Today, we talk about the common errors in PCB, the PCB design questions, and answers in PCB board design circuit board design.
Schematic diagrams in PCB design questions
(1) No signal is connected to the ERC report pin:
I/O attributes are defined for the pins when the package is created;
Inconsistent grid attributes are modified when components are created or placed, and the pins and wires are not connected;
When creating the component, the pin direction is reversed, and the non-pin name end must be connected.
The most common reason is that there is no project file, which is the most common mistake for beginners.
(2) The component went out of the drawing boundary: no component was created in the center of the diagram paper of the component library.
(3) The network table of the created project file can only be partially imported into the PCB: when the netlist is generated, global is not selected.
(4) When using multi-part components created by yourself, never use annotate.
Common errors in PCB of PCB design questions
(1) Report that NODE was not found when loading the network
The components in the schematic diagram use packages that are not in the PCB library;
The components in the schematic diagram use packages with inconsistent names in the PCB library;
The components in the schematic diagram use packages with inconsistent PINs in the PCB library. For example, in a triode: the PINs in such are e, b, and c, while those in PCB are 1, 2, and 3.
(2) Can not always print on one page when printing
It is not at the origin when creating the PCB library;
The components have been moved and rotated many times, and there are hidden characters outside the boundaries of the PCB board. Choose to show all hidden characters, shrink the PCB, and then move the characters to the boundary.
(3) The DRC reporting network is divided into several parts:
This indicates that this network is not connected. Look at the report file and use the CONNECTED COPPER to find it.
If you make a more complicated design, try not to use automatic wiring.
PCB manufacturing process in PCB design questions
(1) Overlap of the pads
Causes heavy holes. When drilling, the drill is broken and the holes are damaged due to multiple drilling in one place.
In the multi-layer board, there are both connection plates and isolation plates at the same position, and the board has a performance of isolation and connection errors.
(2) Irregular use of graphics layer
Violation of conventional design, such as the component surface design in the Bottom layer, and welding surface design in the TOP layer, causes misunderstandings.
There is a lot of design rubbish on each layer, such as broken lines, useless borders, labels, etc.
(3) Unreasonable characters
The characters cover SMD soldering tabs, which brings inconvenience to PCB on-off detection and component soldering.
The characters are too small, which makes screen printing difficult. If the characters are too large, they will overlap each other and be difficult to distinguish. The font is generally >40mil.
(4) Single-sided pad setting aperture
Single-sided pads are generally not drilled, and the aperture should be designed to be zero, otherwise, when the drilling data is generated, the coordinates of the hole will appear at this position. Special instructions should be given for drilling.
If a single-sided pad needs to be drilled, but the aperture is not designed, the software treats this pad as an SMT pad when outputting electrical and ground data and the inner layer will lose the isolation disk.
(5) Draw pads with filling blocks
Although it can pass the DRC inspection, the solder mask data cannot be directly generated during processing, and the pad is covered with a solder mask and cannot be soldered.
(6) The electrical ground layer is designed with both a heat sink and a signal line, and the positive and negative images are designed together, and errors occur.
(7) Large area grid spacing is too small
The grid line spacing is less than 0.3mm. During the PCB manufacturing process, the pattern transfer process will cause film breakage after development, which will increase the processing difficulty.
(8) The graphics are too close to the frame
At least 0.2mm or more spacing should be ensured (V-cut 0.35mm or more), otherwise, the copper foil will be warped and the solder resist will fall off during the exterior processing, which will affect the appearance quality (including the inner copper skin of the multilayer board).
(9) The outline frame design is not clear
Many layers are designed with frames and do not overlap, which makes it difficult for PCB manufacturers to judge which line to use. The standard frame should be designed on the mechanical and BOARD layers, and the internal hollowed-out parts should be clear.
(10) Uneven graphic design
When the pattern is electroplated, the current distribution is uneven, which affects the uniformity of the coating, and even causes warpage.
(11) Short-shaped hole
The length/width of the special-shaped hole should be> 2:1 and the width> 1.0mm, otherwise the CNC drilling machine cannot process it.
(12) Milling profile positioning hole is not designed
If possible, design at least two positioning holes with a diameter of> 1.5mm in the PCB board.
(13) The aperture is not clearly marked
The aperture marking should be marked in the metric system as far as possible and in increments of 0.05.
Combine the apertures that may be combined into a reservoir area as much as possible.
Whether the tolerances of metalized holes and special holes (such as crimp holes) are clearly marked.
