Author Topic: First 4 layer PCB design - looking for some advice  (Read 758 times)

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Offline AronFTopic starter

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First 4 layer PCB design - looking for some advice
« on: August 02, 2020, 10:23:06 am »
Hello everyone!

I've been designing 2 layered PCBs for years, and here I was thinking that maybe I should try a 4 layered design in a not-so-demanding project.
That not-so-demanding project turns out to be the driver/control board of a small drone with core-less DC motors.

I've attached the schematic as a .pdf file -- Iknow there is a typo in the barometer.

The first layer hosts the majority of the components, has the I2C bus, and the different supply rails for the boost, buck and LDO converters ( top.png ).
The second layer is the ground layer ( ground.png ).
The third layer is the VDD power plane for the digital circuits and the V+ for the motors ( power.png ).
The last layer has the SPI lanes, some slow I/O traces and the RGB LED which must be on the bottom to be observable when (if) the drone flies. ( bottom.png ).

For my untrained eyes, this setup is good enough, but I'm curious to find out, what could be improved on it?

Thank you in advance.

 

Offline bson

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Re: First 4 layer PCB design - looking for some advice
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2020, 09:59:51 pm »
Nothing immediately huge.  You could rotate the programming connector at the center 90 degrees to shorten some circuitous traces, same in a few other places.  But I doubt it makes any practical difference.  You have a few rows of vias that are close enough to create gaps in the power and ground planes, but I doubt that makes any practical difference either.  Purely cosmetically, Use the Grid Luke.  (A few pins in a row, like at the top left, are a bit misaligned.  Shrug.)  The SPI trace (to the accelerometer etc?) aren't long in any absolutely sense.

« Last Edit: August 03, 2020, 10:03:54 pm by bson »
 

Offline AronFTopic starter

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Re: First 4 layer PCB design - looking for some advice
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2020, 08:16:19 am »
Thank you for the advice.

It took me this log to get back, because I was tinkering with the not so original version of the NRF chips. Found out that they require a huge bulk capacitor, so I'll add that on the board, and I'll try to align my components. Misaligned components bother me too, but sometimes the force of laziness is greater.

I'll edit this comment when I have the new design.

EDIT: The programming connector is rotated, the vias are spread apart, so the planes are not broken anymore. I replaced the 800mA LDO to an 1A one, since I have some concerns regarding the radio module. The rest is the same.


« Last Edit: August 08, 2020, 04:16:46 pm by AronF »
 


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