Introduction

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are the backbone of modern electronics, playing a crucial role in connecting and supporting electronic components. This 5-day workshop will cover all aspects of PCB design, from conceptualization and schematic capture to the design, manufacturing, and testing of a PCB. Participants will learn best practices for creating efficient, reliable, and cost-effective PCBs. Through hands-on exercises, they will gain practical experience using PCB design software, understanding the manufacturing process, and implementing industry standards. The workshop is aimed at empowering engineers and designers to bring their electronic products to life with robust PCB designs.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the fundamental principles of PCB design, including materials, layers, and component placement.
• Gain hands-on experience in schematic capture and layout design using industry-standard PCB design software.
• Learn the PCB manufacturing process, including fabrication and assembly.
• Implement design for manufacturability (DFM) principles to optimize the PCB design for cost-effectiveness and reliability.
• Understand signal integrity, power distribution, and thermal management in PCB design.
• Gain practical knowledge of PCB testing and debugging techniques, ensuring quality control before production.

Who Should Attend?

This workshop is ideal for:

• Electrical engineers and designers looking to enhance their PCB design skills.
• PCB manufacturers or technicians involved in fabrication and assembly.
• Embedded systems developers who need to design and implement PCBs for their applications.
• Electronics enthusiasts and students interested in pursuing a career in PCB design or related fields.
• Product designers working with hardware teams to create electronic devices.

5-Day Course Outline

Day 1: Introduction to PCB Design and Tools

• Overview of PCB Design Process:
  • From concept to finished product: the stages of PCB design.
  • Types of PCBs: single-sided, double-sided, multi-layer, flexible, and rigid-flex boards.
  • PCB materials and their properties: FR4, copper, solder mask, etc.
  • Common PCB applications: consumer electronics, automotive, industrial systems.
• Introduction to PCB Design Software:
  • Overview of popular PCB design software (e.g., Eagle, Altium Designer, KiCad, OrCAD).
  • Setting up the design environment, creating libraries, and selecting components.
  • Importing and exporting files: Gerber files, Bill of Materials (BoM), and schematic capture.
• Hands-On Session:
  • Setting up a basic PCB design project in PCB design software.
  • Understanding and creating schematic diagrams (components, pins, and connections).

Day 2: Schematic Design and Component Selection

• Schematic Capture in PCB Design:
  • Understanding the flow from schematic to PCB layout.
  • Key design considerations: component placement, routing constraints, and electrical requirements.
  • Defining netlist and component libraries: standard vs. custom components.
• Choosing Components for PCB Design:
  • Selecting components based on electrical specifications and mechanical constraints.
  • Understanding symbols, footprints, and part selection in the design process.
  • Understanding power, grounding, and signal integrity issues in component selection.
• Hands-On Session:
  • Building a basic schematic for a simple electronic circuit (e.g., amplifier or power supply).
  • Component selection and placement based on design requirements.
  • Generating a netlist and preparing for layout design.

Day 3: PCB Layout Design and Routing

• PCB Layout Basics:
  • Translating the schematic to a PCB layout: component placement, routing, and layer design.
  • Routing techniques: manual vs. auto-routing, trace width calculation, via types, and via placement.
  • Design rules and constraints: electrical clearance, trace width, via size, and layer stack-up.
• Design for Manufacturability (DFM):
  • DFM best practices to ensure cost-effective and reliable PCB production.
  • Understanding common manufacturing limitations: hole sizes, trace width, and component sizes.
  • Optimizing the layout for assembly and testing.
• Power Distribution and Grounding:
  • Power planes and ground planes: reducing noise and ensuring reliable operation.
  • Decoupling capacitors and managing power integrity.
  • Thermal management in PCB design: heat dissipation and component placement.
• Hands-On Session:
  • Designing the PCB layout for the schematic created in Day 2.
  • Placing components and routing the PCB with the appropriate design rules.

Day 4: Signal Integrity, Simulation, and Testing

• Signal Integrity in PCB Design:
  • Understanding the importance of signal integrity in high-speed circuits.
  • Mitigating issues such as crosstalk, reflections, and electromagnetic interference (EMI).
  • Impedance matching, differential pairs, and controlled impedance traces.
• PCB Simulation:
  • Using software tools to simulate electrical and thermal behavior before physical prototyping.
  • Running signal integrity and power integrity simulations.
  • Checking for potential design flaws and optimizing the design for performance.
• Testing and Debugging PCBs:
  • Preparing for manufacturing: generating Gerber files, Bill of Materials (BoM), and assembly drawings.
  • Functional testing and debugging after assembly: continuity checks, power-up testing, and signal verification.
  • Common PCB failure modes and how to troubleshoot.
• Hands-On Session:
  • Running a signal integrity simulation on the PCB design created on Day 3.
  • Generating Gerber files for PCB manufacturing.

Day 5: PCB Manufacturing Process, Assembly, and Final Considerations

• Overview of the PCB Manufacturing Process:
  • Step-by-step guide: from design to fabrication.
  • PCB fabrication methods: etching, drilling, plating, and solder mask application.
  • Understanding PCB assembly: surface-mount technology (SMT) vs. through-hole technology (THT).
• Finalizing PCB Design for Production:
  • Verifying DFM (Design for Manufacturability) checks.
  • Preparing the final design files for the manufacturer: Gerber, NC Drill, and BoM.
  • Communicating with PCB manufacturers: understanding fabrication tolerances and timelines.
• Final Testing and Quality Control:
  • Final testing methods for validating PCB functionality.
  • Post-production testing: visual inspection, electrical testing, and automated optical inspection (AOI).
• Hands-On Session:
  • Review of the full PCB design flow: from schematic to Gerber files.
  • Generating final production files and understanding the steps involved in getting a PCB fabricated.
  • Discussing any final adjustments or optimizations before production.