Printed Circuit Board Design
Electronics for Inventors: Printed Circuit Board Design
Printed Circuit Boards are free to design and cost $2/square inch to fabricate, so why not wrap them into your next electronics project? Come learn how! Microcontrollers and Soldering class recommended but not required.
We’ll use EAGLE software and discuss what components to use and where to source them. We’ll review a few designs for taking a project that looks like a ‘birdsnest’ and turning it into a nicely designed printed circuit board(PCB). We’ll learn to select appropriate through hole and surface mount parts and create appropriate holes and pads for them to land on. We’ll also review the best methods for connecting peripheral parts to the board; such as, power, sensors, and cables.
Required Supplies:
- PC or Mac laptop with USB port
- Download free EAGLE software
- Download free Sparkfun parts library (Use the “Download Zip” button on the right side of the screen to get all the files at once)
Recommended Supplies:
- Extension cord
Class Outline:
- Schematic layout and printed circuit board layout in EAGLE
- Navigating libraries and designing new parts
- Description of available and common connectors and parts
- Producing Gerber files for export
- Sending files to a fab. OSHPark is an amazing resources in our backyard.
- How to make cool graphics on the printed circuit boards
- Some time will be allowed to discuss your own projects
Other Resources
Here are some other resources for Microcontrollers, Embedded Hardware design, tinkering and the like:
Dorkbot has meetings every other week where people bring and discuss their projects without a structured format. An amazing array of people available to help you get your projects done.
Digital Classes
- Adafruit has some classes and tutorials online
- Instructables. Learn and share from other peoples blunders here!
- Sparkfun has self taught classes and tutorials here developed in part by our Portlander Derek Runberg
Brick and Mortar Classes in Portland mostly
- PNCA offers an Electronics for Artists class by famous Portlander Mark Keppinger
- PNCA offers an advanced Arduino Class by famous Portlander Donald Delmar Davis
- ADX sometimes offers classes at their maker space in SE Portland
- Dorkbot sometimes offers free or almost free classes at Flux.
- Seattle’s Metrix (maker space) has circuit church every sunday from 6pm-midnight. I highly recommend going to this if you are in Seattle. They also offer other intro to electronics courses that are probably pretty good too.
Electronic Parts and Tools Resources
- Sparkfun. Get your proven prototyping supplies here
- Instructables. Learn and share your inventions here
- OSHPark. Get your locally manufactured Printed Circuit Boards here.
- Adafruit. This is like Sparkfun but a bit more raw and generously priced gadgets
- Dorkbot has its own list here.