Thanks for this video! This makes me reconsider my sequences of steps to take. I've only made a few PCBs myself, and I've always done the detailed routing first before filling up the remainder with power and ground areas.
Seems like we are at the same level in the journey of making PCBs. All the best!! Maybe you can also supplement with this document on PCB Design Tutorial that I also referred: alternatezone.com/electronics/files/PCBDesignTutorialRevA.pdf
@@sayanee I see now that they recommend detailed rounding at block level first, then bringing it together, and then doing remaining interconnect. I missed that part if your video. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend having a look at this amazing video by Rick Hartley: www.altium.com/live-conference/altiumlive-2018-annual-pcb-design-summit/sessions/extreme-importance-pc-board-stack-up.
Not bad for a relative newbie to PCB Design, however I would say that using a 2 layer PCB with a RF Coaxial connector then you will need a 2mm / 3mm trace for 50R impedance, so I would consider using 4 layer and calculate trace width for 50R your signal will be better and you will have less reflections, and make sure you check the datasheet in case you need external tuning components.
Make sure if putting designators and values if any will be covered by the component, have the value covered not the designator. This helps when repairing or troubleshooting Also any connection to a pad should be as large as possible especially for thru hole components
Like the way your process and thoughts are structured! Have found the most cumbersome part of pcb layout is the footprint design process - takes so much time and is easy to make a mistake. Great job!
Totally true! Footprint design is probably the step before this. You gotta refer to the datasheet (which might not be accurate) to getting the precise measurements, the pin names, etc. I made a checklist on making footprints, but even then I can only confirm the design after it's manufactured and tested. Hope this helps you a little nonetheless :) hutscape.com/checklists/footprints
Here’s a tip for your consideration, we can take inspiration from software developers in this particular case. Think functions and create the modules that go in your pcb’s that way. Like a power supply, or a filter, that sort of things. When we think of those modules as being black boxes, there’s something going in and something coming out. This means that when you consider those modules reliable and robust, you can just import that part of the design and save yourself some work. This is however not linear as parts could be discontinued or the particular application could require some rework, but it should be minimal. You might end up with a few versions for power supplies that meet different requirements but that’s how far you can optimize your work as far as I see it. Whatever work you do, try your best to make it scalable and reusable. This also makes it easier to document. As we all go through our learning curves, documentation is known to be one of the most important tasks that must be achieved in pain of possible severe future setbacks and plenty of head scratching. The pitfall is that the earlier projects are necessarily easier so that we can manage and understand them, and that’s exactly where the danger lies. They are easily manageable and we think we are in control and always will be. This is were we allow ourselves to be messy and create bad habits that will be harder to correct in the future, not to mention the legacy we gifted ourselves that will hardly be corrected and if it does, to me is incredibly boring to do. Plenty of people including myself have fallen into this trap many times over. So this is just a humble advise, I hope you and your subscribers might find it useful. When you think about it, it seems so logical that you can not envision anyone not knowing how this could happen and yet it does. I need to police myself in the early stages of doing something in order to think things through and not allow bad habits to sink in or it will be hell to pay later on. As usual, very clear explanation and quite an interesting video. There’s always something interesting to learn from you. Many thanks.
Amazing! Never thought of these logical blocks as functions with inputs and outputs. Thanks for giving the hardware perspectives as well to balance it up with common pitfalls. I too think that as hardware and software interfaces are getting closer we can take inspiration from both sides of enigneering.
