I been learning diptrace and know each PCB build house has it's own rules .. But when you PCB's how do you know how wide of a trace do you use or what pad size or guide lines ?? Is there any thread or information you could point me too ??
My problems comes that I live in a small apartment with smalls kids and it's hard to make pcb at home with all the chemicals and having to drill the pcb with a drill press I don't have and just no room..Why send it out? Toner transfer method is really easy. I just complete this one a few minutes ago.
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I am not sure I understand your question. Back in the 80s and 90s the gerber plotters had fixed "apertures". It was actually a wheel with precisely cut holes that shaped the light source that exposed the PCB. You would get an "aperture list" from the board maker and use those sizes in your board design. This went away with black and white TVs. Today the size of pads and traces is almost infinite. The board maker will often state the minimum trace width or trace separation. That is about the only thing you need to consider when laying out a PCB.I been learning diptrace and know each PCB build house has it's own rules .. But when you PCB's how do you know how wide of a trace do you use or what pad size or guide lines ?? Is there any thread or information you could point me too ??
Trace width is generally set based on the current drawn through the trace. There is a lot of info on this sizing around. The other concern is impedance. If you are connecting very high frequency signals the width of the trace affects its impedance. There are calculators online for that............. how do you know how wide of a trace do you use or what pad size or guide lines ?.....................
From what I have seen, it is not cheap to make just one. Most of the cheap places are in China. So it is going to take a while to get your boards. As a newbie you are bound to make mistakes in PCB layout. It is easy to do for someone that has done it a few dozen times too. Awfully expensive mistake in both time and money.My problems comes that I live in a small apartment with smalls kids and it's hard to make pcb at home with all the chemicals and having to drill the pcb with a drill press I don't have and just no room..
@spinnaker makes a good point. You are not the first person to have a space and safety problem. Look around for "maker" clubs. If you can find a place to use the toner transfer, or photographic PCB methods you could save yourself a lot of money.
I was going to try making smd boards at my place cause then I wouldn't have to drill alot of hole for components..But I have to pick up some iron tips for smd work.. Also it should work well with my reflow oven build but I know solder paste doesn't last very long unless refrigerated..@spinnaker makes a good point. You are not the first person to have a space and safety problem. Look around for "maker" clubs. If you can find a place to use the toner transfer, or photographic PCB methods you could save yourself a lot of money.
This question comes from time to time, so I made a list of different board houses. I've never tried any of them.Ok thanks and does anyone know where pcb build house list is
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by Aaron Carman
by Jake Hertz
by Jake Hertz