PCB layout and design

PCB layout and design has some basic rules, good practices and rules of thumb however it is a highly creative and individual process.

Methods

PCB layout design is possible with tape and dry transfers, or permanent marker pen however EDA software will offer schematic capture, PCB layout, ERC (electrical rule checks), DRC (design rule checks) and other features such as simulating the circuit with SPICE.

See also

• Schematic layout and design

Further reading

• The Circuit Designer's Companion by Peter Wilson, Newnes, 2012, ISBN 0-08-097138-5
• The Art of Electronics, by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill ISBN 0-521-37095-7, pages 835-852
• How to Design and Make Your Own PCBs by R. Penfold, Babani, 1983, ISBN 0-85934-096-1
• Fabricating Printed Circuit Boards' by Jon Varteresian, Newnes, 2002, ISBN 1-878707-50-7
• Build Your Own Printed Circuit Board by Al Williams, Tab, 2003, ISBN 978-0-07-142783-8
• Thermal Design: Still a Process Pinch Point? by Dr. John Parry CEng, The PCB Design Magazine, November 2013, p. 28
• Designing a circuit board by Jeff Johnson, Nuts and Volts, November 2004, pp. 69-72
• Do it yourself surface mount printed circuit boards by David Dorhout, Nuts and Volts, May 2014, pp. 34-41

Externallinks

• How to PCB by Jack Olson
• Printed_circuit_board/Design, Wikipedia
• PCB layout tutorial by Dave Jones of EEVBlog
• Circuit Designer's Companion by Tim Williams, Linear Circuit Design Handbook, 2008, chapter 12
• PCB design, 12 December 2011]
• PCB design perfection starts in the CAD library by Tom Hausherr, InnoFour Newsletter
• Seven Habits of Successful 2-Layer Board Designers by Eric Bogatin, Signal Integrity Journal, 23 April 2019
• PCB design technical articles, Quick-teck

Social

• PCB Design- Rules tips and tricks, Mod Wiggler Forum, Dec. 2015
• SDIY PCB/schematic/code critique Facebook group
• The layout factory, electro-music.com sub-forum

Standards

• IPC-2221A Generic standard on printed board design

Design cycle

• How can I go from prototype to commercial product, Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
• What is the schematic capture-PCB layout design cycle, Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

Trace dimensioning

• How to calculate PTH hole and pad diameter sizes according to IPC-7251, IPC-2222 and IPC-2221 standards?
• PCB trace width calculator
• How to gauge traces by Douglas Brooks
• PCB trace reference

Utilities

• GerberTools by ThisIsNotRocketScience, GitHub, tools to load/edit/create/panelize/prerender sets of gerber files.

Board house capabilities and guidelines

In the first instance refer to the capabilities and guidelines of the PCB manufacturer you will be using and set the design rules check (DRC) in your EDA suite to suit.

• Design for Manufacturing, Seeed Studio
• PCB capabilities, PCBWay
• PCB capabilities, ALLPCB
• Circuit design confirmation list, PCBCart
• Design Guidelines, Eurocircuits, July 2014
• Various guidelines and capabilities, Eurocircuits
• Tips for designing PCBs, ExpressPCB - archived

Mixed-signal layout

• Analog vs digital ground, about mixed signal pcb layout
• Design considerations for mixed-signal PCB layout
• Partitioning and layout of a mixed-signal PCB by Henry W. Oft, Printed Circuit Design' June 2001
• PCB signal coupling can be a problem by Bonnie Baker, EDN, 17 Dec.

Videos

• EEVblog #244 – How To Lay Out A PCB – PSU Design Part 9
• 20 Key Takeaways from EEVBlog #1129