(14) Unreasonable wiring in the inner layer of the multilayer board
The heat dissipation pad is placed on the isolation tape, and it is easy to fail to connect after drilling.
There are gaps in the design of the isolation belt, which is easy to misunderstand.
The isolation band design is too narrow to accurately judge the network
(15) Design problem of buried blind hole plate
The significance of designing buried and blind vias:
Increase the density of the multilayer board by more than 30%, reduce the number of layers, and reduce the size of the multilayer board
Improve PCB performance, especially the control of characteristic impedance (shortened wires and reduced aperture)
Improve PCB design freedom
Reduce raw materials and costs, which is beneficial to environmental protection.
Some people generalize these problems to work habits. People who have problems often have these bad habits.
Lack of planning in PCB design questions
One of the many steps to make PCB design successful is to choose the right tool. Today’s PCB design engineers can find many powerful and easy-to-use EDA kits on the market. Each model has its own unique capabilities, advantages, and limitations.
In addition, no piece of software is foolproof, so problems such as component packaging mismatches are bound to occur. There is no single tool that can meet all your needs. It is possible that you must study hard in advance to find the best product that best suits your needs. Some information on the Internet can help you get started quickly.
Poor communication in PCB design questions
Although the practice of outsourcing PCB design to other manufacturers is becoming more and more common and often very cost-effective, this approach may not be suitable for high-complexity PCB design, because, in this design, performance and reliability Sex is extremely critical.
With the increase of design complexity, to ensure accurate component placement and routing in real-time, face-to-face communication between engineers and PCB designers has become very important. This face-to-face communication will help save costly and important tasks in the future. Do (rework) work.
It is also important to invite PCB board manufacturers to join in the early stages of the design process. They can provide initial feedback on your design and maximize efficiency according to their processes and procedures. In the long run, this will help you save considerable time and money.
By letting them know your design goals and inviting them to participate in the early stages of the PCB layout, you can avoid any potential problems before the product is put into production and shorten the time to market.
Failure to thoroughly test early prototypes in PCB design questions
The prototype board allows you to prove that your design is operating according to the original specifications. Prototype testing allows you to verify the function and quality of the PCB and its performance before mass production.
Successful prototype testing requires a lot of time and experience, but a strong test plan and a clear set of goals can shorten the evaluation time and also reduce the possibility of production-related errors.
If any problems are found during the prototype test, a second test needs to be performed on the reconfigured circuit board. By incorporating high-risk factors in the early stages of the design process, you will benefit from multiple iterations of the test, identify any potential problems early, reduce risks, and ensure that the plan can be completed on schedule.
Use inefficient layout techniques or incorrect components
Smaller and faster devices allow PCB design engineers to layout complex designs. This design will use smaller components to reduce the footprint, and they will also be placed closer together.
The use of some technologies, such as embedded discrete devices on the internal PCB layer, or ball grid array (BGA) packaging with a smaller pin pitch, will help reduce the size of the circuit board, improve performance, and reserve space for You can redo after the problem.
When used with high pin counts and smaller pitches, it is important to select the correct circuit board layout technology at design time to avoid problems in the future and reduce manufacturing costs as much as possible.
In addition, you must carefully study the value range and performance characteristics of the replacement components you intend to use, even those that are marked as drop-in replacements. A small change in the characteristics of the replacement component may be enough to mess up the performance of the entire design.
Forgot to back up your work of PCB design questions
Back up important data. Do I still need to remind you? At the very least, you should back up your most important work results and other hard-to-replace files.
Although most companies back up all the company’s data every day, some smaller companies may not do this, or if you work from home, neither will you.
Nowadays, backing up data to the cloud is so convenient and cheap. There is really no excuse for not backing up the data and keeping the data in a safe place to prevent it from being stolen, encountering fires, and other local disasters.
Become a single island in PCB design questions
Although you may think that your design is flawless, and making mistakes is not your style at all, but many times, your peers will see some mistakes in your design that you did not notice.
Sometimes, even if you know the intricate details of the design, people with less exposure to it may be able to maintain a more objective attitude and provide valuable insights.
Checking your design frequently with your peers can help find unforeseen problems and keep your plan on the right track, keeping costs within budget. Of course, making mistakes is inevitable, but you can design an excellent product next time as long as you can learn the lesson.
If you have any PCB design questions or antenna questions, please read our ANTENNA FAQ section, if you still cannot get the answer you need, please contact us.
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