1. Choose the correct grid set and always use the grid spacing that matches most components. Although the practicability of multi-grid seems to be very important, if engineers can think more in the early stage of PCB layout design, they can avoid the difficulty of interval setting and maximize the application of PCB. Because many devices use a variety of package sizes, engineers should use the products that are most beneficial to their own design. In addition, polygons are very important for copper plating on circuit boards. Polygon filling deviation usually occurs when polygon copper plating is carried out on multi-gate circuit boards. Although it is not based on a single power grid standard, it can provide services that exceed the required service life of the circuit board.
2. Keep the shortest and most direct path. This sounds simple and common, but it should be kept in mind at every stage, even if it means changing the layout of the circuit board to optimize the wiring length. This is especially suitable for analog and high-speed digital circuits, and its system performance is always partially limited by impedance and parasitic effects.
3. Use the power layer to manage the distribution of power lines and ground lines as much as possible. For most PCB design software, copper coating on the power layer is a faster and simpler choice. By sharing a large number of wires, it can be ensured that the current with the highest efficiency, the smallest impedance or voltage drop is provided, and an adequate grounding loop is provided. If possible, multiple power lines can also be operated in the same area of the circuit board to confirm whether the ground layer covers most of the PCB layers, which is beneficial to the interaction between the operating lines on adjacent layers.
4. Combine the relevant components with the required test points. For example, discrete components required by OPAMP operational amplifiers are placed near the equipment so that bypass capacitors and resistors can cooperate with them, thus helping to optimize the wiring length mentioned in Rule 2 and making testing and fault detection easier.
5. Copy the required circuit board several times on another larger circuit board for PCB assembly. Choosing the most suitable size of the equipment used by the manufacturer is helpful to reduce the cost of prototype design and manufacturing. First, arrange the circuit boards on the panels, contact the circuit board manufacturer to obtain the preferred size specifications of each panel, then modify the design specifications and try to repeat the design many times within these panel sizes.
6. Integrate component values. As a designer, you will choose some discrete components with high or low component values but the same efficiency. By integrating in a small range of standard values, the bill of materials can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. If you have a series of PCB products based on the preferred equipment value, it will be more beneficial for you to make correct inventory management decisions in the long run.
7. Perform as many design rule checks (DRC) as possible. Although it takes only a short time to run DRC function on PCB software, in a more complex design environment, as long as the check is always carried out during the design process, a lot of time can be saved, which is a good habit worth maintaining. Every routing decision is crucial, and implementing DRC can prompt you to choose the most important route at any time.
8. Flexible use of screen printing. Screen printing can be used to mark all kinds of useful information for future use by circuit board manufacturers, service or test engineers, installers or equipment debugging personnel. Not only should the function and test point labels be clearly marked, but also the orientation of components and connectors should be marked as much as possible, even if these notes are printed on the lower surface of components used on the circuit board (after the circuit board is assembled). Full application of screen printing technology on the upper and lower surfaces of circuit boards can reduce repetitive work and simplify the production process.
9. Decoupling capacitors are needed. Do not try to optimize the design by avoiding power line decoupling and according to the limitations in the component data sheet. Capacitors are cheap and durable. You can spend as much time as possible assembling capacitors. At the same time, follow rule 6 and use the standard value range to keep the inventory clean.
10. Generate PCB manufacturing parameters and verify them before submitting them for production. Although most circuit board manufacturers are happy to download and verify directly for you, you'd better output the Gerber files first and check whether they meet the expectations with a free reader to avoid misunderstanding. Through personal verification, you may even find some careless mistakes to avoid the loss caused by completing the production according to the wrong parameters.
