Jump Start PCB design/layout

Greetings, I have been looking for good references about learning the proper ways and rules to layout and design pcb's. Are there any good resources (books, tutorials) out there?

Thank you,

A
Reply to
amerdsp
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Reply to
JeffM

I have designed many boards, but I have only laid out a few. When I work with a PCB designer, I find that there are as many ways and guidelines to use with PCB work as there are designers. I have never seen two PCB designers who could agree for example, on what is the best pad shape. Maybe my perception is distorted because I am on the outside looking in rather than doing the work myself.

I have found that the main issue in board layout is to set design rules for the features on your board. This includes the trace width and space, via size including the width of the annular ring, component spacing along with placement guidelines which need to be set by the design engineer. A layer stackup needs to be done to take into account any special requirements for impedance or signal integrity. You also need to plan your routing for signal integrity as high speed signals, differential signals and terminations need to be considered.

You can find web sources for some of these issues. Board stackup for controlling impedance is done in several calculators. Signal integrity is a significant issue that requires a lot of reading and design tools. The issues of trace and via size have to do with manufacturability which you can discuss with your board fab house.

Reply to
rickman

Most of the above points can be settled by your prospective board manufacturer. Any reputable one will give you a set of their design rules: minimum track width & clearance, minimum hole size, etc. These should be considered mandatory. After that, particular customers/employers may have their in-house standards. After that, artistic freedom begins to seep in.

Reply to
David R Brooks

manufacturer. Any reputable one

minimum hole size,

Aye, but don't forget that you'll be paying a premium for using the smallest dimensions the board manufacturer can handle.

There's no point paying for 4 thou tracks and clearances if 6 will do.

Nial.

Reply to
Nial Stewart

manufacturer. Any reputable one

minimum hole size,

Correct: perhaps I should have written "mandatory minima". Hopefully the design rules document will include details on price-break points (although not actual prices, usually).

Reply to
David R Brooks

manufacturer. Any reputable one

minimum hole size,

standards.

My experience is that it is very hard to get vendors to give you any insight into their pricing other than, "that will be more expensive, send us your plots and we will quote it". There are some online vendors with web sites that let you enter a description of your design in the terms that matter to them... number of pads, spacing of pads, hole sizes and counts... etc. You can then change various parameters to get a feel for how they affect board prices.

Reply to
rickman

manufacturer. Any reputable one

minimum hole size,

That was yesterday. today they give rules what is allowed for which cathegory of pcbs and their webbased software gives you the price immediately.

Rene

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Reply to
Rene Tschaggelar

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