[sdiy] PC board from artwork?
Tim Ressel
timr at circuitabbey.com
Fri Oct 21 10:58:22 CEST 2016
To each their own. I have observed a thing about pcb layout: everyone
has a method/cad package they really like, and another they really hate.
I like Eagle and hate, um, can't remember its name. I have seen folks
use MS Paint to do layouts. Shucks, when I started they were still doing
layups with acetates and colored tape. You find a tool you can afford
and can get along with, and go for it. I use Visio for front panel
mockups. How weird is that?
--tr
On 10/20/2016 4:01 PM, Tom Wiltshire wrote:
> David,
>
> It's truly remarkable that you put up with such a hideously involved
> method. I mean, I know how these things evolve, so I completely
> understand how you got there, but if you stand back and look at what
> you're doing, given the software that's available, it doesn't make any
> sense. At the time, you used the tool you had. Then you used the tool
> you'd used before, and developed it. Before you know it, you're doing
> full-scale layouts in a tool designed for something completely
> different, with none of the benefits of a tool designed for the job.
>
> Honestly, try one of the options that have been mentioned. I'd put in
> a shout in for RS' Designspark too, although maybe they don't have
> such a presence on your side of the pond. I don't use it (I'm on
> DipTrace which has already been mentioned, and which I'd also
> recommend) but I've heard lots of good things from people who do.
>
> Regards,
> Tom
>
>
> On 20 Oct 2016, at 04:40, David G Dixon <dixon at mail.ubc.ca
> <mailto:dixon at mail.ubc.ca>> wrote:
>
>> Hi Quincas,
>> I have made a bunch of little graphics in Excel, using just
>> rectangles, lines of various colours, etc, which represent chips,
>> resistors, caps, diodes, etc, with their leads and pins. The first
>> thing I do is set the grid to 16 x 16 pixels so that the spreadsheet
>> cells are all little squares. Each square represents 0.1". Then I
>> select "Snap to Grid" in the Drawing menu so that when I move the
>> parts around they snap to the 0.1" grid. Then I just do the layout
>> by pure blunt force by carefully working through the schematic.
>> The layouts are facilitated by sticking to a certain basic plan. The
>> power rails go down the middle of the board from left to right, and
>> all the chips straddle these rails. Hence, the first row of pads
>> next to the rails accommodate the chip pins. The next rows of pads
>> are for things that connect between adjacent chip pins, like small
>> stability caps in opamp feedback loops. The next pads are for
>> components connecting out from the chips, such as resistors and
>> diodes. These are all 0.4" long, and thereby straddle
>> three potential rows of traces and/or pads. I call this three-lane
>> conduit the "boulevard" and it is through here that I route signals
>> around the board. Beyond that is a row of pads for the other end of
>> all the resistors and diodes, and then a row of pads for off-board
>> connectors, and finally a ground trace which typically encircles the
>> entire board. The boards are arranged symmetrically around the
>> rails. This means that all of my analog boards are either 2.1" wide,
>> or 4.0" wide for "double-wide" boards (which share a ground trace
>> down the middle between the two halves).
>> Once I've got the layout done, connecting all the parts with
>> different coloured traces (lines with ball ends in Excel), and the
>> layout is reviewed and error-free, then I copy this layout to make
>> several different graphics. One is "parts-only", one is
>> "traces-only", and one is "pads only". The "traces-only" graphic is
>> made up of all the traces in the layout, and is made up of several
>> layers of lines. All traces are made up of three layers of lines,
>> with ball ends of various sizes to make up pads, and smaller lines
>> with small ball-ends on every line to give rounded corners. Finally,
>> all power and ground traces are copied and made wider than other
>> traces. These are all consolidated into a single graphic.
>> The "pads-only" graphic is made up of small circles combined with
>> larger invisible squares to force them to align on the grid.
>> These small circles sit over the ball ends of the traces, and exist
>> to provide small drill-guide holes for the pads for easy drilling.