@@sayanee i see an engineer as a cross between a mad scientist and an artist that tries not to get anyone killed with his creations including himself. It would be a shame as it wouldn’t make for a very long career in both cases. Thinking outside the box isn’t the easiest thing to do, which is why many technological breakthroughs are achieved by people from outside a particular field of expertise. I define an expert as someone who knows increasingly more about increasingly less. The thin line that separates focus from tunnel vision is not always visible. We get educated out of creativity simply because schools think that’s the most efficient way of covering the subjects in the program and companies ask for creative people but then force us to come up with new ideas while wearing their straight jacket. The reason why we still have to do that awkward parallel parking that the majority of people never know how it will turn out is because automotive engineers have been taught that cars go forward and backward, not sideways. Is it impossible to come up with something better? I think not, but we get conditioned into thinking that’s the best way to do it. We need to add “so far” to that sentence and keep our creative juices flowing. It’s indeed a challenge. Often tech people engage in tunnel vision and forget to observe other aspects of society, like arts, cooking, sailing, or just sitting in the back garden observing and asking why something is the way it is. Everything around us can be a source of inspiration if we use our most valuable tool, the ability to extrapolate through abstraction. That to me is what thinking outside the box is all about. I have to confess that my previous post isn’t completely original, i tweaked the concept a little bit from my own observations and passed it on so that perhaps someone will add their contribution and me and others can go another step up the ladder. It’s done in the spirit of sharing for the common benefit and I hope people take it that way. I’m no better and no worse than anyone else, just another guy trying to go up another step on that stairway to Heaven. The higher you climb the further you can see. Sometimes, quite often in fact, is by standing on the shoulders of giants that came before us. I like to do my best to honor their contributions and generosity in giving us plenty to work with by simply sharing.
@@Ferreira019760 I can't help but relate your thoughts on tunnel vision (specialist) vs seeing further (generalist) to the recent book I read "Range" by David Epstein. Thanks for sharing :) I hope we can appreciate how exposure to other topics can lead us to solutions. I see some experiments in education towards that direction and I'm hopeful as a society we will be able to come up with something better than today.
I've been a KiCad fan and user for a long while ... but since I started developing products ... I started enjoying the autodesk workflow environment a lot .. fusion with eagle ... You should give it a try sometime ... Love from Bengal ...
Uh, yes the tool is not as important as the concepts. We should definitely use what works for our context. Thanks for sharing another alternative! I definitely have to look into Autodesk for Fusion 360 sometime in the future too! And, yes hello to fellow Bengali geek :) Keep hacking!
This chanel gives me the will to try start building something rather than just program stuff. Thank you! Btw, what is the batery life of this gps tracker you bluilt, does it use low power mode ?
Thank you for making the video! I've been wondering about compartments on a single sheet schematic vs a hierarchical structure. The former seems to be a hobby approach, but the latter more pro? Or maybe it's just 'old way' vs young ☺️
Uh, the hierarchical structure is another method. No, I'm guessing it's more contextual and depends on the project. I have never used the hierarchical structure yet as my projects are still small enough. But I also read that if you want to copy one of the blocks to another project, hierarchical sheets are the way to go for KiCad. Maybe one day I'll try it and share :) Thanks for bringing it up!
Thanks, that would be interesting if you get chance - you have a very clear presentation style. I just found a post on the Kicad forum so may play around with this a bit :) forum.kicad.info/t/hierarchical-or-flat-schematic-design-what-is-best-for-me-how-to-deal-with-multi-page-schematics/16477
I'm learning too :) Don't worry about being perfect, just add a little bit each time. I hope my videos will give you some links to other open-source hardware designers who are very experienced and we can learn from their work. I have a starter checklist for schematics. Hope this helps you hutscape.com/checklists/schematic
Thanks for this video!
This makes me reconsider my sequences of steps to take. I've only made a few PCBs myself, and I've always done the detailed routing first before filling up the remainder with power and ground areas.
Seems like we are at the same level in the journey of making PCBs. All the best!!
Maybe you can also supplement with this document on PCB Design Tutorial that I also referred: alternatezone.com/electronics/files/PCBDesignTutorialRevA.pdf
@@sayanee I see now that they recommend detailed rounding at block level first, then bringing it together, and then doing remaining interconnect. I missed that part if your video.
