RAYMING PCB & ASSEMBLY

Creating The Layout From Your Schematic

The manufacturing process of PCB or PCBA is considered one of the most

complex processes. It consists of three main stages; design, build, and test.

Prototyping comes in the very first level of creating new boards. This

process requires various iterative cycles of DBT or design-build-test, which

ends with a final quality product.

The process remains the same throughout the process while the design of

the board undergoes constant changes. Sometimes, changing

the schematic in a PCB design is necessary for the designing phase. While,

sometimes, it is not required.

Table of Contents

Do You Really Need A Layout From Your Schematic?

Sometimes to answer one question, we have to add more questions with

answers to understand and clarify the answer appropriately.

What Is A PCB Layout From Your Schematic?

A printed circuit board schematic refers to a graphical and geometrical

representation of electrical components with their connections for the

design of an electrical PCB.

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What Does A PCB Layout From Your Schematic Contain?

The schematic of the PCB contains labels, symbols, and signs for all

essential factors to describe the functions of a PCB design. This includes

all active and passive electrical components, nodes, nets, reference

indicators, terminals, ground connections, and connectors.

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How Is A PCB Layout From Your Schematic Used?

electronic schematics

Schematics considers a type of canvas to create a design of an electrical

circuit. It creates the design, reviews it, and evaluates it. This whole

process ensures that it follows all the connections before changing the

schematic into a design PCB for manufacturing.

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However, as the answer depicts, the schematic serves as the initial point

for designing an electrical circuit. In most cases, a schematic also serves as

a basic template for designing a board.

Designing Your Board Layout From Your Schematic

In the past, designers actually made schematics and circuit designs with

their hands and were considered highly skilled. However, today we have

various tools like ECAD, which simplifies the whole process of designing

PCB. At the same time, these tools offer automatic conversion of a

schematic into a PCB layout. So, before conversion, you need to complete

a few steps to create a design for the manufacturing process.

PCB Layout From Your Schematic Steps

1. Choose A Board Size

Most ECAD software contains the default size of the board with thickness

and area, which allows you to choose accordingly. However, always

double-check with the contract manufacturer before choosing any size of

the board because the board may lead to material waste and eventually

affects the manufacturing cost.

2. Create The Stackup

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After selecting the dimension of the board, determine the layer count,

number, and materials of the board.

3. Arrange Your Components

After selecting everything, then comes the placement of electrical

components over the board surface. Make sure to follow the rules of

clearance and spacing to ensure the manufacturing process of the board.

4. Route the Traces

The routing of traces is considered the most complex part of the PCB

design. Designers face many challenges, especially in multilayer boards

along with several PTHs that vertically carry signals from and to ground

planes and internal signals. Make sure to follow proper clearance and

spacing.

5. Check For Errors

Once you complete the design of the PCB, do not send it right away for

manufacturing. First, check for any types of errors in the design. Perform

an analysis of DRC which ensures that the design follows all the necessary

rules or not. However, these rules must be set up on the basis of

the DFM and CM’s guidelines to ensure manufacturability.

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All these significant steps ensure the creation of high-quality PCB design.

Designing PCBAs does not consider a very simple process. However, the

difficulty level and time required to reach a proper design depends on the

types of ECAD software you utilize for turning the schematic into the

design PCB.

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Transition Your Design Layout From Your Schematic

To ensure a clean design database to use, you have to ensure that you

have a clean and complete schematic. However, you have to follow the

steps before converting the schematic into the layout.

· A Completed Schematic

This, however, does not imply that you cannot change the schematic

during the layout. As ECOs consider their life. Therefore, this literally

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implies that the schematic must reach a stage where future conversion of

the schematic would not change the layout intent.

· Production Parts

Ensure update all developmental and temporary parts on a schematic

before sending it to the layout. If you cannot do that, then ensure to leave

space to adjust any circuit board footprint alteration that may get done in

the future.

· Duplicate Circuitry

Search for unwanted circuitry developed during the copy/paste function

and delete it, as you may never want to place components on the board

where they do not belong.

· Text

Ensure that placement and correction of all the essential identification text,

net names, reference designators, and design notes.

Working With Tools

Once you complete the schematic and test it accordingly, move on to the

next part to place information in the database of the layout. However, to

do that, you have to follow some steps to achieve the conversion of

schematic to layout.
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· PCB Footprints

First, you need data on PCB footprints for successfully generating the

connectivity netlist for the database of the layout. However, if you

developed a schematic with online symbols of components, then the

footprint data of PCB has already been downloaded with these symbols.

Whereas, if you use symbols in the schematic from other data sources,

then ensure that all those symbols point toward the right footprint. In

addition to this, you also have to ensure that the files of that footprint

must have access to the database of PCB. If not, then you have to put

them in your design, or else you have to make them yourself.

· Create The Netlist

The process of creating the netlist comes in different forms in different

schematic software, but all follow the same process. After arranging all the

settings for the specific design and schematic database, start the process

of creating the netlist of the PCB from a schematic. However, the netlist

typically includes essential data like information, net and component

properties, rules of design, and constraints of high speeds. In addition to

this, it also includes the footprint and designator names of the

component.

· Create The PCB Layout Database

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However, if you don’t have a database of PCB design, then you have to

make it. You have to follow just simple steps to create the database of the

PCB design. First, create the layer stack up and outline the board. Drag in

PCB footprints with other essential design objects such as Via. Then set up

the necessary parameters and some additional rules of board design.

· Import The Netlist

You have the database of the PCB design, now import that Netlist.

However, you already know that different software works with different

mechanisms. But they all follow the same process of putting the

connectivity netlist in the database of PCB layout.

· Check For Errors

Even though you check and set up the schematic well, you may still face

unexpected problems in the database. A typical example of such a

problem refers to a symbol of the schematic that has a different pin

number on the schematic and physical footprint. This typically happens

for unutilized pins on electrical components, which does not affect the

final process of the PCB. Therefore, to avoid continuous warnings coming

out during the designing process of PCB, make sure to correct the

problem now.

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Until now, you have successfully converted the schematic connectivity into

a PCB layout. You can easily move forward with your manufacturing

process without further ado.

Use The Most Effective Tools

The layout of a PCB contains several steps, and converting the schematic

to a layout considers the very first step among them. Other than

placement and routing of the components, it also includes the

management of the power distribution system of a board and setting up

rules to ensure FCB manufacturing, assembly, and analysis. Furthermore,

you may have to work with high-speed constraints design; therefore, you

need to send back the layout to the schematic for an update according to

the design.

In order to understand how Cadence works in the process of designing

PCB, you have to understand some other topics first. This includes the

routing, RF design, DFM tips, high-speed design of the PCB, and PDN

design. All of these help you understand better how to create a successful

schematic and how to convert it into a successful design for the successful

manufacturing process of a PCB.

However, there are several online PCB design tools. You can also

utilize Allegro from Cadence. It contains all the features that help you

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make a successful PCB design. It does not help in creating schematics and

design, but it allows you access to signal and power integrity tools,

circuit simulation, and much more.

Related Posts:

1. What are the Necessary Files for Creating Rigid Flex PCB Quotes?

2. What is PADS Layout?

3. How to Design Thickness For PCBs?

4. What is the Cost of PCB Layout Services

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