These show up on the PCB as purely visual elements they’re not conductive and do not affect the functionality of the circuit. A footprint can also have lines, shapes, and text that are collectively referred to as the silkscreen. The components include a footprint (AKA land pattern), i.e., a collection of through-holes and/or surface-mount pads that match the terminal geometry of the physical part. The wires will become traces or copper pours.

How to Generate Manufacturing Files for Custom Printed Circuit BoardsĪ schematic consists primarily of components and wires connected in such a way as to produce the desired electrical behavior.

Guide to Ordering and Assembling Printed Circuit Boards

I sincerely appreciate your contributions. Nonetheless, I am only one person and I most certainly cannot know everything, so please do not hesitate to expand upon my work via the comments section at the end of the article. I’ve been doing independent and low-quantity PCB design for a long time, and I’ve gradually acquired enough relevant information to put together a reasonably comprehensive article on the subject. Professional PCB fabrication is so affordable and convenient these days, and in general the results are far superior.

By “manufacturing” I mean “paying a company to manufacture”-I will not discuss DIY fabrication of PCBs, and I can't honestly recommend that approach. This article is intended for anyone who is interested in (or might someday be interested in) manufacturing and assembling small quantities of high-quality PCBs. Even if you’re somewhat familiar with ordering and assembling PCBs, you might not be aware of some options that could help you to achieve adequate results at lower cost. We shouldn’t forget, though, that schematics and layouts aren’t very useful if you don’t know how to turn your finished design files into an assembled circuit board. There is no doubt that schematic creation and PCB layout are fundamental aspects of electrical engineering, and it makes sense that resources such as technical articles, app notes, and textbooks tend to focus on these portions of the design process. This article gives a high-level view of the basics of preparing a schematic for custom PCB fabrication.

Diptrace pcb layout