PCB Layout Rules

1. Place the most important parts first

What are the most important parts?
Every part of a circuit board is important.
But those matters to the circuit configuration are the most important, and you can
call them "core parts". They include connectors, switches, power sockets, etc.
In your PCB layout, place these components first.
2. Make core/large component(s) in the centre(s) of PCB layout
Core components are the parts that achieve vital functions of the circuit design.
Make it or them the centre(s) of your PCB layout.
If a part is large, make it a centre in the layout as well.
Then place other electrical components surrounding the core/large component(s).
3. Two short and four separate
Your PCB layout should meet the following six requirements as much as possible.
The total wiring should be short. The key signal should be short.
High voltage and high current signals are completely separated from the low
voltage and low current signals.
The analog signals and digital signals are separated in the circuit design.
High-frequency signals and low-frequency signals are separated.
High-frequency components should be separated and the distance between them
should be as far as possible.
4. Layout standard - uniform, balanced, and aesthetic
A standard circuit board is even, balanced in gravity, and aesthetic.
When you optimize your PCB layout, remember this standard.
Being uniform means the distribution of components and wiring is uniform in the
PCB layout.
If the layout is uniform, it should also be balanced in gravity. This is important
because a balanced PCB leads to a stable electronic product.
5. Signal protection first, wave filtering next
A PCB transmits various signals, and different parts of it transmit its signals. So,
you should protect the signal of each part and prevent signal interference first,
and then consider filtering undesired waves for the electronic part.
Always remember this rule.
Then what to do based on this rule?
place the filtering, protection, and isolation conditions of the interface signal
close to the interface connector. Signal protection first, waves filtering next.
6. Decide the size and layer number of the PCB at an early stage
Determine the size of the circuit board and the number of wiring layers at the
early stage of the PCB layout.
This is necessary because the layers and stack-up directly affect the wiring and
impedance of printed-circuit lines. If you decide on the board size, you determine
the stack-up and width of the printed-circuit lines to achieve the expected PCB
design effect.
It is best to apply as many as possible circuit layers and make the copper evenly
distributed.
5. Signal protection first, wave filtering next
A PCB transmits various signals, and different parts of it transmit its signals. So,
you should protect the signal of each part and prevent signal interference first and
then consider filtering undesired waves for the electronic part.
Always remember this rule.
place the filtering, protection, and isolation conditions of the interface signal
close to the interface connector. Signal protection first, waves filtering next.
6. Decide the size and layer number of the PCB at an early stage
Determine the size of the circuit board and the number of wiring layers at the
early stage of the PCB layout.
This is necessary because the layers and stack-up directly affect the wiring and
impedance of printed-circuit lines. If you decide on the board size, you determine
the stack-up and width of the printed-circuit lines to achieve the expected PCB
design effect.
It is best to apply as many as possible circuit layers and make the copper evenly
distributed.
8. Determine DFM rules for the layout of components
DFM is the short form of "design for manufacturability" and “design for
manufacturing”. The DFM rules have a huge impact on the component layout,
especially the optimization of the automobile assembly process. If the assembly
department or PCB assembly company allows moving components, the circuit
can be optimized to make automatic routing easier. If you are not sure about the
DFM rules, you can get free DFM service from PCBONLINE. The rules include
these:
In the PCB layout, the power supply decoupling circuit should be placed near
relevant circuits rather than in the power supply part. Otherwise, it affects the
bypass effect and leads to the pulsating current flow on the power line and ground
line, causing interference.
For the power supply direction inside the circuit, the power supply should go
from the final to the prior stage, and the power supply filter capacitor should be
placed near the final stage.
For some main current wiring, if you want to disconnect or measure current
during debugging and testing, you should set up current gaps on the printed-
circuit lines during the PCB layout.
In addition, if possible, the stabilized power supply should be placed on a
separate printed board. If the power supply and the circuit are on a printed board,
you should separate the power supply and circuit components and avoid using a
common ground wire for them.
Because we don’t want to cause interference. In addition, in this way, the load
can be disconnected during maintenance so that we do not have to cut part of the
printed circuit lines and damage the printed circuit board.
9. At least one via for each surface mount equivalent
During the fan-out design, there should be at least one via for each surface mount
equivalent of the component. In this way, when you want more connections, you
can deal with internal connections, online testing, and circuit reprocessing on the
circuit board.
10. Manually route before automatic routing
Manual routing will be a necessary process of printed circuit board design.
Without manual wiring, the automatic wiring tool won’t be able to complete the
wiring successfully. Through manual wiring, you create a path that is the basis
for automatic wiring.
Then how to route manually?
pick out and fix some important nets in the layout. First, route the key signals
manually or with the help of the automatic routing tool. Some electrical
parameters like distributed inductance need to be set up as small as possible. Next,
check your wiring for the key signals, or ask other experienced engineers .Then,
if the wiring is okay, fix the wires on the PCB and start the automatic routing of
other signals.
Note: -
Due to the impedance of the ground wire, there will be common impedance
interference in the circuit.
11. Set up constraints and rules for automatic routing
Nowadays automatic routing tools are very powerful and, if you set up constraints
and rules appropriately, they can complete almost 100% of the routing.
You will have to understand the input parameters of the automatic routing tool
and their effects first.
To route the signal wires, you should adopt the general rule, namely, deciding the
layers and via the number that the signal passes by setting up constraints and not
allowing routing areas. Following this rule, the automatic routing tool can work
as you wish.
When you complete part of the PCB design project, fix it on the circuit board in
case it is affected by the routing of the next parts. And how many times the routing
depends on the complexity of your circuit and its general rules.
Note:
If the automatic routing tool doesn’t complete the signal routing, you should
continue its work to manually route the rest signals.
12. Optimize routing
If the wires for signals with few constraints are very long, find out which are
reasonable and which are not, and shorten the wiring as much as possible, and
reduce the via quantity.