This week's module deals with Eagle; a free program focused towards electronics PCB design. The user interface is at first difficult to understand like all programs, but it is quite powerful so take time to understand all of its capabilities. One thing to know when starting is that it is imperative to not close the board layout and the schematic as editing one while the other is closed will break the linkage between each. While EAGLE can be fairly intelligent, at times, the "AUTOROUTE" function seems to be a bit glitchy and can output routing that isn't beneficial for your board's final layout. Planning out your traces can be tricky sometimes, but I felt that it helped me get better acquainted with the board itself, as well as the program.

To start off you need to make sure that you have the FabLab Library. Make sure that you download the link directly, and add the library to EAGLE. You can easily find the "lbr" folder directly in your C: drive on PC, add folders for the new librarys, paste the files, and the new libraries should be automatically updated. If the new libraries did not show up then be sure to navigate from EAGLE's start up window to "Options > Directories" and copy the link from the window of your explorer into the text box to re-establish linkage to your libraries. I looked over the tutorial here to help me along in the process.

-FabLab Library

I started off by pursuing through the AS220 tutorial to better understand what needed to be achieved. From the tutorial I understood my workflow was as follows: Download EAGLE > Import the Schematic/Board > Edit the Board/Schematic > Export the board from EAGLE > Edit the board in Photoshop > Mill the traces/cutout > Stuffing board.