Embedded Files
Start with an existing schematic which should be open. Click on the Switch icon and Switch to PCB Document.
Save the board in the same project folder as the corresponding schematic (in this exercise, we’ll call ours “First LED Schematic”).
You will see that each part that is connected in the schematic is connected in board view by an “airwire”. Don’t worry about the airwires yet. Just move your parts into the lower left corner of the board outline.
If you want to rotate or mirror any parts, you can use the modify menu at the top of the screen.
The yellow box around the parts represents the dimension of the printed circuit board, and right now, it's huge. Move the top and side lines inward, keeping them parallel, to make your circuit board efficiently fit the parts.
Use the Quick Route Autorouter tool from the toolbar to connect your parts
To start the autorouter, press Continue then Start
Give the autorouter time to calculate the location of the signal traces. Complex board shapes can take many minutes to calculate. Once the traces are 100% calculated, press End Job.
From the menu at the top of the application, choose the Rules menu
and click on the Design Rules edit menu.
This will create a trace in place of each airwire while keeping the signal traces reasonably far from other traces and part pads. You can manually move traces or delete and redraw them if needed. If you manually draw a trace, each time you click, you can make a bend in the trace. Traces should start and end on green part pads. Ensure your parts don’t block the insertion of a battery in the holder. In this example the battery is rotated 180 for easy insertion.
Your traces should look THICKER than the ones in this image.
You generally don't want to change the board outline much after you route the traces, but since this is a simple design, let's just round the corners of the board using the Rework: Miter tool. A setting between 100 and 200 mil will look good. (One mil = 0.03 mm)
Click near the corners of the board outline to apply the miter.
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!
Save your board. Before moving forward.
Intuition Quiz! Both of these will work but why is one electrically better than the other?
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