Importance of PCB!!
Printed Circuit Board (PCB) have changed the world, making gadgets much more compact and sturdy. Think of a Smartphone where everything is connected by wires. Thanks to PCB's that this is only a thought. Being Electrical Engineering student, it is always a target to create a project and finally make a PCB for it. This post discuss PCB making using free version of software EAGLE.
Why Software?
Software saves our time. Earlier the layout of PCB took significant time but with the help of software this task is only a few clicks away. Also software gives designer an opportunity to try as many arrangements as thinkable and then decide the final layout. The chances of errors are also reduced and the final layout is much more cleaner. We have used Autodesk Eagle for our PCB designing which can be downloaded for free from link given below:
The First PCB circuit
Since we are new to PCB designing software, it is better to create a simple project on PCB first and move to bigger projects later. So our circuit is a 555 timer based LED blinker circuit shown below:
From installation to making the first PCB layout using EAGLE can be understood from pdf in link below:
The final Board layout for our PCB is something like this:
Hardware Part:
Now after finalizing our PCB layout in EAGLE, we will print this file using a Laser printer and will transfer the layout to a copper clad board for etching stage. We have used electric iron for layout transfer to copper clad board. Etching of layout on board in done using FeCl3 solution taking all necessary precautions. After layout is etched, the next task is to drill holes and place components on their respective places. components are soldered to their positions and at last testing of PCB is done.
Few pictures of this Workshop are given below:
Final Words..
The Workshop aimed at providing a hands-on experience to students who wish to create their own PCB for various projects. Skilled engineers who are industry ready is the demand of current market and such activities boost confidence of students to face challenges of real life problems.
Disclaimer: The author created this post for information purpose and does not claim any right of any kind regarding software and images used for this post. The post is to help young students explore software based PCB designing using free software.
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