If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend having a look at this amazing video by Rick Hartley: www.altium.com/live-conference/altiumlive-2018-annual-pcb-design-summit/sessions/extreme-importance-pc-board-stack-up.
@@hombre44567 Rick Hartley is indeed awesome :) Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your work and generosity. As a newbie I've learned a lot.
Still one of the best tutorials out there. Thank you so much for the care, intentionality and generosity you put into your videos. ❤
This is the third(!!) time I got to your videos beacuse I searched something on the internet! you make great content - when you coming back!!!
Not bad for a relative newbie to PCB Design, however I would say that using a 2 layer PCB with a RF Coaxial connector then you will need a 2mm / 3mm trace for 50R impedance, so I would consider using 4 layer and calculate trace width for 50R your signal will be better and you will have less reflections, and make sure you check the datasheet in case you need external tuning components.
Make sure if putting designators and values if any will be covered by the component, have the value covered not the designator. This helps when repairing or troubleshooting
Also any connection to a pad should be as large as possible especially for thru hole components
Thank you for sharing many valuable experiences.
Brilliant!.... thank you very much!
This is perfect timing, thank you
New in the channel, hoping to learn a lot. Thanks for the videos :)
Like the way your process and thoughts are structured! Have found the most cumbersome part of pcb layout is the footprint design process - takes so much time and is easy to make a mistake. Great job!
Totally true! Footprint design is probably the step before this. You gotta refer to the datasheet (which might not be accurate) to getting the precise measurements, the pin names, etc.
I made a checklist on making footprints, but even then I can only confirm the design after it's manufactured and tested. Hope this helps you a little nonetheless :) hutscape.com/checklists/footprints
@@sayanee Amazing! Step #1 & #2 in the mechanical section for footprints - too true to check these first 😩 haha Thanks! :)
@@robotgrrl LOL yups, I have made those exact mistakes before ;)
Here’s a tip for your consideration, we can take inspiration from software developers in this particular case. Think functions and create the modules that go in your pcb’s that way. Like a power supply, or a filter, that sort of things. When we think of those modules as being black boxes, there’s something going in and something coming out. This means that when you consider those modules reliable and robust, you can just import that part of the design and save yourself some work. This is however not linear as parts could be discontinued or the particular application could require some rework, but it should be minimal. You might end up with a few versions for power supplies that meet different requirements but that’s how far you can optimize your work as far as I see it. Whatever work you do, try your best to make it scalable and reusable. This also makes it easier to document. As we all go through our learning curves, documentation is known to be one of the most important tasks that must be achieved in pain of possible severe future setbacks and plenty of head scratching. The pitfall is that the earlier projects are necessarily easier so that we can manage and understand them, and that’s exactly where the danger lies. They are easily manageable and we think we are in control and always will be. This is were we allow ourselves to be messy and create bad habits that will be harder to correct in the future, not to mention the legacy we gifted ourselves that will hardly be corrected and if it does, to me is incredibly boring to do. Plenty of people including myself have fallen into this trap many times over. So this is just a humble advise, I hope you and your subscribers might find it useful. When you think about it, it seems so logical that you can not envision anyone not knowing how this could happen and yet it does. I need to police myself in the early stages of doing something in order to think things through and not allow bad habits to sink in or it will be hell to pay later on.
As usual, very clear explanation and quite an interesting video. There’s always something interesting to learn from you. Many thanks.
Amazing! Never thought of these logical blocks as functions with inputs and outputs.
Thanks for giving the hardware perspectives as well to balance it up with common pitfalls. I too think that as hardware and software interfaces are getting closer we can take inspiration from both sides of enigneering.
