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w7 - Electronics Design
Git Fork Logo cc-by Andrejs Kirma at NOUN PROJECT

In this process I had to design a couple of boards.
I’ve been using Eagle and completed my learning (still in process, of course) with some tutorials online.

right click to download the svg above - my version of the hello board in the easel/carvey ready mode right click to download the svg above - my version of the hello board in the easel/carvey ready mode

This assignement was about the re-design of the hello board to which I added a button and a led.
I started by reproducing the entire schematics on the schematic view.

In this specific case I also had to import the fab library of components:

right click to download the svg above - my version of the hello board in the easel/carvey ready mode Right-click to download the svg above - my version of the hello board in the easel/carvey ready mode

After that, I added the new components.

how to add new components to the schematic How to add new components to the schematic

Final Result of the Schematic Final result - schematic

Final Result of the Schematic A mess....indeed.

When finished, I jumped into the board view, where all the components were a mess waiting for a bit of “graphic design”. As I don’t know much about electronics, one of the first things I had more dificulty doing was defining the rules.
Those rules depend mostly from the way you expect to produce the board.
In this case it was a milled prototype so I couldn't expect fine clearances and I had to play defense.
I was expecting to use a 0.4 mm mill and a 0.8 mill to cut the board out.

For a 0.4 mm mill I used 0.5 mm clearance<
For a 0.4 mm mill I used 0.5 mm clearance 2
For a 0.4 mm mill I used 0.5 mm clearance

After these steps, the game begins because you will have to fit everything into one side of the board.
I usually try to place all the components with the yellow fin link lines pointing at the other end.
After that you can trigger auto-route once just to have an idea of what is the proposal.
Maybe you’ll be surprised. Most of the times you don’t.

an autoroute result, still a lot to solve ... An autoroute result, still a lot to solve ...

So, just start throwing lines. Remember to avoid 90º corners and to be aware of the rules you defined.
This is a challenging and engaging iterative process. I think my boards will always get better with training.

The result.