#165

[@kennmossman8701]

The ’standard’ TO-92 and even TO-220 components have leads that are close together and it can be a bit tricky soldering (without whiskers/solder bridges). For TO-220 package devices you might want a larger pad. Use a layout that has the leads staggered - rather than “o o o”, use “ o ” “o o” where the middle pad is offset. Use needle-nose pliers to bend the lead and you are smiling.

[@RalphBacon]

Funny you should say that, but one of my viewers who took one of my PCBs for the ATTiny85 Fuse Resetter had terrible trouble with just this (it was a simple transistor). I never did have any trouble, but perhaps I should change the footprint to make it like you say to make it generally easier to solder? Hmm...

[@TYGAMatt]

Best easyeda tutorial on the Interweb without a doubt. Thanks Ralph. Even idiots like me can now understand it! EDIT: just designed my first ever PCB.... If Covid ever allows me to go back to the UK I will come to find you and buy you a beer or three.

[@RalphBacon]

🍻 glad you made the jump. It all gets simpler once you have created a few PCB designs.

[@robtitheridge9708]

Thank you i wish this video had been around when i did my first ones .Lots of faults that took me weeks to redo . I had watched other vids but yours is by far the best.

[@RalphBacon]

Nice of you to say, Rob. If you think you had problems with your first PCB, did you see mine? Least said soonest forgotten, I reckon!

[@kennmossman8701]

Grounding can be a real headache. For single sided PCBs keep the traces for ‘Ground to component’ as short and as wide as possible. Ideally the distances of the traces are the same and meet at a common point (star-grounding). This can especially important in audio circuits. Remember the schematic illustrates the circuit and while Ralph is quite right (have the layout follow the schematic) there can be good reasons Not to follow the same ‘design’. In that case, document completely and file for future reference!!!

[@RalphBacon]

Documentation, Kenn? I've _heard_ of that but isn't it always something we do "later", which is just another word for "never"? I've sometimes opened up a project box and found a folded up piece of paper with the circuit, wiring colour code and the date I made it all. Sometimes that's 10 years. Then I get morose that so much time has passed and I have to have a sit down in darkened room with a stiff whisky... but enough about me! It's an excellent point and I always keep the documentation, ideally with the project (inside the box, as I said) if I can. Far too easy for forget everything about it.

[@chiparooo]

Working on my first board. Both of your videos were by far the most helpful. I'm sure you have lots of ideas for new videos, but it would be nice to see a little deeper dive into EasyEDA and some of the problems, tips, tricks that you have encountered from working with it. Really enjoy your channel and style of teaching! Thanks!

[@RalphBacon]

Great to hear! Yes, I should do an update. Question: Have you downloaded the latest version of EasyEDA (working locally) and also the local Route program which now works very well indeed.

[@chiparooo]

@@RalphBacon No, I just used the cloud based program. It was my first time using it so I went the easiest way. Just finished my board and sent it off! It was a learning experience but lots of fun. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

[@RalphBacon]

Just so you know, the "local router" (it's just a ".bat" file) ensures that there is no delay when routing (sometimes their server gets very busy).

[@wv838]

Perfect timing, I'm about to do my first pcb. Very many thanks for this video, it gave me a lot of really helpful information and advice. Subscribed and watching!

[@RalphBacon]

Welcome to my channel, glad to have you along for the Arduinite journey! And I'm happy you found the content of this video useful, thanks for posting.

[@whitefields5595]

Perfect sequel to the previous video. Thanks for leading us newbies through this. I’m going to be board through the long UK winter evenings

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you liked the sequel; once you make a PCB then you'll never look at stripboard in the same way again!

[@originuk]

I wish I saw this first! I've been down a massive rabbit hole learning EasyEDA, with so many PCB designs now, I feel like I have the hang of it. Thank you for sharing.

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, PCB design can be daunting (I found KiCAD particularly hard to use) but EasyEDA is great. And there is a PRO version now too with new features.

[@dzee9481]

Ralph you are SPOT On with not having to give up on using the product. I have ran into where the copper ground on the board did not update till I ran the Copper manager. The process of knowing what the board should look like needs time to figure out and play around with before an order is placed. I could not agree with you more. It takes time to use this tool and it works very well. Thank you for the excellent video.

[@RalphBacon]

Thank you Don. LIke most things in life, we get better when we practice whether that playing the piano, driving a car or designing PCBs. And you can't learn experience, you literally have to make mistakes in order to get that experience (as you will see in my next video where I made a fundamental design boo-boo).

[@fredimachadonet]

Awesome video as usual Ralph! Thanks!

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you found it useful, Fredi, thanks for posting.

[@martynharveythepoet5114]

Absolutely BRILLIANT 2-part vid Ralph! Working on developing a PCB for a music practice amplifier and this tutorial does it all! Thank you so much!

[@RalphBacon]

Glad it was helpful!

[@upperairs]

Really great. I used the same process to make my first PCB earlier this year and it worked a treat.

[@RalphBacon]

Good to have your endorsement on using this way of producing PCBs, David, it is most satisfying to have a fully functioning PCB, with silkscreen that just 'looks nice' - but see the comment from Mai below, he has a point too.

[@georgestewart5879]

Thanks Ralph, that made it all seem simple and a lot less daunting.

[@RalphBacon]

If this video gets you started and you build on that, George, then it is a successful video, despite what the viewing figures might say!

