Embedded Systems Lab #1

Getting acquainted with the CadSoft EAGLE layout tool

Objective:

The EAGLE layout tool is one of several schematic capture and layout tools that are
available. EAGLE’s power lies in that it keeps the schematic and layout tightly linked
together, has an extensive parts library that can be extended with relative ease, and does
not lock you into using a specific board manufacturer. Some board houses provide free
software that produces a file format that only they are capable of processing.

This lab will help you get familiar with using the EAGLE schematic capture and
layout tool. You will be supplied with a starting schematic that will need modification.
Your task is to implement the design based on written requirements that will be specified
in the lab.

The written requirements below are geared to simulate the requirements an engineer might
give you along with the basic drawing.

Design a circuit board based on the schematic drawing below that is 2” high by 3” wide
with mounting holes in each corner with the origin of the drill holes 0.22 inches from the
edge of the board. There should be no components within 0.40 inches of the origin of the
mounting hole. Use the Mark tool to verify this clearance.

Figure 1 : The supplied incomplete schematic

Hint: You should leave the grid at 0.05” when placing components on the board. Change the grid to
0.01” when making your measurements with the Mark tool.

Question:
What component can be added to provide simple reverse voltage protection at the 15V
input? (Assume current draw is 500mA typical, leave some margin for inrush current)
Requirements:

• The Circuit Board shall measure 3” wide and 2” high.

• Mounting holes shall be placed in each corner of the circuit board. The origin (center) of these
mounting holes shall be 0.22 inches from the edge of the board.
• The mounting pads used shall have 3mm diameter holes.
• No copper trace or component should be within 0.40 inches of the origin of any mounting hole.
• The circuit shall have reverse voltage protection.
• The 7805 voltage regulator shall have a heat sink that will be mounted on the top side of the board.
• The 7805 voltage regulator shall lay flat on the board.
• All copper traces and SMDs (surface mount devices) shall be located on the bottom side of the
circuit board. Only solder pads from through-hole components should be on the top layer.
• All copper traces shall have a minimum width of 0.04”.
• All copper traces used shall run horizontal, vertical, or at 45 degree angles on the board. Curved
traces and other angles are not allowed.
• All non-component solder pads shall have 1mm diameter holes.
• The input voltage shall have one solder pad for the +15V input and one solder pad for ground
• The output shall have two solder pads for +5V and two solder pads for ground.
• The top layer silkscreen shall mark components (IE: C2 100uF) and signal names (IE: +5V,
GND1, GND2, etc.) so that they are readable.
• The component side silkscreen should have the name of the person doing the board, a six
character part number and the date the last time the layout was modified. IE: (T. Jones ; PN:
123Q56 ; 06/30/2015)
• The design must pass the default DRC (Design Rule Check) and the ERC (Electrical Rule Check)
should contain no errors, warnings are acceptable, but they must be documented in your lab report.
• The auto route tool MAY NOT be used.

Getting Started:

This document is geared to provide guidance and requirements to design and lay out a simple
circuit board. Most of the information is provided in greater detail in the EAGLE user’s manual and
tutorial. You can download this application onto your home computer by visiting:

http://www.cadsoftusa.com/download-eagle/

You can then download the current version of EAGLE ; at the time of this writing it is
version 7.5 .

During installation, when the program asks about what type of license you want to use,
select the option marked “Run as freeware”.

A PDF version of the manual and tutorial are included in the installation. Please, DO NOT
print the entire manual. The manuals are huge, and you really only need a few sections out of each
document.
STRONGLY SUGGESTED:
If you have not, watch the instructor supplied videos on how to create a project and place your
components. The videos show the application of EAGLE from start to finish and may help you
understand how to get started.

Start by creating a new project. You can copy this entire folder to your network drive or
to your flash key when you are done.

Create a new schematic. Don’t worry about creating a new board until your schematic
is done.

Place your parts. Since this is most likely your first time using EAGLE, the parts you
need to build the circuit board are specified below. Click on Add and select the
device(s) you need. Click on “OK” when you have found the part you are looking for.
When you have placed the part on the schematic, press <esc> or click the stop button.

Do not use the DROP button. This removes the component library from the
program’s database. This is recoverable, but avoid doing this.

The semicolons below are separators for each branch in the library tree for the components you
will need.
V-REG ; 78XXL
RCL ; CPOL-US ; CPOL-USE5-10.5
RCL ; C-US ;C-USC0805K
DIODE ; 1N4004
HEATSINK ; D0A-L
HOLES ; MOUNT-PAD-ROUND ; MOUNT-PAD-ROUND 3.0
SOLPAD ; LSP10
SUPPLY1 ; +5V
SUPPLY1 ; GND
SUPPLY1 ; +15V

Some components don’t have an electrical connection. The heat sink, for example, does not
have an electrical connection. These components may exist on the schematic completely unconnected.
You may or may not get a warning concerning this when you run the design rule checks. Document
what happened in your report.

Use the Wire and Junction functions to connect the circuit together, including the requirements
not shown in the supplied schematic. Have the instructor check your work before continuing.

*** Schematic looks correct with all required components present.

Instructor initial: __________

When you have finished populating the schematic, click on the Generate / switch to
Board button. You can also do this by going into the File menu and selecting the option
“Switch To Board”. You will be asked if you want to create the board from the schematic.
Answer appropriately and you will see a board outline with all of your components on the left.
 Use the Move tool to first make the board outline the correct size. You can verify the board
dimensions using the Mark tool. When that is done, start placing your components inside the board
outline.

