PCBA Design Tutorial and Best Free Software
Nowadays, with a wide range of electronic products, electronic equipment is involved in almost every industry, and a good electronic design concept can make our life easier and enjoyable. PCBA design is based on the circuit diagram to achieve the function what the designers need, mainly refers to the layout of circuit design, and the need of considering the layout of the external connections. So how do you learn PCBA design as a beginner?
PCBA design tutorial for beginners
Step 1 of PCB design
Using Schematic design tools to draw schematics and generating the corresponding network table.
Step 2 of PCB design
Drawing their own definition of non-standard devices package library, it is suggested to put all of the components you have painted into a proprietary design file of your own PCB library.
Step 3 of PCB design
Setting the PCB design environment and drawing the printed circuit board version, containing the middle of the hollow and so on. It is important to note that you must set the current layer to the Keep Out layer before you draw the border of the circuit board, that is, the wiring layer is prohibited.
Step 4 of PCB design
After opening all the PCB library files you need to use, switch to the network table file and modify the part package.
Step 5 of PCB design
Layout the location of the circuit board and the part of the package, also known as the layout of the parts. Protel99 can be automated or manual layout. The parts layout should be considered comprehensively from the aspects of mechanical structure, heat dissipation, electromagnetic interference, and convenience of future cabling.
Note: when choosing automatic, the use of shift + X or Y and Ctrl + X or Y can expand and shrink of the selected component X, Y direction.
Step 6 of PCB design
Adjusting accordingly , then locking all the devices.
Step 7 of PCB design
Setting rules of PCB changed board routing, Considering the security distance, the line level and direction, cross hole shape and line width, and so on.
Step 8 of PCB design
Automatic wiring and manual adjustment of printed circuit boards.
1, Click the menu command “Auto Route/Setup” to set up the automatic routing function.
2, Click the menu command “Auto Route/All” to start automatic routing.
Step 9 of PCB design
Switching to the single layer display mode (click the menu command Tools/Preferences, select the single layer Mode in the dialog box display), pulling the line of each wiring layer tidy and beautiful, and finally canceling the single layer display mode, saving the disk.
Step 10 of PCB design
Putting into copper clad area
Step 11 of PCB design
Lastly, to do DRC again.
Selecting the Clearance Constraints Max/Min, Width Constraints, Short Circuit Constraints and Un-Routed Nets Constraints items, and pressing Run DRC button, correcting if there is any mistake. Saving all if they are correct.
Step 12 of PCB design
Sending Email or copying to the manufacturer, indicating the material and thickness of the board.
Generating the BOM file and exporting it into a format that conforms to the company’s internal requirements.
How to draw a circuit diagram?
PCBA Design Layout
Drawing a circuit diagram is not that difficult if you know the basics. Here are some tips and guidelines:
Learn and understand all the common symbols and abbreviations for electronic components to be used on the diagram.
Using a ruler, draw connecting wires as straight lines. Use following symbols: ‘blob’ () at each junction between wires, label components (resistors, capacitors, diodes etc.) with their values, the positive (+) supply should be at the top and the negative (-) supply at the bottom. Negative supply is usually labeled 0V, zero volts.
For complex circuit diagrams, start from left to right. So that signals flow from left to right (inputs and controls should be on the left, outputs on the right).
Eagle PCBA design tutorial
In Eagle: File> Export>ImageBe sure to set DPIG to 1200 for better quality
PCBA design PDF
Best free PCBA design software
PCBA design software list：
PCBWeb is a free CAD application for designing and manufacturing electronics hardware. Design multi-sheet schematics with our fast and easy-to-use wiring tool. Route multi-layer boards with support for copper pours and DRC checking. Integrated Digi-Key Parts Catalog with Bill of Materials Manager.
Is an excellent PCB layout design software tool to create professional printed circuit board ( PCB ). It is easy to use CAD program, which allow you to realize your projects in a short time. With ZenitPCB Layout is possible to create the project starting both from the schematic capture or by the layout itself.
Is a program to help you draw circuit diagrams. It comes complete with symbol libraries to get you started straight away. As well as being able to simply print your designs, you can use TinyCAD to publish your drawings by copying and pasting into a Word document or saving as a PNG bitmap for the web.
Is a flexible tool for designing printed circuit boards. It runs on Macintosh. Its many features include: virtually unlimited board sizes, number of board layers, number of parts, support for both through-hole and surface mount parts and more.
Is a schematic capture program for Windows. The name “BSch” is an abbreviation of “Basic Schematic”. It has only basic functions, in order to simplify operation.
Is a snap to learn and use. Laying out PCBs is easy, even for the first time user.
Is an open source (GPL) software for the creation of electronic schematic diagrams and printed circuit board artwork. It is useful for everybody working in electronic design (schematic diagrams and Printed Board up to 16 layers).
Runs on Linux and has produced tools which are used for electrical circuit design, schematic capture, simulation, prototyping, and production. Currently, the gEDA project offers a mature suite of free software applications for electronics design, including schematic capture, attribute management, bill of materials (BOM) generation, netlisting into over 20 netlist formats, analog and digital simulation, and printed circuit board (PCB) design layout.
Fritzing software is an interesting open-source initiative to support designers, artists, researchers and hobbyists to work creatively with interactive electronics and develop electronic projects. Fritzing helps you learn more about electronic circuits, to document your projects and even let’s you prepare them for production.
DesignSpark PCB is the world’s most accessible electronics design software. Easy to easy to learn and easy to use, it is designed to significantly reduce your concept-to-production time. At the core of this unique approach is a powerful software engine that enables you to capture Schematics, design PCB boards and layouts.
EasyEDA is a free, zero-install, Web and cloud-based EDA tool suite, integrating powerful schematic capture, mixed-mode circuit simulation and PCB layout in a seamless cross-platform browser environment, for electronic engineers, educators, students and hobbyists.
Eagle cad
Altium