[@iancooper418]

First thing first; thanks for the voucher i won a few weeks ago, just used it. Basically got the boards for free and just had to pay the shipping. I know it didn't matter a great deal but i think you should of auto routed the board and then showed how to remove a track from the bottom layer and re-route it to the top layer. When you put a ground plane on, ALWAYS shrink it back about 1mm. If it is to close to the edge, when they route them out/score them, the copper can be damaged and can lift in the future. When JLCPCB lay on the silk screen, they will print a serial number on each board. If you don't want to see this number, add "JLCJLCJLC" on the silk screen layer under a large component and make the text height 0.8mm. You can solder the component above the number and it will never be seen. When placing the order ALWAYS ALWAYS click pay later after they have inspected the boards. If you are ordering say 5 different boards and they find an error with one, they will start production of the 4 but will send back the 1 with errors and you will have to treat it as a new order. You can, if you are quick enough, click a button to combine orders (forgot where it is). @Ralf, don't feel bad about getting a board back and your text is in copper, i think everyone who has designed a board has done it, myself included.

[@RalphBacon]

How long was this video... 30 minutes. Showing yet more stuff, Ian, like manual routing, would have meant an even longer runtime. I had to draw the line somewhere. I think Autorouting is great for beginners, even if you could do a "better" job manually, at least you know you will get a working PCB. Many have requested a follow up video which I might do once I have reestablished the viewer figures and credibility on my channel! In EasyEDA, the ground plane is automatically shrunk back from the edge of the board here, Ian. User defined amount too. That's why for the top layer I make the rectangle _bigger_ than the board. That way I can find it easier and know that is has already stopped the copper X mil away from the edge of the board, regardless where I put the outline. Another beginners plus. I like the reminder about the order number and how to hide it. I'm not so concerned but others might be I guess. Good tip! Yes, always click the Pay Later if you want to know you have a good board, but remember you will incur delays potentially. Yesterday they got back to me in about 2 minutes, on a Saturday night at 8pm. Amazing, I guess they work 24/7. Regarding the (mistaken) text in the copper layer, I have seen some very nice logos in bright shiny copper (so the solder mask removed from that area) - looks good, maybe I will experiment with that one day! Good to hear from you Ian, thanks for posting.

[@iancooper418]

@@RalphBacon With tutorial video's, i don't mind if it stretches to an hour or maybe, break it up into segments on each aspect. My last order was delayed by 3 days because of a Chinese holiday but they are on there way. Order was placed on the 30th last month and according to the tracking, they are in the UK. 2 different board designs and a stencil. I used the GB Special Air Mail option this time as i was in no hurry. I normally used DHL Express and get them on the 3rd or 4th day after submitting the Gerbers.

[@Andrewatnanz]

very nice, looking forward to making one.

[@RalphBacon]

Go for it!

[@MartinBgelund]

Great video, Ralph! Adding a ground plane is quite easy, but somehow the other tutorials I've watched made it look very complex, so thanks for this part in particular.

[@RalphBacon]

Great stuff, Martin! Just ensure you keep the default Spoke design for connecting to pads to make your soldering easier and you're good to go. Thanks for posting.

[@MartinBgelund]

Actually I was quite annoyed by the spoke design; "why isn't the ground plane completely connected? This looks peculiar!" So I watched your video closely on that part again, realising there is a good reason for that layout.

[@arnotek]

Thanks for the great video, it was a tremendous help. Yep, I made a mistake in ALL my circuit diagrams when I inadvertently used surface mounted parts instead of through hole components! Ugh! Making the PCBs (even if they are not going to be manufactured) really helps understand the tool. In several ways, I have been using EasyEDA incorrectly and going through the PCB drawing features significantly helped increase my understanding of how to use the tool. So yeah, I have to redo all of my designs but they will be very much improved. Learning is an iterative process and things are really starting to come along. Thanks again for your efforts.

[@RalphBacon]

Getting the schematic correct _first_ is a huge step towards a succesfui PCB, for sure!

[@avejst]

Great walkthrough👍 Thanks for sharing this great video👍😀

[@RalphBacon]

Thank you Asger, you going to make some PCBs now? Or maybe you're already an expert?

[@avejst]

@@RalphBacon I have made PCB's since the '90s with different PCB programs. Protel PCB, eagle PCB , and are concidder using KiCad. Have bought the cook book, but time... You are making a great job, really appreciate it 👍😉

[@heyok]

Thank you for this series! Now I have to find the time to do the work. You've made it so much easier to get started!

[@RalphBacon]

There's more to learn, obviously, but at least this might get your project off the ground!

[@andymouse]

Hi Ralph, I made my own footprint for that exact battery holder, just because I like that surface mount one, but it's not half as pretty as yours! such detail, could I, (in theory) import that just as a footprint into Kicad ? I just went to JLCPCB and they are saying it's $2 as normal, but as you progressed your PCB price doubled to $4 what did I miss?...nice clear explanation, cheer's... Oh yeah, real men don't use Autorouter :)

[@RalphBacon]

I'm not sure about importing footprints, Andy, although I have successfully imported entire KiCAD layouts and circuit diagrams into EasyEDA. In my demo I think I upped the number of boards to get it to$4. It's $2 for 5 boards though. Now, about that Autorouter; I've manually routed most (if not all) my little boards, just to get used to doing it. Then I designed an entire Uno board using the 328PB chip and had 47 tortuous tracks to lay down. There are not enough hours in the day for me to do that, so AutoRouter to the rescue (which also took several iterations but got there). I adjusted a couple of tracks and I'm good to go. Woo Hoo!

[@andymouse]

@@RalphBacon good point!

[@uwezimmermann5427]

you can place text on a copper layer and it might actually be useful: when you etch the circuit boards yourself using toner transfer you most probably don't have a silkscreen. It can also add some extra artistic touch to your design ...

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, I mentioned on another comment that I've seen some lovely bright copper logos on some boards. I must try that one day.

[@davidhead6549]

Another excellent video from "AWB productions" (And Welcome Back)

[@RalphBacon]

I should really patent or somehow copyright that, shouldn't I, David?!! Glad you liked it, good to hear from you.

[@mrroobarb]

28:05 - you're getting much better at covering up the PCB - Way to go Ralph! slightly cheeky, sorry...

