Electronic circuit board design and rules to know

How are electronic circuit boards designed? What rules should be noted in the design process? These questions have attracted a lot of attention lately. Let’s follow the article below for specific guidance on how to design electronic circuit boards and the essential rules to know!

What is an electronic circuit board?

An electronic circuit board is a circuit composed of individual electronic components such as resistors, semiconductors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, ICs (Integrated Circuits), etc. All these components are interconnected using conductive traces or tracks that allow the flow of electric current to perform specific functions like amplification, data processing, data transfer from one point to another, and more.

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Rules to follow when designing electronic boards

When designing an electronic circuit board, you need to consider the following rules:

General Rules

• Always adhere to and fully meet the design requirements.
• Design a simple and reliable circuit.
• Design for ease of installation, operation, and repair.
• Ensure the circuit operates accurately and efficiently.
• Choose components readily available on the market.
• Adjust the component layout for convenience if possible.
• Maintain a balanced and consistent component placement on the board.
• Pay attention to signal routing and arrange them logically for signal integrity.

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Design and Component Placement Rules

Spacing

• Maintain a wire-to-board edge distance > 5mm = 197mil.
• The minimum distance from a drilled hole to the adjacent solder pad is 7.62mm (300mil), and the distance from a reference hole to the edge of the attached component is at least 5.08mm (200 mil).
• The maximum height of soldered components is 4mm.

Positioning

• Components closely related to the structure, such as connectors, switches, power sockets, etc., should be placed first.
• Prioritize placing main components and large-sized components. Then, use the main components as the center and position other electronic components around them.
• Place high-power components in locations with good heat dissipation.
• Avoid placing high-quality components at the center of the board. Instead, place them along the fixed edges inside the box.
• Components with high-frequency connections should be placed close together to minimize high-frequency signal distribution and electromagnetic interference.
• Place input and output components as far apart as possible.
• Suitable locations to place filter capacitors are near the power output.
• Components with high pressure should be placed in hard-to-reach positions during testing.
• Sensitive and heat-generating components should be placed far from each other.
• Pay attention to placing surface-mount technology (SMT) components in a consistent soldering direction to facilitate soldering and reduce the risk of short circuits.
• High-speed components should be placed close to the linking device. Separate the digital and analog circuits, preferably with separate ground connections, and then connect them at one point.

Especially for PCBs with components on both sides, large and densely packed ICs, the component placement can be done as follows:

• Through-hole components are placed on the top layer.
• Small components with few pins and surface-mount components are placed on the bottom layer.

Regarding small components with high thermal output:

• Add heat sinks or place components with high power density nearby to aid in heat dissipation.
• Avoid placing temperature-sensitive components around these heat-generating components.

Electronic circuit board design steps you need to know

To design a complete electronic circuit board, you need to follow the following two steps:

Step 1: Logical circuit design

• Thoroughly understand the requirements of the circuit design.
• Develop several possible approaches for implementation.
• Choose the most appropriate and feasible approach.
• Calculate and select suitable components.

Step 2: Assembly circuit design

• Arrange the components on the circuit board in a scientific and reasonable manner.
• Draw the conductive traces to connect the components according to the logical circuit design.
• Ensure that conductive traces do not overlap or cross each other, and keep the trace lengths as short as possible.

To design electronic circuit boards quickly, accurately, and efficiently, designers often utilize design software such as ProTel, Workbench, and others.

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Above are the rules and steps for designing electronic circuit boards that you need to know. Hopefully, through this article, you have learned more about the current electronic circuit board design process. If you have any further questions or inquiries, do not hesitate to contact Thetech, a reputable distributor of soldering materials and electronic components, to receive specific answers and further advice!