PCB Design Tutorial Start to Finish
TLDRThis tutorial offers a comprehensive guide on designing a PCB from scratch, focusing on a buck-boost converter as a replacement for the popular LM3671. It covers project setup, schematic design, and PCB layout, including component placement, trace routing, and rules for design optimization. The video also demonstrates adding logos, silkscreen labels, and exporting Gerber files for manufacturing, ensuring a complete walkthrough for both assembly at home and professional manufacturing processes.
Takeaways
- 😀 The tutorial is about building a drop-in replacement buck boost converter for the ADAF LM 3671 Buck converter.
- 🔌 The project aims to improve lithium-ion battery efficiency by utilizing energy from 2.8 to 3.5 volts where conventional converters stop regulating.
- 💻 The process covers the entire PCB design from a blank project to SCH layout and Gerber export using the Flex UI.
- 📝 It demonstrates how to create a new project, add descriptions, and manage permissions for collaboration.
- 🔍 The tutorial includes referencing a schematic, using comments for design notes, and invoking co-pilot for assistance.
- 🔄 It shows how to add and modify components, including changing footprints and values for capacitors.
- 🔗 The script explains how to connect components, use alignment guides, and trace connections in the design.
- 🛠️ The video covers the transition from schematic to PCB design, including board outline customization and component placement.
- 📏 The importance of design rules for modifying values and designators is highlighted, with examples of how to apply them.
- 📐 The tutorial emphasizes design techniques such as minimizing crossover and distance of airwires, and keeping high-frequency signals separate to reduce crosstalk.
- 📑 It also covers the routing process, including changing trace widths, using vias, and adjusting the PCB stack up.
- 🏷️ The script describes how to add logos and labels to the PCB design for branding and identification purposes.
- 📤 Finally, the tutorial explains the export process for Gerbers, BOM, and pick and place files, necessary for manufacturing and assembly.
Q & A
What is the main purpose of the tutorial?
-The main purpose of the tutorial is to guide users through the entire process of designing a PCB, from a blank project to SCH layout and Gerber export, specifically for building a drop-in replacement buck boost converter for the ADAF LM 3671 Buck converter.
What is the significance of the ADAF LM 3671 Buck converter in the tutorial?
-The ADAF LM 3671 Buck converter is significant because the tutorial focuses on creating a drop-in replacement for it, which can operate from 2.8 volts to 3.5 volts where the original converter stops regulating.
How does the tutorial begin the PCB design process?
-The tutorial begins the PCB design process by creating a new project in the Flex UI, adding a description, changing permissions, and adding reference schematics from the data sheet using comments.
What is the role of co-pilot in the context of the tutorial?
-Co-pilot is mentioned as a way to interact within the design process, possibly referring to an AI assistant or a collaborative feature within the design software that helps with tasks such as adding parts to the design.
How can users add parts to their design in the tutorial?
-Users can add parts to their design by finding public parts published by other users or their own parts in the library, and then dragging and dropping them onto the canvas.
What is the importance of trace width when routing in the PCB design?
-Trace width is important because it needs to handle the required current, in this case, 1.2 amps, and also accommodate the size of the pins on the BGA package to ensure proper electrical connections.
How does the tutorial handle component placement and trace routing?
-The tutorial suggests minimizing crossover and distance of airwires, aligning components, and following design heuristics such as keeping decoupling capacitors close to supply pins and separating high-frequency signals to minimize parasitic inductances and crosstalk.
What is the significance of the corner radius in the board layout?
-The corner radius is significant for the physical appearance and potentially the structural integrity of the PCB. It is set for the top two corners to avoid sharp edges and improve the board's aesthetics.
How can users modify the design rules in the PCB design process?
-Users can modify the design rules by going to the 'Rules' section, adding a new rule set, and adjusting properties such as enabled status, designators, and other visual or functional attributes of the components.
What is the final step before exporting the PCB design for manufacturing?
-The final step before exporting the PCB design for manufacturing is to add manufacturing part numbers to the components in the BOM (Bill of Materials) to provide necessary information for the assembler or manufacturer.
What files are required for the PCB manufacturing process according to the tutorial?
-The required files for the PCB manufacturing process include the Gerber files for the PCB layers, the BOM for component information, and the pick and place file for assembly instructions.
Outlines
🛠️ Introduction to Designing a Drop-in Replacement Buck Boost Converter
In this tutorial, we will build a drop-in replacement buck-boost converter for the popular ADAF LM 3671 Buck converter. This converter is useful for projects involving lithium-ion batteries, extending their usable energy range. The tutorial covers the entire process from creating a new project in Flex UI, setting permissions, adding a reference schematic, and interacting with co-pilot for assistance. The first part added to the design is a 10 microfarad input capacitor, demonstrating the flexibility of component footprints and values in Flex.
🔧 Advanced Component Placement and Trace Routing
This section explains how to add components to the design, align them, and connect them using traces. It emphasizes minimizing crossover and distance of airwires, aligning components, and following design best practices to reduce parasitic inductances and cross-talk. The process includes setting trace widths to handle specific current capacities, adding vias for layer changes, and modifying the stack-up to a two-layer configuration. Additionally, it covers adding a logo and other assets to the board, as well as labeling pins for clarity.
📦 Exporting and Manufacturing the Designed Board
After completing the routing and adding necessary elements, the tutorial moves on to exporting the design files for manufacturing. It explains how to prepare and export Gerber files, bill of materials (BOM), and pick-and-place files, including updating component properties with manufacturer part numbers. The final steps involve submitting the design files to a manufacturer for board fabrication and discussing potential assembly options.
Mindmap
Keywords
Buck Boost Converter
LM 3671
Lithium Ion Project
SCH Layout
Gerber Export
Flux UI
Public Parts Library
Alignment Guides
Copper Fills
Bill of Materials (BOM)
Highlights
Building a drop-in replacement buck boost converter for the Adafruit LM 3671 Buck converter.
The LM 3671 is a drop-in replacement for the LM117 LDO.
Use the circuit for lithium-ion projects to extract energy from 2.8 to 3.5 volts.
Tutorial covers the entire PCB design process from start to finish.
Introduction to the Flex UI and creating a new project.
Adding a description and changing project permissions for public viewing.
Using comments for referencing schematics and interacting with co-pilot.
Adding the first part to the design and customizing generic capacitors.
Aligning and tracing components using alignment guides and trace elbows.
Creating electrical connections with unet portals and power portals.
Modifying part values and designators using rules in the design.
Placing components with minimal crossover and distance for optimized traces.
Routing traces with adjustable widths and adding vias between layers.
Changing the PCB stack up from four to two layers for the project.
Adding a logo to the PCB layout using silk line objects.
Using the 3D viewer to inspect the board and add labeling.
Exporting Gerbers, Bill of Materials, and pick and place files for manufacturing.
Adding manufacturing part numbers to components for assembly.
Updating component properties for manufacturing readiness.
Submitting the order to the manufacturer and assembler for board production.