JOSA Workshop | Introduction to PCB Design

Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) are all around us in most electronic hardware, but the process of getting from a circuit idea to a physical board is usually opaque to people outside the field. Open source tools, as always, come to the rescue; tools like KiCad have made PCB design accessible without needing an expensive license, so the only barrier left is knowing where to start. This workshop removes that barrier!

What you'll learn

What a PCB is and why is it needed.
The overall PCB design flow: schematic to layout into verification and manufacturing.
How a schematic represents connections electrically, without any physical layout.
How a layout translates that schematic into copper: layers, traces, vias.
Why design verification (DRC/ERC) matters before sending a board out.
What gerber files are.
How a design gets sent to a manufacturer.
A look at a real project being designed in KiCad from A to Z.

Requirements

Basic familiarity with electronics concepts (what a resistor or LED does, Ohm's law) is helpful but not mandatory.
A laptop with KiCad 10.0 installed beforehand (free, from kicad.org) is required for the hands-on portion.
KiCad is necessary for the workshop, to install it head to their website, choose the appropriate operating system and download the latest stable release (10.0). There will be multiple mirrors to choose from. After that run the installer and make sure to check the libraries section (schematic, footprint and 3d models) and choose the appropriate install location on your device