So, you got that circuit on paper as a schematic design in Autodesk EAGLE, but now comes the real challenge. How are you going to translate all of that electrical theory into an actual physical design? These days engineers do it all, from schematic to PCB layout, and there’s no handing it off down the line for someone else to finish it up, it’s all about you. While this can present you with a new set of challenges, the PCB layout is probably one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of PCB design. It’s like a giant puzzle just waiting to be solved with some original thinking and creativity. Where do you start with all of this? You’ll need to place all of your components first.
Some Things to Know Beforehand
There are a few things you’ll want to keep in the back of your head while you go about transforming your schematic into a physical board layout, including:
PCB Layout is an Art
Many engineers see the PCB layout process as more of an artform. If you give your schematic to a hundred different engineers, then chances are you’ll get a hundred different board layouts back all with their unique characteristics. Unlike a schematic design, which is all grounded in the finality of mathematics, your PCB layout is a bit more fluid and flexible.
Because of this, you have to remember one thing when doing your PCB layout – there’s no right or wrong way to do it. How you choose to place your components and complete your routing is all a unique representation of your design perspective. For some, this might be a bit overwhelming at first, which is why we’re going to stick with a very simple design in this blog. We’ve only got a handful of components to place, so you can take your time to place, replace, and probably do it all over again.