[@RalphBacon]

Hush, for goodness sake, a simple mistake, I mean, now the whole world will know, Bruce. I would say thanks for posting but on this occasion... heh heh!

[@MrEdwardhartmann]

Great job as always, but you should have told them that if they don't use the spoke design on ground plane connections, they better have a good hot soldering iron or one with a lot of thermal mass to solder the connection or they will get a cold solder joint.

[@RalphBacon]

What you say is very true, but the slide-up text did mention it makes soldering easier, Edward, but I didn't want to overload beginners with the reason. But now you have done that, so I'm sure others will read your comment and understand that, thanks for posting.

[@kennmossman8701]

having a CLEAN PCB helps, as well as using flux. Too much heat can lift the copper

[@andycarter5617]

Excellent video. Thank you :-)

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you found it useful, Andy, now you gotta take the plunge and design one!

[@stevea5407]

very good tutorial well done Ralph

[@RalphBacon]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@uwezimmermann5427]

The modern pcb process is a mix of etching and electroplating. Therefore a blank area on the board does not mean that the full amount of copper (17 µm or 35 µm thickness) had to be etched away, but perhaps only a thickness of a few µm. Given the current price of copper any company will certainly want to recycle all their copper-etching waste.

[@RalphBacon]

I wish they would _show_ the copper reclamation process, though. As you say, Uwe, it's all about money so I would have thought they either reclaim it themselves or sell the 'effluent' to another company to do that.

[@GillesSanderse]

Great tutorial for a starter

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you liked it

[@guidovlaere]

Thanks for your tutorial! Very helpful!

[@RalphBacon]

Glad it was helpful!

[@wegi9621]

The true sounds like that: JLCPCB changed the world. They was very first which supported a small constructors. Thats way I allways remember it an still order only in JLCPCB

[@RalphBacon]

It's certainly a crowded market these days, there are many PCB fabs out there but JLCPCB has never let me down yet (even though they sponsor my PCBs they don't treat me any differently). Oh, yes, STM32s, so much to do! Still on my list of things to keep doing...

[@markgreco1962]

I’m going to try an arduino pro mini shield THANKS

[@RalphBacon]

Good on you Mark, take your time and share your work on EasyEDA if you want peer reviews.

[@kennmossman8701]

There is a temptation for newbies to make the PCB as small as possible. Don’t as it makes construction, cabling, and correcting mistakes much harder.

[@RalphBacon]

Absolutely true. I don't understand why smaller is always better. OK, we don't want stupidly spaced out components on a large board (like I used to make years back!) but compact is enough, leaving room for the soldering iron and meter probes to get in there!

[@atilliator]

cheers Ralph, learning/doing lots from your channel

[@RalphBacon]

Great to hear!

[@curiousscience3377]

thank u for making it very understandable

[@RalphBacon]

You're very welcome!

[@mr.mythoclast4451]

Thanks alot to get me in with my own pcbs :D i never knew how to start building my own. is it possible to get the pcb with Components in 3D View?

[@RalphBacon]

Unfortunately, EasyEDA does not show 3D views including components - unlike KiCAD that does this wonderfully well and can highlight potential problems just by looking at the board. But EasyEDA is limited to just the board right now, pity.

[@mr.mythoclast4451]

​@@RalphBacon hmm then i think i will stick to KICAD maybe, or both Thank you!

[@ronaldchinn5967]

Great video! Any chance you will be covering the 'how to' part of ordering boards with SMD components soldered on at their factory? I'm just on the edge of ordering a few boards but IF they'd do the hard part of soldering SMD components for me, it'd be worth it to me to learn that too... Thanks for the great videos you crank out... Love em!.

[@RalphBacon]

JLCPCB will SMD solder one face of your board only, Ronald, at the moment (top or bottom, you choose) and it's not too difficult. You must generate more files: the BOM from EasyEDA so they get a list of components, and the Pick&Place file which you can find under the first drop down menu (New, Open, Save...) and at the bottom of that list you will see Export Pick and Place File. You won't need to mirror the components on the underneath (the pop up tells you this) and just press Export and upload to JLCPCB along with the BOM. They will be checked by JLCPCB so don't worry if you do it wrong (as I did initially). Just try it and see how far you get - no one will force you to pay money until you are ready. I'll be showing a JLPCB SMD soldered PCB in a near future video, worked like a dream!

[@newburypi]

One again a great video, thoroughly enjoyed. Enjoyed to the point that I would ask for one or two follow on videos. I've mucked about with easyeda for a few months now and know there is info that would have been helpful earlier on. I'm currently digging into multiple designs on my 100 x 100 foot print. Anyway... how about a video of hints and tips in manual layout? Could be worth while to probe into component creation too. A la cloning of parts from other users, and custom components (I had to build a custom foot print for a switch I wanted to use from my parts bins). If you are interested, I'd be willing to put together a list of hints/tips that I think would be useful.

[@RalphBacon]

It's tempting to do a follow-up, Dale, but given the very low viewing figures on the last video, and even lower (so far) on this one, I think my audience would eventually desert me [sad face]. Maybe I need to do an _extra_ video where I (and KZbin) don't really worry about viewing figures. Or put something up on GitHub.

[@tomgeorge3726]

Hi Ralph, great video. Sorry couldn't stop smiling. Here in Australia we "AutoRoute" not "AutoRoot" a trace. 😮😆 I prefer not to "AutoRoute" or "AutoRoot" . My philosophy about copper on PCBs, you have bought a PCB covered in copper, are you going to pay someone to etch most of it off? I try to leave as much of MY copper on MY PCB. As you construct your PCB save the file under development names so if you make a stuff-up, you can go back before your mistake and not loose all your work.

