PCB Layout

The bulk of your pcb design time will be spent in the pcb layout portion of the design cycle. If you’ve never designed a printed circuit board this could be extremely frustrating. Trying to understand the lingo like plated through holes and lands. Another article that will give you a big head start on your next pcb design is the pcb design workflow. It’s 10 steps to get your design into the output gerbers you need to manufacture your pcb.

Once you understand the pcb design workflow, you’ll need to know some basics about vias and traces. We’ll give you a quick break down on how to setup your design rules in your pcb design software to give you a head start laying out you first board. There is nothing worse than dropping vias that are to expensive and hinder the manufacture of your board. The same goes for circuit board traces. Making traces to skinny or putting them to close together can yield your board useless. A quick read will save you hours of design time.

PCB Layout Articles:

Using Grids for PCB Design
PCB Design Units - Imerial vs Metric?
Understanding PCB Layers
PCB Structures: Vias, Pads, Lands, Dimensions, Traces, and Planes
PCB Design Workflow
Laying Tracks
Understanding Electrical Clearances