Table of Contents:
Subtopics
- Schematic provides details on reading and reviewing schematics
- Versioning PCBs discusses strategies for versioning PCBs, particularly in ways that support reading the version in software.
- For specific information on PCB design using SMT components, see the SMT entry.
Common problems encountered during the PCB design process:
Topics related to PCB testing:
- Automated Optical Inspection
- Automated X-ray Inspection
- Fixtureless In-Circuit Test, also known as a flying probe test
Related Entries
PCB designers will benefit from studying contemporary and historical system designs. Existing designs can provide proven ideas and solutions that you may not have encountered before.
PCB Design Articles
- All PCB designers will benefit from studying Eric Bogatin’s Rules of Thumb
- Dave Jones (of EEVBlog) published an excellent and comprehensive PCB Design Tutorial that serves as a useful starting point.
- Robert Feranec’s YouTube channel and blog provide useful content on PCB design and layout
- PCB Material Properties and Their Impact on Performance of High Frequency Boards by Dr. Steve Arar
- Tom Anderson has published a series of practical PCB design articles on the Tempo Automation blog. The articles below cover general PCB design topics; other articles from this series can be found on specialized topic pages.
- Tempo Automation: Reducing Random Noise in Analog Circuits
- Tempo Automation: Corrosion in Printed Circuit Boards
- Tempo Automation: PCB Shapes for Panelization to Lower Cost
- Tempo Automation: How to Save PCB Prototype Build Time for Designs with Vias in BGA Pads
- Tempo Automation: Robotics Design Tips – How to Avoid Vibration Failures
- Tempo Automation: Robotics Design Tips – 3 Ways to Improve Radio Range
- Tempo Automation: Choosing Connectors
- Tempo Automation: Marking Diode Polarity
- Benjamin Franklin, from Blue Clover Devices, shares some of his practical thoughts on the PCB design and testing process:
- A Hardware Designer’s Notes (Ramblings) on PCB Design and Testing – Part One – discusses PCB history, schematics, BOM, and board layout at a high level
- A Hardware Designer’s Notes (Ramblings) on PCB Design and Testing – Part Two – discusses board design practices, prototyping, test points, and ICT
- Sierra Circuits’ Military-Grade PCB Design Rules and Considerations is a useful overview for high-reliability PCB design techniques and considerations.
- NASA’s presentation “Printed Circuit Board Inspection and Quality Control – PCB Failure Causes and Cures” is useful for PCB designers to study. The presentation touches on a number of topics, including common failures, moisture control, testing circuit boards, ad FA techniques.
Layout
- Voler Systems: PCB Layout Checklist
- PCB Layout Techniques for Reducing Harmonic Distortion of a Differential ADC Driver – Technical Articles
- Optimize switching power supply layout by minimizing hot loop parasitics – Embedded.com
- Return Paths
- Return Path Routing — Why No One Does It, But You Really Should by Kristof Mulier
- Proper Routing Makes for Many Happy Return Paths by Dan Maloney
- The Perils of Return Path Gaps by Dan Maloney
Book Recommendations
- EMC Made Simple – Printed Circuit Board and System Design by Mark Montrose
- High Speed Digital Design, by Johnson & Graham, is not necessarily about PCB design, but it useful for gaining an understanding of why some layouts are bad and some layouts are good.
- Signal Integrity Issues and Printed Circuit Board Design by Douglas Brooks