Hi, I'm in the process of planning a scratch build and the design calls for a few basic PCBs. I've never made a PCB before and I wondered if anyone could advise me on the best/simplest method of creating the design for printing. Is there any good free software available for the job or is it easier to just create the design in a drawing application? I know I could use the Google + trial & error but I figured it'd be easier to just ask... Thanks, Paul
I think you may find all you need to know about making a PCB here when it comes to designing the programs listed there are mostly freeware. Hope it helps And for more electronics help you may find it on this page It has been a good read for me
hey comrade. will you be etching your pcb? anyway, my recommendation is that you use eagle (the freeware version) since i assume that you won't be doing very big pcb's. simply add all the components you are going to use, wire them up in the program, switch mode to layout editor, arrange the components and draw all the wires and presto, you're done. there are many tutorials, if you can't find any, just ask on bit tech and someone will help you. one "pro" tip is to draw a rectangle around the card (in eagle) and rename it "GND", making a ground plane allowing you to connect components to this rather than having extra paths for gnd.
D-Mon Taurus: Thanks for the links, they look like just what I need. I probably should have searched for those myself before posting but I was being lazy and wanted to get a few personal opinions/recommendations. ulfar: I will be etching it yes, that's the only method I know of for making them. I literally decided to do this yesterday so my knowledge on the subject is limited to what I garnered from a single Google search and maybe ten minutes scanning through online guides. Is there a better alternative? Eagle is top of the list on the first link provided by D-Mon, it seems like it's a popular solution so I'll give it a go and see how I get on. You're right in assuming that what I'll be making won't be very complex. I'm completely new to electronics so the whole thing is going to be a learning experience. Thank you both for your help. +Rep Paul
welcome to the wonderful world of electronics . if you have the possibility, print the pattern on OH-paper and use this when you expose the pcb. this gives a superclean result (if you have to use a marker, please use a ruler aswell ). or, if you have access to a cnc-mill or a reprap, you can use it to create you boards.
I'll be using my laser printer and then transferring the design with an iron. Sadly my access to tools/machinery is limited to whatever fits inside my flat Initially all I want to do is make some rigid boards to mount a few LEDs to in series (these will then be connected in parallel by wire, the aim being to minimise clutter in the case). The design for that requires no thought at all, so I can concentrate on the process of actually making the boards. I'll certainly be moving on to more complex projects sooner or later though.
May i ask what you would be using them for. I think if its just for lighting, wouldn't a glowpad (glowplex by recom) do the trick You can cut it in almost any shape you want. And maybe have a look at this build log and see how it still can be very clutter free. Just giving my 2 cents
The case I'm designing is going to have integrated LED lighting. I'm trying to get everything positioned so that none of the lights are directly visible through the windowed side of the case, but rather provide subtle illumination of the internal components. As far as the circuit goes I'll basically just be connecting three LEDs and a resistor in series, then hooking several of those up in parallel to get enough LEDs for the job. Some of the LEDs will be mounted through holes in the motherboard tray so they'll be hidden beneath the motherboard (the theory being that the light they emit will escape from beneath the board around its edges). I could use hot glue to hold them in place, but I figured it'd be neater if I made boards instead so that each series of three LEDs is on a rigid mount and the only wiring will be what's required to string the boards together. It probably sounds like I'm just making extra work for myself since the PCB is doing nothing more than replace a bit of wire, and I suppose I am... my justification for that is partly that I need the LEDs to be spaced to fit the holes in the tray, and partly because I've never made a PCB before so it seems like a good opportunity to learn something new. Those cuttable strips are great, but the spacing is fixed so it's not ideal for what I'll be doing. I also have a few hundred LEDs sitting around so I may as well make use of some of them When I get beyond the daydreaming stages and I've got a solid finalised design in Sketchup I'll probably start a project log, but right now I don't even have a name for it...
When in planning we can change our minds in an instant and try to find what would work best in the build. And i can understand you would like to take the opportunity to give something new a try.
Yeah, I know all about changing my mind, that's why the design still isn't finished Hopefully I'll have something I'm happy with soon though...
while creating your own pcb i great fun and a bit educational (you get familiarised with the development tools), if all you want is to hook up three leds and a resistor you could always go for something like this. or one with lanes since you want three leds in series with a resistor (that price is in SEK, so it's around €4). i'm sure there are some stores (local to you) who provide these.
Sorry for the delayed response, I've not been around much the last few days. I've seen those boards on a couple of sites, but they work out quite expensive when you consider their size. Also, the sites I found which stocked them had so many variations available, with no explanation of the differences, that I'd have no idea which to get. Oddly I couldn't find them on eBay at all; I can only assume I was using the wrong search terms. I won't be doing the lighting until the case is built anyway, so there's still plenty of time to decide how to go about it and check local shops for materials. It does help to have options though, and I like to plan things in advance so that I have a good idea of what needs to be done when the time comes. Thanks again for the advice.
If you want to save on components, assuming they will all be grounding along the same wire, just put one resistor on the gnd and it will act as a common resistor for all of the leds, and it'l also save on space
that's odd. which sites are you looking at? in sweden they cost about the same as those intended for etching. just saw out a big enough piece for you project and save the rest for future builds . though, if you want the full uber experiance, then go for making your own pcb.
Quavr: They will be on a common ground yes. The LEDs are all the same so it could be done, but most of what I've read on the subject advises against using a single resistor. I have around 400 resistors which came free with some LEDs though, so it doesn't really matter how many I use as I have far more than I need anyway. ulfar: I forget the names of the sites now, they were high in the results on a Google search but the boards listed were all really small (many were around 10cm on the longest edge) and the few larger boards listed were much more money. I'm sure they are available for more reasonable prices over here though, it's just a case of finding a good stockist. I'm surprised I couldn't find anything on eBay though...
Have a look here comrade, or maybe you already had a look but they have boards with lets say lengths of 160mm and longer. Here is the link
d-mon's link's good. ebay. or etch your own . just make sure you don't get any of the acids or caustic soda on your clothes, it stains.
Thanks for both of the links, that site is a lot better than the other ones I'd seen. It seems to have a similar range of products but the prices are a lot better. And ulfar, thanks for making me feel stupid all those ebay results... I swear when I searched myself I was using every combination of pcb, board, perfboard, strip, prototyp* etc., and still pretty much all I got was plastic bread boards... Still, it's good to know I can pick stuff up on there if I need to. I think chances are I'll end up etching my own boards still, since it's something I want to have a go at and with this being such a simple project it seems like a good place to start. Plus I get to wear goggles and play with acid.
glad i can be of assistance every boy/man's fantasy, play with things that could potentially maim you i assume you'll be following guides and whatnot, but in case you forget, don't forget (... ... damn you friday, you have stolen my... umm... database of words...) that the image has to be inverted or terrible things will happen (not really, specially not in this application).