[@andycarter5617]

Tom George lol. Thanks for the reminder, I had learned some time ago the Australian different pronunciations of Rooting and Routing... and when I was informed what rooting means, it always makes me smile :-)

[@RalphBacon]

This sentence, Tom, sounds the same to me: "Here in Australia we "AutoRoute" not "AutoRoot" a trace." Perhaps you speak like them across the pond do, AutoRoW-t (as in RoWt 66, not Root 66) where the RoW bit is pronounced as in argument rowing not boat rowing. 😮😆 Regarding its use, see my comment to Andy at the bottom of this list. I find the AutoRooooter quite good, not perfect (as this demo shows!) but so much quicker than me!

[@almostanengineer]

I generally use the ‘pay later’ option if I’ve done something I’m not certain about, live v’cuts or panelisation etc...

[@RalphBacon]

Probably a wise decision to do that, Daniel, wait until you get the green light before handing over greenback!

[@AJB2K3]

there is a time and a place for writing and drawings in the copper layer.

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, I've seen some nice logos in the copper layer (with the solder mask removed, of course).

[@henrikjensen3278]

Interesting to see how well the program is integrated with JLC, but I do not agree with your layout. Why use that large PCB for these few parts and where is the mounting holes? I know it do not matter for a demo PCB, but for practical PCB's I often consider the box (including mounting) where I want to put it and the size of the PCB. A good way to check sizes is to print you PCB layout, this can often be done in a 1:1 size, i.e. you can check if the components fits and if the PCB fits in the box you want to put it in. Spending some time on moving the parts around is often a good idea, it allows you to make a compact PCB and to optimize the routing. I wonder about the ground plane, I have never heard about it as something you usually do. I added it to some of my PCB's when I see a point in it, but it is not one all PCB's and it is not always over the full PCB. When I used Eagle I usually manually routed power and fast signals and let the auto router do the rest, but now I uses KiCad and there is no autorouter (It autoroutes a track while you place it, but it can be very annoying), I have found out that it is fairly easy to route most of my PCB's. The only question is how much OCD you have, if it is at a high level you can spend many hours optimizing the layout.

[@RalphBacon]

You can spend hours tinkering with the layout and placement of components on a board, Henrik, as you say, depending on your OCD level! But Ground Planes (on both top and bottom of the board) are a sort of de facto standard these days when using microControllers as it provides a limited protection against all that RF stuff (even the 16MHz clock) getting radiated. Basically the trace carrying the signal (on top) will have the bottom return path following very closely if there is a ground plane underneath it, thus minimising loop inductance. It also provides protection for your µC against EMI, especially if the ground plane is both top and bottom. However, separating Analog and Digital ground return paths is pretty essential and most often forgotten (it's all just GND, right? Nope.) to reduce noise and interference. It's something I'm trying to use these days if the circuit needs both types of signals. PCB design is as much an art (aligning components - actually a must for pick and place machines and flow soldering) as a science in some ways, although there are some very definite DOs and DON'Ts that are based on real science. VCC tracks need to be bigger (eg 32mil not 6mil) and apparently right angles in tracks WILL cause radiation of signals so 45° changes of direction are preferred these days. I just found this interesting article but there are a gazillion others: www.autodesk.com/products/eagle/blog/8-pcb-grounding-rules/ Good to hear your perspective on things, Henrik, thanks for posting.

[@henrikjensen3278]

As I said, I use ground planes when I see a purpose in it. lygte-info.dk/pic/Projects/Charger/PCBV2layoutd.png The link shows a PCB where I need to run a switcher next to where I must measure with 1mV stable resolution. The two parts got their own ground planes. I also put some text in the copper layer. I have always been doing that, it is good for more discrete markings.

[@azyfloof]

Great video as always, Ralph! 😊 A video on manual routing would help a lot of people, I think 😃 I tried the auto router for the first couple days I started using EasyEAD, but found it really slow and cumbersome, but I dreaded the thought of manual routing until I actually tried it. Now I can manually route tracks in paths that make a lot more sense (for example your rain sensor can be routed on a single layer :D)

[@RalphBacon]

Indeed, Azy, the Autorouter is not perfect but when you have many, many nets to route it can really help out, even if it only gets 90% of them "right". As I mentioned in the video, it could have routed it all on one layer but perhaps there is an algorithm that lets it use 2 layers if they are available. I've just done an entire UNO board with it, it would have taken me until Xmas to complete.

[@blic-sx9ix]

Enjoying the DIY PCB tutorials. I designed my first board in EasyEDA and it went well using your video. I decided I wanted to add a power switch to the board but could not figure out how to edit the already routed PCB without having to place all the components on the PCB again. I could not find any videos on making changes to a design. Any chance we could get one Ralph?

[@RalphBacon]

If you add further components *first do it* in the schematic, then import the changes as I showed you and it will leave all existing components where they are, with just the new component(s) off the board, connected via ratlines. Drag the component where you want it and do the Autorouting again. Or, if you're up to it, manually route. Any good? I will include this in any future video I do on EasyEDA though.

[@blic-sx9ix]

@@RalphBacon Thanks. I will give it a try

[@blic-sx9ix]

@@RalphBacon Thanks for the help and the videos. I teach beginner soldering classes to ages 10 and up at our local library. I have used different binky kits from the Far East that cost $3 to $6 each. I just designed my first board based on a 555 timer project in a book I have. I breadboarded it up way back when but have lost track of the 555 chip I used. I have ordered parts to test the circuit. I added a trim pot to allow for a little variation in the blink speed. I calculated the blink rate using online calculators but as you say wiring up the circuit before I commit to PCBs is the way to go. It looks like the cost of the custom boards and parts will be comparable to the kits I buy. I made the project shareable at easyeda.com/lohmeyer.keith/test-2 My first thought was to make the PCB itself wreath shaped (test2 pcb) but it looks like the only options are rectangle or circle. On the (wreath pcb) I just added the wreath shape to the top silk layer.

