Embedded Files
Collaboration Requirements:
The work must be collaborative - both partners must perform at least 30% of the progress on the board design to receive the highest score. If one partner does all the work, the assignment will receive a lower score. In your blog, you'll need to explain how both partners contributed.
Actions can include
Schematic Connections
Parts Placement
Routing
Graphics and text
Board size must be less than 8000 square mm (for example 100mm x 80mm / 3.9” x 3.1”)
You must change one thing about the board so it does not look the same as the sample board.
Download the schematic and board template file and open it.
Download this folder and unzip it.
You will see a schematic and board template. This has a good amp layout for a PCB, without the connections.
In your Fusion data folder, create a new subfolder called something like "Amplifier".
Open the folder and press upload.
Open the schematic file
You will see all the parts placed in various groups. These groupings can be hooked up separately and still share the same positive and negative (ground) nodes.
Say yes! Then click on the tab at the top to see the new electronics file
Link to the board file
click on the green board with the link symbol and connect your board file to your schematic file.
You can see that all the parts are already arranged in a good configuration, however, none of the parts are connected. You can move the parts around however it is not recommended yet.
if you don't correctly link the files, when you switch to the board, this will happen : I
Switch back to your schematic file and click on the Grid Options.
Important: Change the grid size from 0.1 to 0.05.
Use the move tool to move parts around.
And the net tool to connect parts to other parts or pins
Start connecting:
Here’s an example of the two power jacks and switch hooked to 12v and ground.
Important note: For two electrical wires to connect, you must see the green dot.
Wires that are near but not touching will not have a green connection dot and are not connected.
Switch to PCB document view
Now switch to PCB Document view using this button and make sure the airwires are showing up.
At this point, you will only see a couple of airwires on the lower left.
Airwires are not actual connections. They are like placeholders for the connections you will route later. Each connection you make on the breadboard shows up as an airwire.
Switch to Schematic View
Continue this process to draw the rest of the schematic connections
Work on small sections at a time, and check your work often! An incorrect connection will likely keep your amplifier from working.
Save your work often!
When you think you have all the connections correct in your schematic:
It's time to run the error check. You will find the ERC tool under the "Validate" menu.
In the errors tab you can see if you have missing or incorrect connections. Warnings can be OK but errors are almost always a problem.
Board and schematic must be consistent.
Move ahead only after you are sure your connections are all correct.
Switch to PCB document view
Now switch to PCB Document view using this button and make sure the airwires are showing up.
Optional: Delete and change the board outline to be more custom and creative (like you did for your first PCB project). The board does not have to be rectangular.
From the menu at the top of the application, choose the Rules menu
and click on the Design Rules edit tool.
Use the Autorouter tool
Use the Autorouter tool from the toolbar to automatically turn your air wires into copper traces between your parts
To start the autorouter, press continue
On the next screen press start
Give the autorouter time to calculate the location of the signal traces. Once the traces are 100% calculated, press End Job.
This can take as little as 10 seconds and as long as 10 minutes depending on your board outline and computer processer.
This will create an electrical copper trace in place of each air wire while keeping the signal traces reasonably far from other traces and part pads.
You can manually move them or delete and redraw them. If you manually draw a trace, each time you click, you can bend it. Traces should start and end on green part pads.
If you see a problem, use the unroute tool to remove the traces, then run the auto router again.
Run the DRC (Design Rule Check), to check for clearance errors.
From the menu at the top, choose Rules Check Design Rules and click on the Green DRC Checkmark.
Warnings are usually fine, however, if you have errors, you must fix them.
If you have errors in the panel to the left, click on them to see where they are in the design
You see "No errors" at the bottom of your board window if you have no errors and no warnings. Yay!
Open your Errors panel (usually on the left of the document). You can see descriptions of any errors in your document. When you click on an error, it will be highlighted in your PCB document.
Fix your errors and run the DRC again until you've fixed or approved the remaining errors.
Important Design Advice for good sound!
Keep your parts close to each other, especially the capacitors, and keep them connected to the integrated circuit.
Don't have traces that are excessively long and cross over many other traces (even if on the opposite side of the board)
When possible, avoid vias (going from top to bottom or bottom to top in the middle of a trace).
This is an example of a board that didn't sound good and was hard to troubleshoot. The parts and copper traces are weaving all over the place with many vias.
If your board looks like this, see if you can move parts around to simplify the trace pattern. Talk with your instructor if you need help with this.
You're now ready to add a ground plane.
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