PCB Design Process & Workflow

This Gold Phoenix PCB Knowledge Center article outlines the 11 steps of the PCB design process and workflow.

Step 1: Finalize Your Circuit Design

Everything starts with the circuit design. Without a circuit there is no need for a PCB. In the old days most circuits were hand drawn and later captured electronically. In today’s world of modern computing, the circuit design is captured directly into a schematic.

Step 2: Choose PCB Design Software

Many times electrical engineers do not have a choice when it comes to choosing the PCB design software. Their companies have invested thousands into software packages and all their legacy designs are captured in those packages. However, hobbyists have several choices. It is important to choose a package that is first and foremost easy to use, but also capable of completing the PCB design, as some packages will not be able to handle the complexity.

Step 3: Capture Your Schematic

As mentioned earlier, it is likely that the circuit design is being captured electronically from the start. In general, “capturing the schematic” is the process by which each component is drawn electronically and interconnected with each other.

Step 4: Design Component Footprints

Once the schematic is complete, it is time to draw the physical outline of each of the components. These outlines are what are placed on the PCB in copper to allow the components to be soldered to the printed wiring board.

Step 5: Establish PCB Outline

Each project will have restrictions related to the board outline. This should be determined in this step since an idea of component count and area should be known.

Step 6: Setup Design Rules

With the PCB outline and PCB footprints complete, it is just about time to start the placement. Before placement, however, you should set up the design rules to ensure that components or traces are not too close together. This is only one example, as there are probably hundreds of different rules that can be applied to a PCB design.

Step 7: Place Components

Now it is time to move each component onto the PCB and begin the tedious work of making all those components fit together. This is where you will find that PCB design is really a jigsaw puzzle.

Step 8: Manual Route Traces

It is necessary to manually route critical traces first — clocks, power, and sensitive analog traces. Once that is complete, you can turn it over to Step 9.

Step 9: Using the Auto Router

There are a handful of rules that will need to be applied for using an auto router, but doing so will save you hours if not days of routing traces.

Step 10: Run Design Rule Checker

Most PCB design software packages have a very good setup of design rule checkers. It is easy to violate PCB spacing rules, and this will pinpoint the error, saving you from having to respin the PCB.

Step 11: Output Gerber Files

Once the board is error-free, it is time to output the Gerber files. These files are universal and are needed by the PCB fabrication houses to manufacture your printed circuit board.