[@kennmossman8701]

Heat! Do leave space around components that get ‘hot’. Keep in mind that when going from bread-board to a project (in an enclosed box) the components will get hotter as air circulation is limited (or none at all). If you think a heat-sink is needed do allow room for it on the PCB. A common belief is that since VR ICs like the 78xx / 79xx (etc) have thermal cut-off one doesn’t have to worry, but when your circuit cuts-off after 30 minutes and then goes On/Off/On/Off it is embarrassing - if there isn’t room for a heat-sink …………lesson learned the hard way.

[@RalphBacon]

I can only imagine the embarrassment, Kenn. Not something you forget after that, but as I said before you can't learn experience! Good point, thanks for posting.

[@Roy_Tellason]

This reminds me of a warranty service I did some years back on a Fender guitar amp. They had a headphone jack, typically plastic as are used these days, and *right* next to it was a 5W power resistor that was in circuit when headphones were used, to cut the power going out of the jack. It apparently got hot enough to melt the jack to the point where the normally-closed switching contacts that would allow the sound to go to the speaker weren't connecting any more. I did let them know about that when I submitted the warranty paperwork... :-)

[@oncledan282]

Good day, my dear Friend. As always, GREAT instructive video you've done there. I now feel more confident to experiment. Thanks for answering my question as for the Ground Plane / coper pour. I'll sure apply this to my existing « 'WWS' Data Logger » project. I am getting along fine in sourcing parts that JLC will assemble for me, although I find it tedious to source similar footprint SMD LEDs. I guess Package similarity is more important than choosing all the parts from the same manufacturer .. the price is also to be taken in account, although I'm not THAT thrifty to consider $0.002 difference to be a decisive factor. LOL ! Like a good kid, I'll try doing my homework before I re-submit my work for further hints and » approval ». re-LOL ! Ok 'Uncle Dan' .. back to the drawing board you go. Have a great weekend and see you soon!

[@RalphBacon]

If you have many components you use time and time again, Daniel, you can 'clone' them and put them into your own workspace. Jut beware that they might go obsolete by LCSC when you come to use them, things move pretty fast in the electronics components world. And, of course, all 0805 components are the same size so I don't care if they substitute components from someone else, it's not critical in my designs. Glad you found the copper pour feature useful, I'll be looking out for your revised design.

[@peterlorne7077]

Thaks for a exelent video. Special thaks that you don't speake so fast. !!!! It makes it easyer to folow you to those that not so god in english as me. Regards. / Peter in Sweden.

[@RalphBacon]

Hello Peter from Sweden! I'm very happy you could understand me. You can also turn on the automated captions (subtitles) if that helps. Thanks for posting, good to hear from you.

[@gregwmanning]

Great Videos Ralph. I reckon I'll give PCBing a go. I think I'll make my own timer pcb. Is there a link we should use to show you set us? Many thanks for the encouragement, Greg tassie

[@RalphBacon]

No affiliate link for PCBs, Greg, just go directly to their website. Glad you're making the jump, Greg, it's worth it, just make sure you have triple checked all the footprints and stuff!

[@Ilikeridin]

Thats an excellent video, thank you. Never heard of the ground plain before, interesting. I’ve seen pictures of pcbs in the design stage, which scare me from producing one, as they look complicated. That video has shown me how simple it is really. Apart from getting used to the software etc. I think I’ll have a go at producing one for my rf24 project. Could I get the first time buyer discount and get two different designs, for that reason. Say, 4or5 each.

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, have a go, Chris! You can practice and practice until you KNOW that your PCB will be correct if you were to order it. No surprises or guesswork! First time buyer discount only works for your first PCB I believe but you can submit two designs in one order and see what price you get quoted. And $8 OFF on the First Electronic Parts Order at lcsc.com which can cover multiple designs, of course.

[@flemmingchristiansen2462]

A coffee and a half ??? -yeah, saw your wink -lol Great tutorial, we all make mistakes, good of you to mention yours. Last time i made circuit boards, 30 years ago, i used uv-light and fero chlorite, so much easier today.

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, I used to make them like that too, 30 (wink) years ago... what a chore. These days it is so professional (even if the board doesn't work, it still looks good!!!). Sounds like you need to take the plunge, Flemming, what say you?

[@flemmingchristiansen2462]

@@RalphBacon oh yes i do,as soon as a project comes up, might be soon.

[@hansdegroot652]

What about multi color pcbs? Or ones that change color based on temperature just like the hotwheeels use to do?

[@RalphBacon]

I've never seen a PCB that changes colour (other than to "burnt brown" as a component overheats 😁) but maybe a PCB manufacturer will pick this up as a must-have selling point! I'd prefer multicoloured silk layer so we can put different coloured inks down that are logically connected (eg +5v in red, GND lines in black and so on).

[@hansdegroot652]

@@RalphBacon hi. Yeah plenty of black pcbs here that used to be green 😁

[@sudheerkumar5966]

Very good

[@RalphBacon]

Thanks, glad you found it useful 👍🏻

[@mikestombraidervids8768]

Hi Ralph. Very useful video as usual. I have a question about the JLPCB assembly service. For extended (i.e. not so commonly used) parts, there is, understandably, a charge to cover the technician having to mount reels on the pic and place machines. I am wondering if this for every instance of the part used in a design or if it is once per extended part. If I need two or more of the same extended part in a design, or if the design is panelised and there are, say, 6 panels, I would hope that the extended part cost is incurred only once. And also that it will not be affected by board count 5 vs 10 vs more. This would be an important factor for me as (a) I cannot solder -- have no iron, experience, work space -- and (b) I am on a very limited budget. Cheers, Mike.

