.