..... Does this look right?

More better

 

I was shooting for shiny. :-(

 

What is this design supposed to do?
Have you breadboarded this to your satisfaction?

How soon do you need Gerbers?
What is your budget for this?

 

What is this design supposed to do?

Turn 4 LEDs on for ~60sec when vibration switch is triggered. If triggered again, reset 60sec timer.

Have you breadboarded this to your satisfaction?

Yes.

How soon do you need Gerbers?

Asap.

What is your budget for this?

Next to nothing? I'm an out-of-work dad of 2 trying to kick start something to make a few bucks.

 

Do you have a printer? If you do, why don't you download ExpressPCB, free and easy to learn, and design your own PCB? You could make your own PCBs in your kitchen.

 

This would hopefully be mass produced soon, so hand drawing or home printing a pcb was a step I thought I could skip using a VERO board (done). The mass-production ppl need a Gerber file to get me my sample 25 boards for $250 (no idea if that is too steep)

 

You seem intelligent. I bet it would only take you about 4 hours before you had your first cut. You can take a screen shop and post it here and I am sure you would get a lot of help. (A lot of us here make our own PCBs.) ExpressPCB allows you to print the image, which will allow you to make transparencies for making your PCB, or you could have ExpressPCB make the boards for you. They deliver very fast and will give you a quote instantly on your computer. I would use them just for the first few boards, call them production prototypes, before you dump out a lot of money for a big lot of them. It is very wise to take small steps especially when you are inexperienced.

 

It was suggested in another thread to try out Eagle to design and lay out the PCB. I may pull an all-nighter with YouTube and some scotch.

 

This is strictly personal opinion, but I taught myself some basic pcb layout work pretty recently and tried lots of free software along the way.

Personally, I found KiCad very difficult and counter intuitive to learn and eventually gave up. I did my first project in Eagle with good results. The interface is a little clunky and awkward, but it wasn't too hard to learn and it did a great job. Only big complaint is how difficult it is to design your own parts/footprints. Then I found DipTrace, and I absolutely loved it. I've used it for several projects now - can't say the results are any different than in Eagle, but the workflow and learning curve are much nicer (at least for my mindset) and there are lots of nice extras, like the way related parts and traces are highlighted when you hover over any part or trace - little details that make it a lot easier to check your work, track down errors, etc.

I never did try ExpressPCB, but I've heard plenty of good things there too.

Anyway, the point I was trying to make in all my rambling is that KiCad can be really hard to get started with, and several alternatives are much easier. Don't get discouraged - teach yourself Eagle, DipTrace, or ExpressPCB, and you probably can make a reasonable first attempt at this fairly quickly. When it feels close, share what you've got and we'll provide feedback.

P.S. The scotch sounds like a good plan too!

 

See and this is exactly what I didn't need...

Now I have to question which one to even try to learn... Gah!

 

ExpressPCB will be the fastest and easiest.

 

See and this is exactly what I didn't need...

Now I have to question which one to even try to learn... Gah!

Ooh, sorry. Forget I said anything and just trust Lestraveled on this one.

He's probably right and besides, if you decide at some point in the future to try a different program, there's no harm in having learned this one first. It's not a long term commitment to pick one tonight. Just go for it, have fun, and get your first prototype rolling!

 

So far, OK progress:



But I feel like all my settings are out of wack. These lines seem too wide...

I also have no clue yet how to put the battery holder and switch on the bottom side to connect to the thru-holes.

 

Hi.

Upload your schematic file as an attachment to a post. Then more members can try.

 

At first glance, R5 is not connected. What program are you using? I agree with nerdgutta, if you want to make progress, upload your schematic. Also, since there is high probability it will have to be imported and re-drawn in a program that provides schematic capture, give some dimensions for that PCB that you want.

John

 

@jpanhalt Why is schematic capture important?

TS - @sydcomebak - what PCB program did you use? ExpressPCB has a page of recommended practices which you should read. The others likely have a similar resource as well.

I too urge you to upload your PCB file.

 

@djsfantasi Schematic capture would have prevented the obvious error in the PCB design posted. Presumably, the OP is interested in improving his skills with regard to routing PCB's.

John

 

Some of the connections are not done. I was falling asleep at the keyboard and took a screenshot of my progress so far. The only part I got done was the 555 Route from pin 3 to 5.

 

Can you simply post a schematic of what you are trying to route? It would be a cinch to show you an early version of the board with airwires displayed. I suspect once you see that, you will never want to route a board without using it. I am assuming that the only critical placement for parts are the LED's. Right?

John

 

It's true; airwires are your friend!