Skip to content

PCB Design Guidelines

Written by George Troulis

Workshop Slides

TL;DR Steps to make a PCB

1. Schematic

  • Place components on schematic
  • Wire components (wires and/or net labels)
  • Assign footprints to components
  • Annotate all components
  • Perform Electrical Check

2. PCB

  • Import components from schematic
  • Position components and mounting holes
  • Draw board cutout
  • Add dimensions (on Eco1.User layer)
  • Route component tracks
  • Place copper fills (GND and/or V+)
  • Place SilkScreen labels, name, version, and date
  • Perform Design Rule Check

3. Ordering PCB

  • Export Gerber files + Drill Files, and zip them all
  • Find manufacturer (JLCPCB or OSHPark are common)
  • Upload zipped gerbers
  • Tweak settings (change soldermask color, lead-free finish etc)
  • Ensure rendered PCB looks ok
  • Order it and wait!

KiCad Shortcuts

Schematic Editor

Key Combo Performed Action
A Place Component
E Edit Component Properties
W Place Wire
R Rotate Component
L Net Label

PCB Editor

Key Combo Performed Action
X Place Track
D Move Track
U Select Entire Track
R Rotate Component
V Toggle Top/Bottom layer
B Fill all Pours
Ctrl+B Unfill all Pours

Common KiCad Components

Schematic Components

KiCad Name Component
R Resistor
C Capacitor
LED LED
SW_Push PushButton
Conn_01x?? Pin Header (?? can be any number)

Helpful Tips

Note

These are just guidelines, not required rules. Still, it is generally good practice to follow these

1. Make Traces As Thick As Possible

2. Use a GND or V+ Copper Pour

3. Add Plenty Of Silkscreen

Silcscreen is like notes on your PCB. Some useful things to include are:

  1. Label Pins and Connectors; If you have Serial or I2C, label which pin is which
  2. Add your name, date, and PCB version! You may make a second version of your PCB someday, who knows
  3. Add a Logo perhaps. Not necessary, but always fun to do

Homework (Check Slides/Gradescope for Due Date)

Question

Flavor Text: Everytime you need to use an LED with an Arduino, you have to connect it with a resistor, and the breadboard circuit can get messy. Would be nice to just 'plug in an LED to a breadboard' and have it work with no other components.

Assignment: Design a small PCB that has the following components:

  • LED
  • Resistor
  • 01x02 Pin Header

Deliverables:

  • Screenshot of Schematic
  • Screenshot of PCB

Submission: Submit this on Gradescope

Note: Yes this is a very simple PCB. But it should be enough to give you some confidence in using a PCB design tool. Sometimes, very simple PCBs can be very useful.