[@RalphBacon]

The cost is one per board, whether you have one board or 100, just the one charge per component.

[@jeffbluejets2626]

Just like you said Ralph, play with it for a while and it starts to make sense. Yep, that did work however, I've looked (obviously in the wrong places) for info on how to "partly" populate the board say with smd components such as small resistors, Leds or small capacitors. Not really into having a stock of these and if only a few cents for the added manufacture, makes sense (cents?......Hehehe) Can't find anything about it though, any suggestion? Worked out how to "panalize" i.e. how to get (in my case) 8 of my designs fitted into a 100mm square panel and x 5 this makes 40 of my designs for a little over AUD$8.00....post about $7.00 for 20 or so days delivery which is fine. These are part of a CDI mod to use black box CDI units with KY003 hall effect for model engine builders....seems a few interested here so a few boards won't go usused even if i have to give them away....... 😆😁😁

[@RalphBacon]

Hey, Jorgo, great to hear from you and see that you now playing about with PCBs! You want to know how to get JLCPCB to assemble your board for you? Design your board with all the components you want. For each component that you want assembled for you ensure the "Include in BOM" is ticked (BOM = Bill of Materials, ie the components list) in the right hand panel. If you don't want a particular component assembled by JLCPCB just untick that checkbox for that component. When you have done the PCB, generate the BOM from the toolbar - you will need to upload that to JLCPCB when you select that you want the PCB board assembled. Obviously, only select components that LCSC have in stock (that JLCPCB use, part of the same company) and ensure they are described as "Basic", not "Extended" as that costs (significantly) more money. JLCPCB will then quote you for the components (from LCSC) plus the (low or free) assembly fee and that's it! You accept (or decline) the quote and they will do the rest. Simples! They will soon tell you if you got it wrong and try and help you along. 😀

[@jeffbluejets2626]

@@RalphBacon Hi Ralph...thankyou....Yes I did present a board to them using panelize but managed to get it wrong so just as well I asked for a review. A couple of back and forth after that had it sorted. Bit of trial and error if you will....cheers

[@markludwig5805]

I have a questions on routing PCB traces from bottom layer to top layer with SMD devices mounted on top. I found it convenient to place a via on the pad of a 0805 resistor instead of a via next to pad and finish trace on top layer. What do you think of this technique? Using JLCPCB the maximum quantity is around 30-50 assembled PCB’s. Why. What if you need 100 assembled PCBs, looks like I would have to add multiple orders.

[@RalphBacon]

Is putting a via on an SMD pad considered Best Practice? If so, then it sounds fine to me (but I'm no expert). I don't know why there is a maximum of assembled PCBs - perhaps they are not best positioned for long production runs - why not ask them directly?

[@aimanelaaqdi5245]

Hey Ralph, thanks for these awesome videos. My question is regarding the final phase of the pcb before sending it to the production. I saw you just had the pcb with just the layers without the components. From my understaing on other videos on the checkout page (when uploading the gerber file) i can tell the supplier to solder the components too. (Supposing I am using all the components from the JLCPCB library). Is that correct ?

[@RalphBacon]

That is correct. When you have generated the Gerber files, you must then generate the BOM which will product a spreadsheet file of all components. If you have used LCSC components (those offered by JLCPCB) all the information will be there. They will soon come back to you with queries if not. Sometimes you have to buy minimum quantities (eg min 10 x 10K resistors) but they are pennies and any "leftovers" get sent to you with the assembled board. Supplied, assembled board looks like it just rolled off the production line at the factory, superb!

[@aimanelaaqdi5245]

@@RalphBacon Thank you for this clearance Raplh ! You're awesome!

[@charlesklein7232]

i have seen alot of demos and your was one of the betters ones despite the fact that your face was in it. are their any real instructions like a book of some kind for this. for example if you had your components could you just drop in a resistor with out going threw the purchase process.

[@RalphBacon]

Well, Charles, despite the fact you object to me starring in my own video (😭 what!) let's see. Although this demo was about the integrated nature of LCSC.com (for components) and JLCPCB.com (for the PCB) no-one is saying you have to order the components at all. You can just order the PCB. However. In fact, let's make that an HOWEVER, are you sure that the footprints you've chosen are correct for the components you already have. You are probably safe with either through-hole or SMD capacitors, resistors, chips and diodes. What about USB sockets? Barrel jack power sockets? On-off switches? In fact, unless you have a footprint for the product (or are prepared to spend considerable time creating one for that component) you're better off ordering the thing from LCSC.com simply because you _know_ it will fit. I have not found a book for EasyEDA but the online docs are pretty good and have a lot of examples. Is this what you asked?

[@Roy_Tellason]

I wonder if that "rain sensor" circuit would be usable for determining soil moisture? A couple of good-sized nails as probes, connected to where you have that sensor, might do it. (And I notice that schematic wasn't included in the github. :-)

[@RalphBacon]

In my experience, nails are not suitable, Roy, as they will corrode. What I have got specifically for soil moisure is a _capacitive_ probe, see www.banggood.com/Capacitive-Soil-Moisture-Sensor-Not-Easy-To-Corrode-Wide-Voltage-Monitor-Module-p-1309033.html?p=FQ040729393382015118& I haven't tried it (yet) but has got to be better than something in direct contact with water? What do you think?

[@Roy_Tellason]

I think corrosion could be an issue if you were to leave it in place, but I was thinking more along the lines of stick it in the dirt and listen to the noise, wiping it off afterwards. And nails are cheap, anyway! I guess that it all depends on how I've rigged up something to hold them.

[@jeffbluejets2626]

Just a thought.... as an add-on so to speak, some might be interested to know how to do "panelising" in EasyEda

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, good idea, as I got it slightly wrong on a couple of occasions. I might share my "experiences" in a future video.

