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In the first three parts of this series we have looked at the schematic capture process, placing components in the physical layout of the board, and finally routing the net connections of the layout. Now it is time to get the board ready to be manufactured, but before we do that there is one critical step that has to be done; running the design rule checks.

In the manufacturing of circuit boards, there are also many opportunities for defects to sneak in and as with everything else, it is important to prevent them from happening. One area that can be prone to defects is when components are soldered onto the board. We’re going to take a look at some of the more common types of soldering defects here in this article and explore some design recommendations that can prevent them from happening in the first place.

The goal of PCB design is to create a fully functional circuit board. However, the first goal-post during PCB layout is to get the board 100% routed. A layout begins first by setting up the design parameters and then placing the components to satisfy their electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing requirements. The only thing left after that is to connect all of the nets with traces. That sounds like it should be pretty easy, doesn’t it? Well sometimes it is, but most of the time it’s much more complex than people realize.

Although it may look like the components on a circuit board are arranged haphazardly, there really is order and intent in their layout. They have to be located to not only provide the best performance of the circuits but also so that the board can be manufactured as easily as possible without any errors. Here in this second of four parts on circuit board design, we will look at some of the PCB layout best practices to help engineers create a superior design.

Before a circuit board is manufactured, it goes through a very involved design process. This includes creating an electronic schematic, setting up and placing component footprints in the physical PCB layout, routing the nets in the layout, and then finally preparing and sending out the layout data for manufacturing. In this first of a four-part series, we are going to give you an overview of the entire PCB design process and discuss some of the PCB design best practices for creating an electronic schematic.

Regardless of the PCBA design, it always seems there is a sense of urgency attached to the board development process. That is, bringing the design to the production phase as soon as possible is always the goal. However, this must be done with a view towards avoidance of common PCB quality issues that may result in extended time for bring up, redesigns, and additional manufacturing costs. And although successfully reaching and executing board production is a primary objective, it is not the final one.