>> Finally, the pads and traces are turned black and combined to make
>> the transfer graphic. This is what is printed and transferred onto
>> the PCB. Finally finally, the transfer graphic is covered with a
>> semi-transparent white rectangle, and then the "parts-only" graphic
>> is superimposed on this, and that makes the "build pic" which is
>> actually what the completed board will look like. I use this
>> graphic when I'm stuffing the board.
>> Sorry, that was long, and probably hard to follow. I'll just email
>> you an example so you can see for yourself.
>> Dave
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Quincas Moreira [mailto:quincas at gmail.com
>> <http://gmail.com>]
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 19, 2016 7:45 PM
>> *To:* David G Dixon
>> *Cc:* KA4HJH; sdiy
>> *Subject:* Re: [sdiy] PC board from artwork?
>>
>> David, could you describe how you lay out PCBs in Excel? very
>> curious :)
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Oct 19, 2016 at 7:36 PM, David G Dixon <dixon at mail.ubc.ca
>> <mailto:dixon at mail.ubc.ca>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Terry,
>>
>> I can rework the layout to accommodate more typical quad
>> opamps such as
>> TL074. This is actually very easy for me to do. I do it in
>> Excel. With
>> the graphic and the schematic from the article, I can
>> reproduce the layout
>> in Excel very quickly and then manipulate the layout to
>> change the opamp
>> pinouts. No problem.
>>
>> I could also add some sine shapers if required. I have a
>> nice design for
>> sine shapers which I could basically drop onto the board. It
>> would get a
>> tiny bit bigger, though.
>>
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Synth-diy [mailto:synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl
>> <mailto:synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl>]
>> > On Behalf Of KA4HJH
>> > Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 4:44 PM
>> > To: sdiy
>> > Subject: Re: [sdiy] PC board from artwork?
>> >
>> >
>> > > On Oct 19, 2016, at 5:57 PM, Byron G. Jacquot
>> > <thescum at surfree.com <mailto:thescum at surfree.com>> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > I'd be happy to redraw it in Eagle, and generate Gerbers,
>> > if it comes to that. It'd be a quick hour or so. You'd
>> > still have to find somewhere to fab 'em - I typically use
>> > OSHPark or Advanced Circuits.
>> > >
>> > > It's worth noting that the original design uses 4136's, but
>> > might be more useful if they were swapped to the more common
>> > quad op-amp package.
>> >
>> > That was one of the main changes I would make if, in my dream
>> > world, I could actually redo the whole thing. Fortunately I
>> > have lots of 4136s.
>> >
>> > The other thing is that it might be interesting to put sine
>> > shapers on the oscillators that form the Lissajous baseline.
>> > I don't know how it would look with an ellipse instead of a
>> rhomboid.
>> >
>> >
>> > > On Oct 19, 2016, at 5:40 PM, David G Dixon
>> > <dixon at mail.ubc.ca <mailto:dixon at mail.ubc.ca>> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > I would be happy to make one for you, Terry. I make my own
>> > boards all
>> > > the time, and sell quite a few of them to other hobbyists.
>> > >
>> > > I have one or two questions about the layout graphic, but
>> > we can deal
>> > > with that if you decide you want me to do it.
>> >
>> > This list is getting more helpful all the time. I need to get
>> > past Halloween before doing anything but after that...
>> >
>> >
>> > > On Oct 19, 2016, at 5:54 PM, Dave Manley
>> <dlmanley at sonic.net <mailto:dlmanley at sonic.net>> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > Egads, I remember reading that article in my high school
>> > library when it was first published.
>> > >
>> > > ObSdiyContent: it must have been about the same time
>> > PAiA's 2700 was in Radio-Electronics...
>> >
>> > Yep, I was a subscriber when I was in high school. I really
>> > wanted to build one. It only took me a couple of decades to
>> > get around to it.
>> >
>> > The dog-eared magazine is in the next room right now. The pdf
>> > article on my blog is a recreation of the original, OCRed and
>> > reset in the original typeface.
>> >
>> >
>> > Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
>> > "The Mac Doctor"
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
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>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> Quincas Moreira
>> Test Pilot at VBrazil Modular
>>
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>
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--
--Tim Ressel
Circuit Abbey
timr at circuitabbey.com
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