Overview of PCB Design

Guide to a Successful PC Board Design - (a work in progress)...
Author: Bill Brooks
Copyright 2000-2007

(by the way... if there are any of you PCB Wizards out there. (you know who you are) that would like to collaborate on this...e-mail me - bill.brooks@pcbwizards.com)

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Begin at the Beginning

·         History of Printed Circuit Design

·         Applications

·         Electronics and 'Breadboarding'

·         Components

·         Schematics

·         Electro-Mechanical Drafting

·         Document Control and Revisions

Types of Printed Circuits

·         Digital Circuits

·         Analog Circuits

·         Power Supply Circuits

·         RF / Microwave Circuits

·         High Speed / High Density

·         Mixed Signal

·         Flex Circuits / Rigid-Flex Circuits

·         High Temp Circuits / Low Temp Circuits

·         High Reliability Circuits

·         Low Cost / High Volume Circuits

·         High Cost / Low Volume Circuits

·         3D Molded Circuits

·         Future technologies

Design Parameters

·         Pre-layout Design Reviews

·         Customer Specifications, Marketing Requirements and Cost Targets

·         Electrical Specifications

·         Mechanical Specifications

·         Environmental Specifications

·         Design for Manufacturing (DFM)

·         Design For Test (DFT)

·         Maintenance and Serviceability Requirements

Layout Principles

·         Schematic Generation

·         Netlist

·         BOM

·         PCB Design 

·         Mechanical Design Constraints

·         IPC Board Classification - A,B,C

·         IPC Board Type Classification Type 1 - 6

Components and Assemblies

·         "Through Hole" Technology

·         Surface mount technology

·         Soldering - what makes a good solder joint?

·         Land or Pad Geometries (footprints)

·         How to read a component spec sheet

·         Mounting problems - examples

·         The human factor  - (What do you mean you can't reach the pad to solder it?)

·         Re-work

·         The tools of the trade

·         imbedded caps, resistors, inductors...

·         Hardware and screws

·         torque

·         grounding

·         connectors

·         re-flow vs Wave soldering

·         surface finishes

·         soldermask and components

Board Characteristics

·         Flatness, bow and twist

·         characteristic impedance

·         etch factor

·         rolled copper

·         plated through holes

·         layer stack up

·         tolerances

·         routing, punching, scoring, drilling

·         conformal coating

·         Silk Screen Legends

·         soldermask

·         current and heat

·         crazing, measling, blisters, de-lamination, de-smear, mis-registration, etc.

·         materials

Documentation

·         Schematics

·         The Layout

·         Hand Taped Artwork

·         The Fabrication Drawing (Drill Drawing)

·         Standard Notes

·         layer stack up detail

·         scoring detail

·         material

·         finish

·         Gerber Photoplotting

·         NC Drilling

·         Route, punch, cracker, scoring panels

·         Assembly Drawings

·         Standard Assembly practice

·         hand place parts

·         pick and place data

·         tape and real

·         auto insertion

·         Cable drawings

·         Wire Diagrams

·         Mechanical Assembly

·         Bill of Materials

·         Test Documentation

Manufacturing process