My Top 10 PCB Design Tips

[@davidgood840]

A few extra tips : 1 . After you are done routing , Inspect you gerbers using a different tool . I use gerbv which is free software . Look at each layer one at a time for things that look too close or other "weird" stuff . You will be amazed what using a different viewer will expose . 2 . Check the mask layer and the silk layer together as the silkscreen will get clipped anywhere these two layers intersect . 3 . As an extension to one of the tips in the video , bring unused pins of ICs out to free pads or vias if at all possible . It will be very useful if you forgot to connect something or want to use the unused i/o pins of your mcu for something you didn't think of on the initial layout . Be sire to also put extra ground pads near some of these extra pads too , so that if you need to wire up a connector , you have an easy ground connection to go with them . 4 . Add extra ground pads around the board to have an easy reference while probing signals . glhf !

[@DustinWatts]

Thanks for the extra tips! :D

[@t1d100]

Tip... Home printers very often do not print a true 100%, AKA 1:1 scale. This is a well know problem. The scaling may be wrong on the X, or Y axis, or both. For instance, my inkjet printer prints to about 98%, even though I have the scale set to 1:1. Here is my work-around... I draw two 100mm lines on the comments layer of the PCB page, just outside of the edge cut lines, on both the X and Y axis. When I print the PCB page, I include the comments layer, so that the lines print. Then, I measure both lines with a good ruler. Mine generally measure 98mm. So, I reprint the PCB at 1.02:1. Then, the scaling is true and I can test my component footprints.

[@DustinWatts]

Good tip! Although for rough placement I never had a problem :)

[@t1d100]

@@DustinWatts Agreed. I find its greatest benefit to be for checking the pins on my custom made footprint libraries, for tiny components that have tight pin placements.

[@Nanocosm]

Wow, that's even better than a banana!

[@Gisbert-12843]

@@Nanocosm i like your comment

[@autonoob]

I think it’s probably easier, cheaper, faster and better for your health to just get the pcb than getting a printer involved. They are truly the worst 😂

[@elecrain]

As a college student, it's quite good to see that I'm already using all of these tips in the video.

[@DustinWatts]

Well, you are off to a good start! :)

[@cantinasongband]

My tip is to hide ground and power nets when routing. Only unhide them after signals are routed. Makes it so much easier to see through the puzzle.

[@DustinWatts]

Very good tip Nick!

[@ChunkySteveo]

Good set of tips Dustin! Always liked the 1:1 paper print to show the ACTUAL board and how your components just won't fit it! 1 piece of paper and 5 mins will save you a couple of weeks delivery and board costs 👌🏻

[@DustinWatts]

I still sometimes get to overconfident even when using a component I've used many times before. Only to discover after a few weeks that I ordered a different component size because it was cheaper or the one I used was out of stock. :)

[@ailivac]

Especially with all the semi-unstandardized IC packages these days. Sometimes you use the footprint called "VSSOP" because that's the same name the manufacturer uses, but it turns out to be 0.635mm pitch instead of 0.5, and you should have used something like "TFSOP" instead. Or things that come in extra-wide SOICs for no reason.

[@YoutubeBorkedMyOldHandle_why]

I'd kill to have your last name ;-) I don't mean to trash your sponsor, especially considering you seem to be only starting, and they're probably paying you a pretty penny. However ... Based on lots of ads and recommendations, I thought I'd try PCBWAY. As I have done many times before, I included multiple designs on some of my boards. Not to be confused with panelizing etc., these are designs which I intended to cut by myself. I was simply trying to Maximize the default 100x100mm board space. But PCBWAY cried foul and made it ABUNDANTLY CLEAR that they don't allow this. Meaning: they attempted to charge the FULL PRICE for each and every 'design' on my boards. Total price (in Canadian dollars) $420 for this order (5 copies of 5 different boards.) We couldn't resolve the dispute, so I cancelled my order and submitted EXACTLY the same order to JLCPCB. JLCPCB had no issue with my submission. Total cost ... $72 delivered. The PCBs were perfect. I can't vouch for PCBWAY's quality ... but I'm perfectly happy with all of my JLCPCB orders.

[@DustinWatts]

I don't know how that name would help you in prison :) About what you said about your experience with PCBWay, too bad. I don't see this as trashing. You are allowed to share your experience and speak freely :)

[@dekutree64]

Tip: After doing rough placement of components, grab the MCU or whatever has the most connections and move it in a circular pattern so you can see if there are many ratlines crossing over eachother. Try rotating it to all the 90 and 45 degree angles until you find the one where the most ratlines run parallel.

