PCB Design Guidelines for Hardware Engineers
Crafting an efficient PCB starts with strategic layer stackup decisions. A well-thought-out stackup can enhance signal integrity, reduce interference, and simplify manufacturing. Here are key guidelines to consider:
1. Signal Integrity: Properly arrange signal layers to minimize impedance mismatches and signal loss, ensuring optimal performance.
2. Power Distribution: Plan power and ground layers meticulously for uniform distribution, reducing voltage drops and enhancing stability.
3. EMI/EMC Considerations: Separate sensitive traces, utilize ground planes effectively, and employ shielding techniques to mitigate electromagnetic interference.
4. Thermal Management: Strategically place thermal vias and copper pours to optimize heat dissipation and prevent hotspots.
5. Manufacturability: Collaborate closely with manufacturers. Choose stackup configurations aligning with their capabilities for seamless production.
Share your experiences and tips on PCB layer stackups in the comments below.
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I will be focusing my articles now on PCB.
10 Replies
@Joseph Ogbonna How do you approach the stack-up decisions? What do you consider? What are the decision drivers?
Majorly i look at board space and route density. Also consider what kinds of signals are in the design. If they are High or Low Frequency Signals. Other factors are also necessary though.
How do we consider the route density when there are no routes yet? It is the chicken-egg problem, isn't it? How many layers are we gonna need? How many reference planes are we gonna need?
Altium design has a tool for calculating this density. But in a nutshell, we can go by assumption starting on using the barest minimum layer count either 4 or 6 and improve on that. Though the technology your using matters alot. If its HDI or not. It impacts your design
Well, not each engineer has the Altium Designer licence. Do you? Sure, but the bare minimum is usually too expensive for a customer. 4-layer PCBs are yet ok, the 6-layer PCB is usually over the expected budget. The fact is majority of normal customer electronics is designed on 2-side PCBs.
Yes 2 layers pcb. Am stating for complex designs though.
I’ve been looking into CircuitMaker a lot lately: https://www.altium.com/circuitmaker
Wonder how far you could get with this before upgrading out of the free version 🤔
Altium.com
CircuitMaker | Free PCB Design Tool Built on Altium Designer Techno...
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Circuit maker is good. And it has a good community with lots of project shares
@techielew You can try it but be prepared for limits. They've not developed the CircuitMaker to loose money.
They havent developed it to loose money 😎😎😎