6 Common Mistakes In PCB Design Process

Printed circuit boards or PCB are crucial in electronic design. They connect different electronic components together. But designing a PCB is more than just connecting electronic components together. It is a complicated process that entails precision. This process of custom electronic design is a process where common mistakes are likely to happen. Here are some of the most common mistakes in PCB design that you need to avoid.

Choosing The Wrong Designing Tool

Using the right designing tool is crucial for the success of your PCB design. Choosing the wrong tools can only create a multitude of problems such as delays in the design creation and increased manufacturing costs. As such, you need to choose the most suitable tool for your PCB designing requirements. It pays to do a little research when selecting the best designing tool for your requirement.

Incompetent Layout Techniques

Designing PCB requires creating layout complex designs for smaller and faster devices. As the requirements for circuits with minimal footprints grow, PCB designers are required to use smaller components which could reduce the footprint. Selecting an incompetent layout technique may result to wrong connections. In this process of custom electronic design, it is important to select a suitable layout technique for your circuit board.

Choosing the Wrong Copper Thickness

One ounce of copper is often selected by many designers as a finished thickness which often is not sufficient for plating in the holes. To ensure the success of your design, you have to be specific when it comes to the required parameters. The recommended thickness is 1 to 2 ounces per square feet.

Incorrect Placement of Decoupling Capacitors

Decoupling capacitors help the equipment maintain a stable voltage. They are located on the power supply rail. They should be positioned close to the pin that demands a stable voltage. If placed incorrectly and far from the pin requiring stable voltage, the capacitors will not be functional.

Not Providing Backup

To achieve desired results, different software and data are used for the PCB design process. The software is helpful in the creation of complex PCB designs. The speed and flexibility of the software may cause the data to be lost before you can save them. For this reason, it is recommended to create save points so that if one of them gets corrupted, the others are still secured and saved.

Lack of Design Reviews

Design reviews are crucial in ensuring that the common design mistakes are avoided. Have other people review the design as they may find mistakes that earlier went unnoticed.