[@jeffbluejets2626]

@@RalphBacon Yes, me too. Luckily they check before they make the board and send back a notice that it won't work. Had this a couple of times and had to redesign the layout/board to suit. It's not difficult, just tend to slip the mind as not used all that much. Cheers Jeff

[@shvideo1]

How did you tell the software that it is the ground wire that should be connected to the ground layer at the bottom? Also why some holes are round and others are square? Also 20mm track width? That cannot be the trace width!! What is a track width? Sorry about all the questions. Thank you for the details in your video and your great tips.

[@RalphBacon]

Wow! Daniel, I feel your enthusiasm! Let's answer your questions. 1. When you create a *copper area* on the top or bottom layer, it asks to which NET it should be connected, GND or VCC (or none, which would be weird). 2. I'm not sure any holes are actually square, just the solder pad, which usually denotes pin 1 (eg of pin headers). 3. Track width of 20mil (that's thousands of an inch, not mm) is perfectly acceptable, that's about 0.508mm. I normally use 10mil to start with just to get things connected then increase the size to at least 15mil and for power (and GND) 20mil to 40mil is good. 4. I finally use teardrop connections as that increases the physical strength of the tracks as they join a pin header or IC pad. Keep the questions coming, it's the only way to learn.

[@shvideo1]

@@RalphBacon Hi Ralph. Thank you for answering my questions. They were perfect. I never realized 20mil is not 20mm (or 2 cm?!!). I need to look into that unit of measure. I learned a lot about EasyEDA and would love to order my own PCBs soon. It would be awesome if you did a video on vias (if remember correctly) where a top trace is connected to the bottom one through a hole. The reason it that as hobbyists we often have to back engineer PCB traces on very interesting boards for which there is no information online. Knowing about vias that carry the trace to the other layer has proved a very useful piece of information for me. As always, thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions!! It's very kind of you and I find your videos most interesting. I ran into your KZbin videos only a couple of days ago. I wish you many many years of happy tinkering, learning, and creating.

[@RalphBacon]

Alexa (Amazon Echo) also thinks that "mil" is short for millimeters (or even millilitres) so will not convert from mil to mm for me! If you have one try it out!

[@RalphBacon]

PS What is it about vias that you need to know? In EasyEDA just press V and you get one whilst laying tracks and the size can be adjusted like any other copper.

[@shvideo1]

@@RalphBacon Hi Ralph. I am interested on how how to use vias in a PCB design. There's no good documentation on EasyEDA. One KZbin video showed how you can drop a via your PCB design and then select a track on either side of the board (blue or red). It's the first I saw on how to use a via. Thank you for the conversation. I am very grateful.

[@eduardo9626]

Hello, how good it would be if the video had subtitles, if possible in Portuguese, you would win a very large audience, Brazil is a huge country. congratulations on the video, thanks

[@RalphBacon]

Tudo bem! How good it would be if I still spoke Portuguese, Eduardo, but there is nothing to stop viewers submitting their own subtitles, apparently! Glad you liked the video, thanks for posting.

[@duncanx99]

How could you do that video without any mention of the underlying grid or snap-to-grid???

[@RalphBacon]

Because it is not essential to understand how to put a PCB together. It will be pretty obvious that things snap to a grid when you move the components around. Maybe something for a future video, Duncan, what do you say?

[@duncanx99]

@@RalphBacon Yes, if snap-to-grid is enabled, components will snap to that grid, but what is that grid - imperial 100mil, 50mil, whatever or metric 1mm, 0.5mm, whatever? In EasyEDA, snap-to-grid may be on by default (don't know, I use Eagle) but you need to know what grid it's snapping to - particularly when you have a mix of imperial and metric components to place.

[@uwezimmermann5427]

@@duncanx99 well, actually in order to place the components you don't need to know the grid. Same is true for KiCad - you can happily place components on any grid and route between the pads. The software will manage to connect the pads anyway. But of course if you want to connect you parts nicely, place connectors, etc, it might be good to have full control. I still think that that's what went wrong when they designed the Arduino Uno with those weird non-aligned header rows.

[@ianleitch9960]

I'm in the rooting class. Rowting (across the pond speak) is in my view a rotary carving process or wholesale decimation of an enemy formation (thinking sabres and lances). Eagle, Kicad, they all have a steep learning curve, but use of Inkscape, with a similarly steep entry curve, and it's benefits must be quite similar. Cribbed and custom footprints to accommodate those stock 'capacitor' components seem to be the way forward for me. Time to dig in and stop contemplating starting. It's all time. Many thanks for the time you put into the videos as well as reading and answering the comments. that's an awful (but definitely not awful) lot of invested time. Ian_

[@RalphBacon]

Hoorah for 'rooting' not 'rowting'. Don't even the Americans say "Root 66" not "Rowt 66"? The song definitely says "I get my kicks on Root 66"! A road I've always wanted to travel down from the lakes to the West Coast but apparently a lot of it isn't there any more. I hear you on the steep learning curve but at the end of the day it's all about time and effort invested in learning these tools. I just wish EasyEDA had a better 3D tool, like KiCAD, that actually shows the components too (and in Real Time), as that can make you realise that something isn't going to work the way components are placed. OK, Ian, as you say, it's time to start starting. As I am about to, on my next video! Good to hear from you.

[@oscarjimz5130]

Hi, I'm sorry if this might sound dumb, I'm a electronic noob but what is the main function of the capacitor?

[@RalphBacon]

I'm guessing you are referring to the 100nF capacitor across the VCC & GND pins of the processor? This is a decoupling capacitor and is often recommended in the datasheets to remove any noise on the power lines from entering the processor and upsetting the digital (or even Analog) processing. I would say they are mandatory for a stable system. And put physically VERY close to those pins.

[@samadams6487]

I am sure JLCPCB is sponsoring this, but how about a tutorial for exporting it to make your own PCBs.

