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Complete newcomer to PCB layout - where do I start?
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james_s:
They're all a mess of a program, even the high priced professional stuff. It's all crap, you just have to persevere and learn to work around the quirks.
tautech:
From what I've seen here the most common noob mistake is component holes too large and annular rings too small.
100mil is a good size annular ring unless layout density is high however even when so you can change the pad shape to retain clearances.
nctnico:
Yep. A 3mm pad with a 0.8mm hole works well for most through-hole components. But then again, who uses through hole nowadays? Soldering 1206 SMT components is easier because you don't have to bend and cut leads.
Nominal Animal:

--- Quote from: eti on November 21, 2021, 06:00:25 am ---I gave up on "EasyEDA" - what a mess of a program.
--- End quote ---
I was in a somewhat similiar situation – I've done electronics courses at Uni, played a bit with breadboards, but never designed my own circuits –, when I discovered EasyEDA four years ago.  I hope you tried it in your browser, as an online tool, instead of as a standalone application: I've found the latter to be not worth the effort at all.

I found the interface intuitive, as I rarely needed to look stuff up in their guides, and have done a few schematics and boards with it.  I'm kinda thinking of updating the "Cheap USB GamePad using CH551G" to CH554G, since JLCPCB has the latter in stock; might make for a funky unique gift to my nieces and nephews.


--- Quote from: james_s on November 21, 2021, 06:18:52 am ---They're all a mess of a program, even the high priced professional stuff. It's all crap, you just have to persevere and learn to work around the quirks.
--- End quote ---
Applies to all software, really.

For me, it helps a lot to try and approach the program as a puzzle: How did the original developers use this tool?  How did they intend it to be used?
It may not be the optimal way, but it kinda-sorta explains why the quirks exist, and definitely helps anticipate the quirkiness, and overcome them.

You know, like when you occasionally hear a dog barking, knowing the dog by name and occasionally petting them, somehow tends to make the noise less annoying.
PlainName:
I would also suggest EasyEDA because the grunt boring work is done for you and all you need to do is plonk things down and join them up. Think of it as the Arduino of PCBs, that let you get a taste so you know what you want in the product you'll end up with.

All of them will seem to be rubbish in some way, just like trying to build software by typing weird shit into the command line is a pain when you don't know what compilers and linkers and build tools are meant to do or when. Once you're over that little hurdle, the stupid rubbish on that first tool you used might start to make sense.

From EasyEDA the normal destination would seem to be Kicad now. You might be tempted to make that jump at the start, but I think it has a few too many interface issues that would get in the way of using it for learning PCB stuff.
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