[@ChauBui-l5y]

I summaize: + Use reference design • Datasheets for example feature typical application • Open source design • Development board + Work in block + Move, rotate, repeat + Importance trace first + Trace width calculator + Use net label + Printing on paper • Print layout on paper with ratio 1:1, check with reality footprint components • Check the components relationship, eg. USB stick can be plug in in the same time or not. + Extra footprint: make test point + Use the 3D viewer + Use the DRC

[@DustinWatts]

Thank you @user-wf7xm5xg3t for that nice summarization!

[@JJSnel-uh3by]

Usually using a 4 layer pcb is only slightly more expensive then using a 2 layer pcb. depending on the manufacturer and if/what PCBA you use. This can help to add a completely seperate Ground plane or even a powerplane to your design making it easier to run you signal and data lines much faster and with less use of Via's. However there are some EMI considerations here a proper GND plane for example has some rules to follow and a powerplane is not always the best use of the space. A powerplane can also cause interference if used incorrectly.

[@DustinWatts]

Thanks for the extra tips!

[@arun.sekher]

Invaluable information for beginners.

[@DustinWatts]

Thanks you and you are welcome :)

[@justdoingodswork]

Test pad would be really helpful, I'll use it from now on

[@DustinWatts]

If I have the room available, I always put test pads on my board!

[@weerolein]

nice and clean with no fluff!

[@ampnics]

I already use these steps while designing the PCB

[@DustinWatts]

Cool! You are on a good way!

[@kyleolson8977]

I like the 3D viewer, but remember it's not always right. You might be trusting someone who attached the wrong model. For example, I have a board I with a USB-B 3.0 connector, and the 3D model I got in EasyEDA from JLCPCB for the part was USB-B 2.0. It game me a pretty nice view of how a similar B 2.0 connector would still fit in the 3.0 footprint, but it was the wrong size. In this case the error was obvious for a couple reasons. I was able to look at the photo and datasheet in the catalog and verify I had the right part and footprint. Many parts aren't going to be as clear as this one so keep an eye out.

[@DustinWatts]

Indeed. It is a tool to give you an idea/feeling. Not a tool for precise measurement or placing. And that is also my advice on how to use is. Get a feel for the board, you can do aesthetics, see is a certain placement makes sense or works for you. But that is it. Design with measurements not by eye ;)

[@naidol]

Good quick tips ... I like the one to provide for extra components that may be needed later.

[@DustinWatts]

Yeah... one of my favourites. The times I spent scraping away soldermask to add another cap or something. Not worth it if the footprints are free :D

[@CallistoPili]

very good recommendations and I love you done it using KiCAD. I usually apply these rules on daily basis and these design rules applies also to other ECAD programs. Good to see nice videos about that stuff, especially for people that have to start this career. However there are different set of rules, Design rules to sketch the idea and concept that leads into simulation first. Design rules like these on the video especially for making concice and consistent schematic, Design rule for standard PCBs, and also for Analog o Mixed signals, and RF only. The content is so vaste btw. :)

[@DustinWatts]

You are absolutely right! These are just basic tips and tricks that served me well through the years. But there are many considerations when it comes to PCB design. But that wouldn't fit in a Top 10 or even a Top 100 ;)

[@TinyHardware]

You probing that CP2102N chip gave me flashbacks.... Thanks again for all the help in discord I now have 3 working Touchdown units and they are great. I'm thinking of modifying your design to make the pads longer for probing and hand soldering since there is a lot of room to play with. Thanks again and great video!.

[@DustinWatts]

Yeah the board is not really made for hand soldering, increasing the footprint size would definitely help!

[@cwbh10]

Oh man same, that chip was SUCH a headache for me. Especially with their datasheet typos

[@mahoneytechnologies657]

All Excelent Ideas!

[@DustinWatts]

Thanks!

[@TheTinkerDad]

Great video with a very nice collection of tips!

[@DustinWatts]

Thanks The Tinker Dad!

[@thesixcylinderclub]

Hi, nice video! How did you route D- and D+ @02:35 simultaneously?

[@DustinWatts]

Using differential pair routing under “Route” -> “Differential Pair”. If you label the tracks in the schematic with + and -, Kicad knows they belong together. You can use separate track properties for differential pairs.

[@stephenremillard9462]

Great video. Subscribed!

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

Nice video, good to see your printing the gerbers to check footprints and spacings been doing that for years. I know that pcbs are cheap now but p&p is a killer! WHY wait until you get the pcb to find the faults.

[@DustinWatts]

Exactly! Why? It will only take a couple of minutes and will save you a lot of self loathing!

[@andrewgarcia8792]

Extremely helpful! Thank you.

[@DustinWatts]

Glad it helped, Andrew!

[@oly463]

Great info and very professional video.

[@DustinWatts]

Thanks!