[@RalphBacon]

Not clear on what you mean here, Sam. Export what? The PCB design? Where to? Confused 😕

[@jensschroder8214]

Play with the number of boars to made! Some times you get 5 for 5 €, 10 for 4,50€, 15 for 4,60 € and 20 for 5€. As a exampel. Why not get more litte Boards for the same price ?

[@RalphBacon]

I guess it depends on how many boards you really need, Jens. If you only ever expect to make one or two boards then 5 is enough - save the planet and all that. If you're making a small batch run for a commercial product then more will be definitely worthwhile! Imight point this anomaly out in a future video!

[@kennmossman8701]

was wondering about the boars..............

[@michaelstevens630]

One issue which I consider to be very serious, whilst I can download the client software and run locally on Windows in my case. Not possible to save these designs locally on my own drive. They all have to be saved via the cloud service they run. So they disappear and so do my designs. Far too high a risk for me to take. And before people scream what do you expect? I understand about the tie-up between the three companies. A sad fact of life no matter how big a company or group appear they can also disappear into the history books. If this was to happen so would my files, well OK would have the Gerbers (but no circuit diagram and completed layout) Guessing everything comes at a cost when using Free Software. This is not to de-cry this software as seemed to have some good promise, and sure will work very well for many without you needing to be concerned over this issue.

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, I had wondered about that. You'll be pleased (and relieved) to know, Michael, that the files can be backed-up as a zip and then downloaded onto your PC. However, if the company did go out of business I'm not sure how that would help you as the client software still talks to the server, even when starting up. Whether it runs in standalone mode I haven't tested. Edit: I disconnected my PC from the Internet and I found could open the backup files, both schematic and PCB. It would not let me import changes to the PCB from the schematic nor generate Gerber files until I had logged in. As you say, I guess the Gerbers could be imported into another program at that point. You can also export the schema(tic) to Altium files (although you do get a warning that this is currently experimental). If the designs are that critical to you I guess you will be backing stuff up anyway, and/or exporting to other formats. If I lost an old PCB design, now done and dusted, I'm not sure I'd be that concerned as a hobbyist; as a self employed PCB designer or small business it would probably make me think carefully about the platform I'm using.

[@uwezimmermann5427]

this is the same reason why I don't use the free software from Altium either - no control, no backup, everything is in some company-based cloud without any warranty that you can rescue your design if ever the company gets eaten by a bigger company, decides to scrap the software, goes bankrupt,...

[@michaelstevens630]

@@RalphBacon What we can establish without using a million words is that all tied up from a web connection based in the cloud. Yes I know a colleague has also mentioned Altium. I would prefer an export option to Diptrace or Eagle. Reality check how many hobbyists have a licence for Altium? I know you have to sell them for sponsorship and do not disagree with that in principle.

[@billleonard2015]

Good video. I'm a beginner having never used the tools in the video but I felt there was just a little too much "you can do this" and "you can do that" and not enough of you actually doing this and that. F'rinstance, if C1 is the wrong size, you can change it... why didn't you? You said it was easy enough. Some things you didn't do because you "already did it" - that's no help to me as a beginner in a tutorial. Still, I did get a lot from the video so thumbs up.

[@RalphBacon]

I appreciate your feedback, Bill, especially as you are a newcomer and that is exactly who my channel is hoping to help. I've taken on board the fact I was remiss in not doing some of the things you mentioned, although I have to be very mindful of the video length. 30 minutes is really the maximum and lots of viewers switch off after 15 minutes, so I have to gauge what will be useful and what is just me waffling on. I'm hoping that even though I didn't cover all the bases, it might have given you enough information to try it out. It's only be actually doing that we realise how little me know (tell me about it)! Thanks for the thumbs up, and I hope you are not a stranger to my channel in the future!

[@tigrafrog]

How fast my account will be terminated if I try to build "Free Hong Kong" and "Free Tibet" LED singes, in English, Mandarin and Cantonese (with SMD LEDs it will be very compact)?

[@RalphBacon]

Try it out and let us know!

[@FHollis-gw4cc]

Well, here's a comment that has both a compliment and a question. First the complement: I agree with all those who mention that they appreciate that your speech is slow enough to be understood. Being here in the US, I have to "translate" quite a bit of what you say due to your horrible accent. 😂 But I most certainly do appreciate your humor. All in all, your presentation is, for me, just about perfect! By the way, I have no 30 minute limit on videos. Now, the question: I am trying to create a schematic that incorporates devices that I have already purchased from Amazon and Digikey. I am unable to find two of the devices in the listings from in EasyEDA. The first is an ESP32 development board (Flutesan B09GK74F7N), the other is a reed relay (HE103-ND). As they are not shown in the listings from LCSC, I can't place them in the schematic and so I assume (I haven't tried it yet) that I won't be able to create the board. Now, what to do?

[@RalphBacon]

Well, thanks for the "compliment": my horrible BRITISH accent! Let me remind you who was here first (in the sense of which country spoke English first, not our respective ages!) Secondly, you don't need the device as a footprint to design it into a PCB. Your ESP32 dev board is, effectively, just a row of pins in two strips. Measure the distance between them (ACCURATELY) and place a row of pin header sockets in the right place. Same for the reed relay. Alternatively, learn how to design a footprint to which you can attach to your own clone of a suitable part (or create that too, as I have done). Yes, it's all a bit time consuming but practice makes perfect (I'll let you know when that happens to me).

[@webslinger2011]

Where's the design rules check? Fritzing has it to check for wiring conflicts.

[@RalphBacon]

We did a designs rule check just before generating the Gerber files. In Real Life you would do this many, many times during the design of the PCB but I did show it at least!

[@webslinger2011]

Sorry about that. I skipped some parts of your vid. I'll look at it again some time. Busy with school stuff.