Hello all,

Working daily to become a better board designer and I welcome any constructive feedback you have to offer. Please keep it helpful and informative. Please dumb it down for me if you can as I am a newbie however any help is greatly appreciated.

For this project which is a simple 7 segment counter using a 555 timer and 4026 IC chip I'm looking for feedback regarding my traces and routing. I deliberately chose a mix of THT and SMD components just to give myself a routing challenge. This was a project for learning and not construction so I can improve my routing skills.

please comment what i got right, wrong, needs improvement and why and if you have any other honorable mentions that come to mind the more the merrier.

for context:
thickest trace width near the 9V connector is 0.5mm
thinnest " " near the SW2 button is 0.25mm

 

Make the traces thicker.

You save nothing by making them thin, and you:

(a) decrease the board performance (more resistance)
(b) make the board easier to damage

You have plenty of room, use it.

 

I would avoid placing a trace between two pads at DS1.

Looks like you are using three layers. The board is simple enough to require only two layers. Use jumpers if necessary.

 

I don't see three layers, just two - red and blue.
You can join C1 to R2 on the blue side, saving two vias between U1 and U2
Pin 4 of U1 can join to pin 8 though the middle of the IC. The pin 3 track can go the other side of pin4, so you don't need any vias near SW1.
If SW1 is a DTS6 switch, then two pairs of pins are joined internally so you don't actually need to join them on the pcb.
Always use the thickest track that will fit.

 

On which layer is that blue track on the negative lead of C1?

 

On which layer is that blue track on the negative lead of C1?

Looks like KiCad. If so, it’s on the same blue layer as the ground plane, and KiCad hasn’t separated it from the ground plane because it is on the same net as the ground plane.

 

Make the traces thicker.

You save nothing by making them thin, and you:

(a) decrease the board performance (more resistance)
(b) make the board easier to damage

You have plenty of room, use it.

Thank you for the feedback

 

I would avoid placing a trace between two pads at DS1.

Looks like you are using three layers. The board is simple enough to require only two layers. Use jumpers if necessary.

thanks

 

I don't see three layers, just two - red and blue.
You can join C1 to R2 on the blue side, saving two vias between U1 and U2
Pin 4 of U1 can join to pin 8 though the middle of the IC. The pin 3 track can go the other side of pin4, so you don't need any vias near SW1.
If SW1 is a DTS6 switch, then two pairs of pins are joined internally so you don't actually need to join them on the pcb.
Always use the thickest track that will fit.

thank you for the tips