[@monimonish302]

What is impedance matching for usb and how to route for usb ethernet rs232 and sd cards can u plz make the video for it r else suggest me for any documents

[@yudhahamdiarzi5553]

Thankyou for the tips, help me so much

[@DustinWatts]

You are welcome!

[@MegaTechno]

These are some useful tips, thanks a lot! Will make a drone pcb any tips for that?

[@JJSnel-uh3by]

Ye, make sure that any interference is not on the data frequency that your drone will use for its remote. Let's say the remote makes use of the 2.4 Mhz spectrum then you would want any chips that you have like the controller to not run close to that band. Stay under 1 Mhz or better above 3 Mhz. But then keep your power limitations in mind for how long you want to fly for and how responsive you want the drone to be. Higher frequency usually means better flying performance and less delay but higher power draw so less fly time. And keep traces short, antennas can be created and combining it with a PWM signal that you will most likely make use of will create interference. You could look into making use of a proper ground plane that can "absorb" some EMI but I'm honestly not sure how the grounding with a battery powered drone will properly function, I'm sure there are some resources out there to find out tho. TLDR: Choose the running frequency of your chips carefully. Keep traces short that have a pulsing signal. And try to implement a proper ground plane (preferably on one entire layer) for EMI.

[@MegaTechno]

@@JJSnel-uh3by Thanks, you are insanely helpful. I am making the drone with a nrf24lo1 small version, Arduino pro mini 5v 16 mhz, an espcam to shoot some low quality photos(will not be wireless, will work by an interrupt), an mpu6050, 720 brushed motors[and gears of 9(motor):54(properller)], the pcb will be double sided, 5 mins of fight time is good, but Based on my calculations it should be a longer than 5 mins. The remote will work with antenna nrf, and the remote pcb will be handmade(too expensive for the area of a remote). Most of the things will be tht

[@JJSnel-uh3by]

@@MegaTechno Looks like you did your research, sadly I am not a drone expert so I have no idea if those go well together. I have had experience with EMI and Radio (like radio but also 2.4G and 5G wireless internet) where these things apply heavily. Seeing how a lot of drones use radio waves but on a smaller scale it should work and help to keep the connection. But yeah as long as you know how to read the manufacturers datasheet (or are decent at looking shit up on the internet because you are not the first nor the last to build your own drone) then you will do fine :) Another tip, use the tips in this video! You will almost certainly want to do a new revision even if the first one already works. Maybe not now but later xD I know I certainly have some projects I see some improvements in.

[@ryanmckenna2047]

Wow your last name is Watts, that is fitting!

[@DustinWatts]

Lucky coincidence!

[@VladimirPutin-p3t]

I had a teacher at community college named Prof. Switch... Intro to Elec Circuits, iirc. He never let us forget it. Any circuit he drew on the board, he'd include a switch just so he could point at it and then himself and look at us and wait for us to laugh.

[@VndNvwYvvSvv]

What about trace width and picking up unwanted signals?

[@DustinWatts]

Haha sure.. I could fill a whole Top 10, just with that! :)

[@IgorPshynyk]

When make new footprint always use 3Dmodel of component as check you todo coorect footprint.. Todo foot only with datasheet and in the end conrtorl collision in 3d

[@DustinWatts]

Yeah I always use the datasheet to create a new footprint an also check the 3D model against the datasheet. The datasheet is the one to rule them all :D

[@kaipo7870]

Thanks for share

[@andymouse]

Great tips....cheers.

[@DustinWatts]

You are welcome Andy!

[@alvarodemontes3818]

Bonjour, Thanks for the tips. How do print the board on paper with kicad ?

[@DustinWatts]

Go to File -> Print. Make sure the scale is 1:1 and you only select the layers you need for your purpose otherwise it becomes a mess!

[@RixtronixLAB]

Nice video clip, keep it up, thank you :)

[@jugnu361]

Thanks

[@DustinWatts]

You are welcome!

[@asankachriste2581]

im ,sri lanka thank you for good advise , sir

[@DustinWatts]

You are welcome!

[@MuhammadAli-iy4qn]

subscribed

[@DustinWatts]

Welcome!

[@AJB2K3]

LOL, guess who didn't print out their pcb design or read the size specs of the component footprints used!

[@DustinWatts]

Well... me! But I also assume you? ;)

[@AJB2K3]

@@DustinWatts ;)

[@ahmadal-tarabeen9253]

Tip: don't rest your eyes every 30 min at least!

[@DustinWatts]

Don't or do?

[@naidol]

Good quick tips ... I like the one to provide for extra components that may be needed later.

[@DustinWatts]

Yeah me too! Footprints are free. You can even have two different designs on your board. Just populate the one you need.For example design it for two chips. and use the one that is cheapest or even available but always have a back-up.