How to Draw Your First PCB

This is a question that everyone who starts drawing a PCB asks to start doing his job or activity

So here let’s start answering that question from the beginning

Firstly, you should assign the circuit you want to draw and know what the components you should use to achieve your purpose,

Then you should start drawing the schematic as the following circuit

Step 1:

After drawing the schematic and make sure you draw it correctly to do the job you want you start assigning the footprint of each component to have a PCB

- But you have to make sure that you assign the exact footprint that you want and that you can find in the markets when you start buying the component so you have to look for the lists made by companies and shops that sell electronic components

So here the way of assigning footprints for the LED (D2) component:

(1) Go to the component and on the mouse, press right-click, so a menu opened as in figure 1, then go to properties.

(2) Then from properties go to edit properties to open the menu in figure 2(or you replace 1-2 by going to the component by the mouse the press E so you see the menu in figure 2).

(3) From menu in figure 2 you go to the footprint and press the library symbol shown.

(4) Then a window of footprints opened as in figure 3, then you choose the correct footprint and it will appear then double click on it, so we return to the menu in figure 2, and press okay.

So, after doing those steps you finally assign a footprint to the component LED (D2), so you have to repeat all these steps with every component and choose the correct footprint

Step 2:

After assigning footprints for all the components we go to the next step which is updating the PCB from the schematic as follows:

(1)-From the upper bar press on tools then choose (update PCB from schematic) or (you can Press F8) as in figure 4.

(2) then the menu in figure 5 will be opened so you must check that there is no error, then click update PCB.

so, your PCB will appear as in figure 6 then you should finalize your job and do the last edits on the PCB to start simulating it and then fabricate it