The Mirror tool will move objects from the top layer (component side) of the board to the
bottom layer (solder side) of the board. You will need to do this with the SMD components in the
design.

The Ratsnest button is a useful tool for redrawing what you see on the screen. Use <Ctrl>-<z>
to undo up to 9 actions that you have performed.

Use the Route button to place traces and Ripup to remove traces. You cannot delete a net on
the layout. Nets can only be deleted from the schematic. You should always have both the layout and
the schematic loaded so that they remain synchronized. Getting the two files out of sync can cause
irrecoverable problems.

REMEMBER:

There is no single right answer to doing a board layout. Think of it as a puzzle, where you have
to make all the pieces fit together. Since this is your first exposure to this particular layout tool, there is
a good deal of flexibility in where you place your components. Also remember that you can place parts
in a different pattern than the schematic drawing. The nets help to make sure that you keep your wiring
straight.

Example schematic and layout:

The sample schematic shown in Figure 2 is to be laid out on a circuit board. When creating
documentation and the related physical design, neatness is important. Notice that the reference
designators (R1, C2, etc.) are placed near the component they refer to with the value of that component
also nearby. This documentation also carries over to the circuit board design and can be a critical aid
for the purpose of construction, design review, and troubleshooting. It is not necessary to include the
base units for passive components such as Ohms, Farads, or Henries. However, units that scale the
value of the component such as k, M, μ, or p are important and should always be present where
applicable. A passive device with just a number implies that there is no scaling unit. For example, a
resistor with a marked value of “10” implies that the component is 10 Ohms. While junction dots are
not typically found at component connections, EAGLE’s ERC can report this as a warning. Normally a
junction dot is used when more than two components are attached to the same node. One example
shown in the drawing below is the base of T1 connects to one leg of R1, C1, and R2.
 Figure 2 : A sample schematic Figure 3 : A good layout of the schematic in Figure 2

Figure 4: A poor layout of the schematic in Figure 2

In the example layouts, both circuits are electrically the same and will pass the default design
rule checks. However, it should be clear that the layout in figure 4 is not at all orderly. It is not
necessary, and in some cases possible, to lay the circuit out in the same pattern as the schematic
drawing. It is important to be aware of the consequences of your choices in placement. In the examples
above, this simple transistor amplifier circuit can be brought closer together. Questions then need to be
asked on how that change will impact other aspects of the design. Such as construction, ease of
modification – if applicable, and susceptibility to noise.

This lab allows for a fair amount of flexibility in the area of component placement so your part
placement should not be on top of one another, nor should they be a jumbled mess of lines. The focus
of this lab is to get you comfortable with the use of a layout tool, bear in mind that space on a circuit
board is truly a luxury item in most modern designs.
Useful tips, written by Jorge Garcia, Cadsoft Support Specialist

1. Keep the schematic editor and board editor open together at all times when you’re working on
your design. Closing one editor and continuing to work on the other will break consistency and
changes made will no longer track between editors.
2. Don't deviate from a 0.1”(2.54mm) grid in the schematic editor. All of the default EAGLE
libraries are made to a 0.1” grid in the schematic editor. If you deviate from this you will find
that you have a very difficult time getting your components to connect.
3. Don't use WIRE for anything other than artistic features. Connections in the schematic are
defined using the NET command and copper tracks are laid down using the ROUTE command
in the layout. If you use wire for either of the above key operations you will find that sometimes
components won't connect as expected.
4. EAGLE's search functionality is an exact string search which means if you're off by a single
letter in a part number EAGLE won't be able to find it. A more prudent approach is to make
liberal use of the wild card character “ * “. For example don't search for LM555(you'll get
nothing) search instead for *555* this tells EAGLE that if 555 shows up anywhere in the device
name this is a valid result.
5. EAGLE uses a verb-noun work flow. What this means is that you first select what action you
want to perform and then what objects you want to perform that action on. It may seem odd at
first but once you're used to it you'll find that it's a faster way to work.
6. Do not modify EAGLE's default libraries, these are a known state. The best approach is to make
your own library and then copy whatever you need from the default libraries to it.
7. Make sure you know where you are saving your work. Do not save anything to EAGLE's
installation directory, it is recommended that you save your work in the eagle folder EAGLE
creates in your “Documents” folder. (This applies to windows only. On Linux or Mac this folder
is created in your home directory)
8. The EAGLE manual is included with your installation; you'll find it in the EAGLE installation
directory inside the doc folder.
9. In order for EAGLE to establish a connection it must end EXACTLY at a pin. If a net ends just
short or just past a pin it is not connected to the pin. A good way to double check a connection is
to try moving the part and seeing if the nets follow.
10. Never move nets in an attempt to make a connection, it won't work. Use the NET command to
draw the connection instead.
11. In the ADD dialog, the drop button removes a library from the active search list. It does not
delete the library and it definitely does not place the component on your design.
Question(s) answered: ____________________________________________________
Schematic done correctly: _________________________________________________
Layout meets requirements: _______________________________________________
Hard copies of Schematic and Layout : ______________________________________
Lab Report: _____________________________________________________________
Other Notes: