This blog is to make available the USB to Banana Plug adapter design in case anyone else wants to build one.
This adapter converts a standard 2 pin banana jack to a USB connector and a 0.1" pitch header. This allows bench power supplies to&...
For the 2022 Holiday Season, I'm designing an Ornament-Style PCB. (Last year I did a PCB Gift Box with LEDs.)
In short, it is a 1.8" TFT LCD connected to a Pi Pico (W). The idea is to display GIFs downloaded on the LCD. I've started on the initial PC...
I have been looking for (and not been successful) in sourcing a through-hole PCB boards with 3.5mm hole pitch. Everything I see off-the-shelf is 2.54mm hole pitch. Even the solderless breadboards don't have 3.5mm.
I need to mount/solder on the PC...
I’m looking for some recommendation on KiCAD netclass board setup. What do you use for clearance, via size and track width?
I realize the most appropriate response to this questions depends on a number of factors. I’m hoping for a genera...
I am moving from generating PCB layouts using Fritzing to KiCAD. It has been something I have been considering for a while. I have been investing some resources (time, money and energy) in learning KiCAD 6. I have just completed the module on constru...
In a recent blog, I made a pcb for a piezo sensor circuit. image: the schematic in KiCadI used general common sense when doing the layout. I put the components and traces in such a way that they fitted and didn't have trace crossings. B...
Since cstanton alerted everyone to the PCB Forum, I thought I’d make use of it and try to get some help.
I’ve never done a ball grid array (BGA) layout, and I wished to have an FPGA board that I’d created myself, for some ...
What’s the key to designing a board that’s realistic on paper and in physical form? Let’s explore the top 5 design guidelines that you need to know to design your next manufacturable, functional and reliable PCB.
Top 5 PCB ...
PCB Design
PCB design is one of the most important steps in the development of a project and must be done well and checked many times in order to avoid the finished product flat out not working due to some electrical error on the PCB In this ...
KiCad can generate 3D views of the model being developed and can also export them in several formats. However, the files aren't useable in many CAD programs.
The Problem
Interfacing a PCB with other parts of a project is eased if ...
EDIT 31/1/21: I've added a reply below with an embedded video which is worth watching after reading the white paper. I've been reading around about grounding for PCBs over the last couple of days and opinions seem to fall into either &qu...
Learning to solder with this kit is a fun way to obtain a new skill and a great introduction to electronics. The art in this project is based on the logo used in the current Element14 Women Makers and Engineers Contest. The Printed Circui...
I decided to give PCB art a try and will be basing my attempt on methods described by Andrew Sowa. Andrew uses Adobe Illustrator for the art work and KiCad for the PCB design. I will also use KiCad but will use my trusty pre-subscription ...
Introduction The purpose of this blog is to analyse the advantages of placing circuits into a printed circuit board (PCB), and show the design process to make the PCB compatible with the hardware components which are mentioned in th...
devbisme announced his KiPart utility recently (KiCAD lovers, check out KiPart).Here's my write-down of the first trial. I took a part that was lying on my desk. It's a 9-pin LMG5200 GaN chip.I opened the datasheet and copied the pin ass...
If you're using KiCad, and you agree with devbisme that the native library editor of kicad sucks donkeys, check out his KiPart utility. www.youtube.com/watch No more clicking and digging through dialogs. Just use a spreadsheet to ...
Anyone who has learned a layout package like EAGLE and sent a board off to a fab knows the trepidation felt when submitting the final gerbers. It doesn't matter if the order is for 3 PCBs or 3,000 PCBs. The time lost from an error can ruin a proj...
