Top/bottom component placement

1) which side am I looking at in Eagle?

My guess is that I look "down" on the top side of the PCB and that the

components face upwards -correct?

This is correct, imagine you have XRAY vision and your staring at the

top of the board.

 

2) How do I place components at the bottom side?

I've read that the "mirror" command does this, but shouldn't the

component color change as well, to indicate t's on the other side? Here

they're all white/green regardless of mirroring or not but I see the pin

numbers change. It's a little confusing to know which side the physical

component is located on.

The color change happens on surface mount parts. Through hole components

stay the same color, the way you can tell is by looking at the text.

Additionally, if you have the pad names displayed you'll see that their

locations change due to being mounted on the bottom.

Hth,

Jorge Garcia

On 06/08/2015 18:13, Jorge Garcia wrote:

1) which side am I looking at in Eagle?

My guess is that I look "down" on the top side of the PCB and that the

components face upwards -correct?

This is correct, imagine you have XRAY vision and your staring at the

top of the board.

Thanks for clearing that up.

The color change happens on surface mount parts. Through hole components

stay the same color, the way you can tell is by looking at the text.

Additionally, if you have the pad names displayed you'll see that their

locations change due to being mounted on the bottom.

I see. I assume it's a good idea to print out the bottom and top sides

of the PCB on paper to check before actually ordering the PCB from a

board house. Are there any good guides on how to do that?

L.

I see. I assume it's a good idea to print out the bottom and top sides

of the PCB on paper to check before actually ordering the PCB from a

board house. Are there any good guides on how to do that?

Hi Logyx,

Yes that would be a good idea. Just do a File > Print, in the simplest

case you won't have to calibrate your printer and it will print to scale.

If you do have to calibrate then that procedure is pretty simple.

1. Print out a rectangular board and make sure you know the size of it.

2. With calipers or other accurate measurement instrument, measure the

bottom edge of the board. Compare that measurement to what you specified

in EAGLE. Obtain the following ratio:

Specified in EAGLE/ What I measured.

3. Repeat with the right or left edge of the rectangle obtain the ratio.

4. Go file > print on the bottom left you'll see a section labeled

calibrate. Enter the ratios in the appropriate spots and try printing

the rectangle to confirm that your corrections worked.

5. If things got worse, then use the reciprocal of the ratios and try again.

hth,

Jorge Garcia

I see. I assume it's a good idea to print out the bottom and top sides

of the PCB on paper to check before actually ordering the PCB from a

board house. Are there any good guides on how to do that?

Hi Logyx,

Yes that would be a good idea. Just do a File > Print, in the simplest

case you won't have to calibrate your printer and it will print to scale.

If you do have to calibrate then that procedure is pretty simple.

1. Print out a rectangular board and make sure you know the size of it.

2. With calipers or other accurate measurement instrument, measure the

bottom edge of the board. Compare that measurement to what you specified

in EAGLE. Obtain the following ratio:

Specified in EAGLE/ What I measured.

3. Repeat with the right or left edge of the rectangle obtain the ratio.

4. Go file > print on the bottom left you'll see a section labeled

calibrate. Enter the ratios in the appropriate spots and try printing

the rectangle to confirm that your corrections worked.

5. If things got worse, then use the reciprocal of the ratios and try again.

hth,

Jorge Garcia

On 10/08/2015 17:58, Jorge Garcia wrote:

I see. I assume it's a good idea to print out the bottom and top sides

of the PCB on paper to check before actually ordering the PCB from a

board house. Are there any good guides on how to do that?

 

Hi Logyx,

 

Yes that would be a good idea. Just do a File > Print, in the simplest

case you won't have to calibrate your printer and it will print to scale.

 

If you do have to calibrate then that procedure is pretty simple.

Much appreciated useful info. Thanks Jorge!

L.