EasyEDA

[W1RKW]

anyone have any experience with this application for making PCBs?

[w9jsw]

I used it for 2-3 years prior to converting to Kicad. The data is kept on a Chinese cloud, so your designs are not necessarily private. PCBs were OK. You can create a gerber and send it to any board house. I used and still use JLCPCB. Only issue I had was some of the thru hole pads were a bit small for easy soldering. Those were the default sizes that came with the footprints I used. I got in the habit of making them larger on external connections. I can take a pic of some old boards to show you what I mean.

The WA1GFZ mosfet driver board was done on EasyEDA.

I like Kicad much better. If you can learn to use EasyEDA, you can do Kicad. And it is more versatile in that you can create and/or modify footprints for odd parts such as binocular toroids, etc. Been using Kicad for quite a while now.

Feel free to ask more questions or email me.

John

[W1RKW]

Hi John,
This is my first time using a PCB CAD program such as this.  I laid out a basic schematic so I could understand how things work with EasyEAD. Got that done then went to convert the schematic to the PCB.  EasyEAD laid out the components the way it thought was best with many ratlines. I rearranged the components in a manner that reduced the ratline criss-crossing.  What I noticed was the ratline connections did not represent what is in the schematic. Are the ratlines supposed to represent where the PCB traces will ultimately connect to the components?  If they are, I'm not sure how or why this occurred and I don't know how to fix it. 

I will look into KiCAD. 

Thanks.
rkw 

[w9jsw]

Don't do auto routing. Always a goat rope.

Make sure your schematic is complete, including mounting holes. Then select the proper footprints.

I usually build the BOM at this time and get the component dimensions sorted out to pick the proper footprint. Main things to focus on is pin numbering of semiconductors and lead spacing for passives (resistors and caps, etc). I occasionally screw up the mosfets.

Then you tell it to start the pcb. Establish your board edge, then import the footprints. Place them in a logical manner. Then go into trace mode and start connecting the components. You will get the hang of it pretty fast. The tool will not let you connect the wrong pins. It will also not let you cross traces inadvertently. Remember that you need to think in terms of the bottom and top. I prefer to get most traces on the top and only go to the bottom when I have to cross a trace. If you have any current issues, you can change the width of the default traces to carry more current. You can also specify trace width by net (all the component pins that connect together is a net).

If you are calling the ratlines the white lines, they are a way for the tool to help you connect components. They are not the traces. Go into trace more and select a pin. It will highlight what other pins need to be connected. Click and drag the line from one to the other. The ratlines are helpful to see if you need to rotate a component for the lines to be simpler. Try rotating a component so you can see that. Spacing is specified with trace width. It will keep you from getting too close between the traces. Same with components.

John

[W1RKW]

after my last post, I googled ratlines and it pretty much stated what you stated.  

I was poking around with the component layout and determined I could drag and drop the components and rotate them plus a few other things.  

One thing I did not do that you mentioned is follow a particular order.  I'll admit that since I'm just messing around at this point I arbitrarily picked and pasted components while not worrying about their footprints and size.  

The good news, I'm understanding it more the more I poke around. 

More questions to follow.

[W1RKW]

I uninstalled EasyEAD.  going start over with KiCAD.  Stand by.

[w9jsw]

Homework assignment. Build a power supply.

Transformer will be off board.

Select connectors for the power input and output. use Conn-01x01.

Select 1N4007 for diodes. Configure it in a bridge. I think Kicad will get this footprint right automatically.

Pick an electrolytic cap.

Pick a bypass cap.

Pick a bleeder.

Pick some mounting holes. I usually pick 3.5mm as that fits a 6-32 screw.

BTW, best to stay in MM mode. Just makes things easier later. Get in the metric habit.

The footprint assignments will be informative. It may pick the right one or not. This will show you how to select the proper caps and resistor sizes. You can view the footprints to see how the look. You will have to become familiar with radial vs axial, CP means a cap wth polarity, etc.

Naming can also be manual or automatic.

Run the checker to see if you missed anything.

Then start the pcb. set the item on the right to board edge, then draw a box.

import the footprints. place them appropriately. Start wiring.

run the pcb checker. It will tell you any issues.

Attached is a pic of a regulator PS, for example... and the PCB xray.

[w9jsw]

Here is a pic in the flesh...

Board is 125mm x 75mm. I looked on eBay to find a suitable HS. Found an inexpensive on that is 150mm x 75mm. Close enough. If you know it will be installed on a HS it may be best to look for the HS prior to deciding on the board outline size.

Note that there are FETS here. They mount under the board with the screw mounting hole giving access to tighten it down on the HS. That is my preferred way to do semiconductors that require heatsinking. I am working on a board now that has 8 of them. Hanging them off the edge would have made the board quite messy for running traces.

Second pic is one of the fets mounted to the mosfet driver board in the same way.