PCB DESIGN

WORKSHOP
APIIT SD INDIA
CONTENTS
1. Introduction to PCB Design.
2. Getting Started with PROTEUS ISIS.
3. Component Designing in PROTEUS ISIS.
4. PCB Layout in PROTEUS ARES
5. Export Layout Process.
6. Copper PCB Designing.
INTRODUCTION
In early times, the circuits were constructed through a laborious
process of point-to-point wiring. This led to frequent failures at wire
junctions and short circuits when wire insulation began to age and
crack.
A significant advance
was the development of,
wire wrapping, where a
small gauge wire is
literally wrapped around
a post at each connection
point, creating a gas-tight
connection which is
highly durable and easily
changeable.
 As electronics moved from vacuum tubes and relays to
silicon and integrated circuits, the size and cost of electronic
components began to decrease.
Electronics became more prevalent in consumer goods, and
the pressure to reduce the size and manufacturing costs of
electronic products drove manufacturers to look for better
solutions.
Thus was born the PCB.
WHAT IS PCB?
A printed circuit board (PCB) mechanically supports and
electrically connects electronic components using conductive
tracks, pads and other features etched from copper sheets
laminated onto a non-conductive substrate.
It is a board that has lines and pads that connect various
points together.
There are traces that electrically connect the various
connectors and components to each other.
A PCB allows signals and power to be routed between
physical devices.
Solder is the metal that makes the electrical connections
between the surface of the PCB and the electronic
components.
Being metal, solder also serves as a strong mechanical
adhesive.
HISTORY OF PCB
1925: Charles Ducas submitted a patent that involved creating an electrical path
directly on an insulated surface.

1943: Dr. Paul Eisler in Austria began making the first real operational printed
circuit boards.

1947: First double sided PCBs with plated through holes produced.

1956: Process of Assembling Electrical Circuits patent to US Army. The

process involved drawing the wiring pattern and then photographing it onto a
zinc plate was introduced. This plate could then be used to create a printing plate
for an offset printing press. This is what was used to print the wire in acid
resistant ink on the copper foil, which could then be etched by an acid solution.

1960: Multilayer (4+ layer count) PCBs begin production.

2010: ELIC (Every Layer Interconnect) production begins.

TYPES OF PCB
There are two types of PCBs:
COMPOSITION OF PCB
A PCB is sort of like a layer cake or lasagna- there are
alternating layers of different materials which are laminated
together with heat and adhesive such that the result is a single
object.
SUBSTRATE
The base material, or substrate, is usually fiberglass.
The most common designator for this fiberglass is FR4.
This solid core gives the PCB its rigidity and thickness.
There are also flexible PCBs built on flexible high-
temperature plastic (Kapton or the equivalent).
The most common thickness is 1.6mm.
Cheaper PCBs and perf boards are made with other materials
such as epoxies or phenolics which lack the durability of
FR4 but are much less expensive.
Phenolics have a low thermal decomposition temperature
which causes them to delaminate and produces smoke.
COPPER
The next layer is a thin copper foil, which is laminated to the
board with heat and adhesive.
On Double sided PCB, copper is applied to both sides of the
substrate.
In lower cost, copper is applied to single side.
Layers can be as few as 1 to up to 16.
The copper thickness can vary and is specified by weight, in
ounces per square foot.
Most PCBs have 1 ounce of copper per square foot.
For high power requirement, some PCBs have 2 or 3 ounce
copper.
Each ounce per square translates to about 35 micrometers or
1.4 thousandths of an inch of thickness of copper.
SOLDER MASK
The layer on top of the copper foil is called the solder mask
layer.
This layer gives the PCB its green color.
It is overlaid onto the copper layer to insulate the copper
traces from accidental contact with other metal, solder, or
conductive bits.
This layer helps the user to solder to the correct places and
prevent solder jumpers.
The color of Solder Mask can be
green, red, white and purple.
SILKSCREEN
The white silkscreen layer is applied on top of the solder
mask layer.
It adds letters, numbers and symbols to the PCB.
Silkscreen is most commonly white but any ink color can be
used.
TERMINOLOGY
Annual Ring: The ring of copper around a plated through
hole in a PCB.

DRC: Design Rule Check. A software check of your design

to make sure the design does not contain errors such as
traces that incorrectly touch, traces too skinny, or drill holes
that are too small.
Drill Hit: places on a design where a hole should be
drilled, or where they actually were drilled on the board.

Finger: Exposed metal pads along the edge of a board,

used to create a connection between two circuit boards.

Pickand-Place: the machine or process by which

components are placed on a circuit board.
Mouse Bites: Used for separating boards from panels. A
number of drill hits are clustered close together, creating a
weak spot where the board can be broken easily after the
fact.

Panel: a larger circuit board composed of many smaller

boards which will be broken apart before use.

Paste Stencil: a thin, metal (or sometimes plastic) stencil

which lies over the board, allowing solder paste to be
deposited in specific areas during assembly.
Via: a hole in a board used to pass a signal from one layer to
another.

Trace: a continuous path of copper on a circuit board.

Solder Jumper: a small, unwanted blob of solder
connecting two adjacent pins on a component on a circuit
board.

Surface Mount: construction method which allows

components to be simply set on a board, not requiring that
leads pass through holes in the board.
GETTING STARTED WITH
PROTEUS
Proteus is a Virtual System Modeling and circuit simulation
application.
The suite combines mixed mode SPICE circuit simulation,
animated components and microprocessor models.
It has the ability to simulate the interaction between
software running on a microcontroller and any analog or
digital electronics connected to it.
Proteus professional is a software combination of ISIS
schematic capture program and ARES PCB layout program