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Complete newcomer to PCB layout - where do I start?
eti:
--- Quote from: dunkemhigh on November 21, 2021, 10:50:33 pm ---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.
--- End quote ---
You're very kind to make the suggestion, but I have now decided upon KiCad, for a few reasons:
~ I like VERY find, granular control over my processes and methods, in software. I Like doing the "grunt, boring work" myself - call me a control freak, sometimes - I want not to have someone else have their code decide for me.
~ I dislike web UI interfaces - I do not feel I am in control when a web UI can suddenly change, go offline or be "improved" arbitrarily by some "update"
~ I had to jump through hoops with EasyEDA - it was my first ever use of it, and I found a large amount of friction - the UI lagged, the whole "cloud" login thing, asking me to verify, type in my Google ID every time... NO thanks - there may well be solutions around this, but mine was to follow my instincts - and I LOVE KiCad.
Thanks for all the help, and also to everyone above - I need to parse all this carefully and methodically. :)
PS: This video is exceptionally well explained - he crammed in VERY clear beginner instructions into a mere 5 mins and 40s!
Refrigerator:
I started making my PCB's at the age of 14 or 13 (IIRC) with some pirated russian PCB design software.
Back then i would get an amp IC like a TDA2050 and design a board from the application schematic or a schematic found online.
Now i use KiCAD and i like it. I've tried Altium in my university but i didn't like it because importing custom components felt overly clunky and a PITA in general.
In KiCAD it's almost as easy as drag and drop.
I've noticed that there's very little to learn when designing a PCB as a hobbyist. You only need to know a few design rules and look out for a handful of gotchas that are all easy and quick to learn.
You'll be spending much more time learning to use the CAD software than learning how to design a board. Many hobbyists these days just dump components and autoroute.
When designing a PCB it's just like putting together a puzzle. You just put the pieces together in a way that makes tracks short and flow without crossing over other tracks or taking unnecessary turns.
Also when designing a two layer board think in two layers. In university we had our project presentations and i saw one guy design a PCB for his project like it was two separate one sided boards stuck back to back. The guy was completely not taking advantage of the two layer board. Seeing his clock trace zigzag across the entire board almost made me pull my hair out.
Also did you know there is a render option? The cube icon right under "Preferences" will raytrace your board, which i think is pretty cool.
eti:
I am learning this KiCAD, and I cannot get the trace to join from my SMD transistor to the SMD resistor pad. It originates from the transistor fine, but won't stick to the res. Any ideas? TIA.
tautech:
Generally a Net problem with component pads assigned to different/wrong Nets.
In the image above it could also be a Clearance rule issue too with the trace too close to both pads.
nigelwright7557:
Buying pcbcad software is just the beginning whether its free or paid for.
Depending on the circuit pcb layout can be critical or not.
Its worth looking up terms like ground loops.
I designed a pcb for a USB audio mixer. Just laid it out as it came.
PCB came back , I built it up and tested it.
1 VAC of hum on output with inputs shorted.
Clearly something serious had gone wrong.
Schematic looked fine and no DRC errors in the software.
When I dug into it the charging impulses into the smoothing caps were modulating the ground line and that was being amplified by the op amps.
SO back to the drawing board and design a new pcb.
I brought in recitified AAC and into the smoothing caps on then on to the circuit.
I took all the op amp grounds to the zero volt pin from the transformer.
This time negligible hum.
Anyone can throw a pcb together, not every one does it right.
With audio stuff star grounding works for me.
Keep high and low power grounds apart except for one point at the pcb input for zero volts.
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