@@sayanee i see an engineer as a cross between a mad scientist and an artist that tries not to get anyone killed with his creations including himself. It would be a shame as it wouldn’t make for a very long career in both cases. Thinking outside the box isn’t the easiest thing to do, which is why many technological breakthroughs are achieved by people from outside a particular field of expertise. I define an expert as someone who knows increasingly more about increasingly less. The thin line that separates focus from tunnel vision is not always visible. We get educated out of creativity simply because schools think that’s the most efficient way of covering the subjects in the program and companies ask for creative people but then force us to come up with new ideas while wearing their straight jacket. The reason why we still have to do that awkward parallel parking that the majority of people never know how it will turn out is because automotive engineers have been taught that cars go forward and backward, not sideways. Is it impossible to come up with something better? I think not, but we get conditioned into thinking that’s the best way to do it. We need to add “so far” to that sentence and keep our creative juices flowing. It’s indeed a challenge.
Often tech people engage in tunnel vision and forget to observe other aspects of society, like arts, cooking, sailing, or just sitting in the back garden observing and asking why something is the way it is. Everything around us can be a source of inspiration if we use our most valuable tool, the ability to extrapolate through abstraction. That to me is what thinking outside the box is all about. I have to confess that my previous post isn’t completely original, i tweaked the concept a little bit from my own observations and passed it on so that perhaps someone will add their contribution and me and others can go another step up the ladder. It’s done in the spirit of sharing for the common benefit and I hope people take it that way. I’m no better and no worse than anyone else, just another guy trying to go up another step on that stairway to Heaven. The higher you climb the further you can see. Sometimes, quite often in fact, is by standing on the shoulders of giants that came before us. I like to do my best to honor their contributions and generosity in giving us plenty to work with by simply sharing.
@@Ferreira019760 I can't help but relate your thoughts on tunnel vision (specialist) vs seeing further (generalist) to the recent book I read "Range" by David Epstein.
Thanks for sharing :) I hope we can appreciate how exposure to other topics can lead us to solutions. I see some experiments in education towards that direction and I'm hopeful as a society we will be able to come up with something better than today.
I've been a KiCad fan and user for a long while ... but since I started developing products ... I started enjoying the autodesk workflow environment a lot .. fusion with eagle ... You should give it a try sometime ... Love from Bengal ...
Uh, yes the tool is not as important as the concepts. We should definitely use what works for our context. Thanks for sharing another alternative!
I definitely have to look into Autodesk for Fusion 360 sometime in the future too!
And, yes hello to fellow Bengali geek :) Keep hacking!
This chanel gives me the will to try start building something rather than just program stuff. Thank you!
Btw, what is the batery life of this gps tracker you bluilt, does it use low power mode ?
I have not soldered yet! Going to do it next week :) But yes, good point about noting the battery life. I will share another video in due time.
Thank you for making the video! I've been wondering about compartments on a single sheet schematic vs a hierarchical structure. The former seems to be a hobby approach, but the latter more pro? Or maybe it's just 'old way' vs young ☺️
Uh, the hierarchical structure is another method. No, I'm guessing it's more contextual and depends on the project.
I have never used the hierarchical structure yet as my projects are still small enough. But I also read that if you want to copy one of the blocks to another project, hierarchical sheets are the way to go for KiCad.
Maybe one day I'll try it and share :) Thanks for bringing it up!
Thanks, that would be interesting if you get chance - you have a very clear presentation style. I just found a post on the Kicad forum so may play around with this a bit :) forum.kicad.info/t/hierarchical-or-flat-schematic-design-what-is-best-for-me-how-to-deal-with-multi-page-schematics/16477
@@iwbnwif Thanks! Haha, yes I always go to KiCad forums for my usual KiCad question :) I have faved the question and will refer to it in the future.
Nice! Wish I could draw schematics as good as that. Looks so good and easy, but it takes some talent. Lot of ideas to pick up.
I'm learning too :) Don't worry about being perfect, just add a little bit each time.
I hope my videos will give you some links to other open-source hardware designers who are very experienced and we can learn from their work.
I have a starter checklist for schematics. Hope this helps you hutscape.com/checklists/schematic
please show us and full example simple one ; include also RF part if you can
You get what you pay for.
KiCad is free.