Learn to Design Your Own Boards from Udemy

What's inside

Learning objective

After this course, you will design your own arduino like board.

Syllabus

In this section you will learn how to draw schematic and how to create components - schematic symbols and footprints.

Introduction

What you will learn during this course

Download Arduino schematic and start a new project

Prepare to create ATMEGA328P component

Create ATMEGA328P - Schematic symbol

Create ATMEGA328P - Footprint

Prepare to create ATMEGA16U2 component

Create ATMEGA16U2 - Schematic symbol

Create ATMEGA16U2 - Footprint

How to update an existing component

Create 10 pin female header

Create 8 pin female header

Create 6 pin female header

Connect 10, 8, 6 pin headers

Create 100nF capacitor

About connecting power pins of microcontroller

Create 10uF capacitor

Create Ferrite Bead

Draw power connections

Create 1M resistor

Create 16MHz Crystal

Create 18pF capacitor

Draw crystal circuit

Connect power header

Draw crystal connection and power for 16U2

Create ICSP header

Connect ICSP header

Placing net names

Using schematic filter and schematic inspector

Connecting rest of the IO connector signals

Create 22 Ohm resistor

About connecting CLOCK, RX and TX

Create 1k Ohm resistor

Connect UART signals

Connecting ICSP1 header

Creating 2x2 male header

Connect 16U2 IO header

About RESET circuit

Creating BUTTON

Create 10k resistor

Creating DIODE

Create AND gate

Connecting RESET circuit

Draw rest of RESET connections

Creating 1x3 male header

Connecting JP1 jumper and 16U2 RESET circuit

Create 1x4 male header

Connecting JP3 jumper

Create Orange LED

Calculating LED resistor

Create 560 Ohm resistor

Connecting LEDs to indicate communication

Create and connect Green Power LED

Connecting User LED

Create +3.3V LDO regulator

Connect +3.3V LDO regulator

About power selection circuit

Create 0R resistor

Draw power selection circuit, about unfitted components

Name some 16U2 nets and about pull up resistors

Create 100k resistor

Connecting 16U2 signals, GND pins, about UCAP

Create 1uF capacitor

Draw UCAP connection and name power & crystal nets

About USB connector + Creating USB connector schematic symbol

Creating USB connector footprint

Connecting USB - Part 1

Create Varistor

Connecting USB - Part 2

Creating 100uF capacitor

Create 2.2uH inductor

Connecting USB - Part 3

Add and connect User Button

Create and connect PADs

Create and add fiducials

Create and add mounting holes

Create and add DIP socket

Create and add LINK (jumper)

About PCB and Firmware component

Finishing Schematic

Annotating, checking and browsing schematics

Adding notes into schematic

Finishing schematic: About Pages, Title Block and Parameters

About components and BOM (Bill of Material)

Update Altium Designer settings

Importing Schematic into PCB

PCB Placement

Change board shape, place mounting holes and main connectors

How to start placement, place 328P MCU and DIP socket

Change Altium settings, hide designators, setup grid, lock down components

About placement

Placement around 328P MCU

Placement around 16U2 MCU

Place components around USB connector

Placing headers, jumpers and LDO regulator

Placing buttons, 16U2 reset, LEDs

Placing remaining components

3D view of finished placement

About paper model

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Learn to Design Your Own Boards with these activities:

Review Basic Electronics Concepts

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Strengthen your understanding of fundamental electronic components and circuit analysis techniques. This will provide a solid foundation for understanding the Arduino schematic and PCB layout.

Browse courses on Ohm's Law

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Review textbooks or online resources covering basic electronics principles.
Solve practice problems related to Ohm's Law and Kirchhoff's Laws.
Familiarize yourself with the characteristics of resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

Read 'Practical Electronics for Inventors'

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Gain a deeper understanding of electronic components and circuit design principles. This book will supplement the course material and provide practical insights into board design.

View Practical Electronics for Inventors, Fourth... on Amazon

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Read the chapters related to basic electronic components and circuit analysis.
Work through the example problems and exercises in the book.
Relate the concepts learned in the book to the Arduino schematic being used in the course.

Follow Altium Designer Tutorials

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Familiarize yourself with the Altium Designer software interface and basic functionalities. This will make it easier to follow the course instructions and complete the board design project.

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Search for beginner-friendly Altium Designer tutorials on YouTube or the Altium website.
Follow tutorials on creating a simple schematic and PCB layout.
Practice using the Altium Designer tools and features demonstrated in the tutorials.

Four other activities

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Component Creation Practice

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Reinforce your ability to create schematic symbols and footprints in Altium Designer. This is a crucial skill for designing custom boards.

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Select several common electronic components (e.g., resistors, capacitors, LEDs).
Find the datasheets for these components.
Create schematic symbols and footprints for each component in Altium Designer, following the datasheet specifications.

Read 'Altium Designer User Guide'

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Deepen your understanding of Altium Designer's advanced features and capabilities. This will enable you to design more complex and sophisticated boards.

View Putting Knowledge to Work on Amazon

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Browse the Altium Designer User Guide to identify topics of interest.
Read the sections related to advanced PCB layout techniques, such as signal integrity analysis and power plane design.
Experiment with the advanced features in Altium Designer to gain hands-on experience.

Design a Simple Breakout Board

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Apply the skills learned in the course to design a simple breakout board for a common electronic component. This will solidify your understanding of the board design process.

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Choose a common electronic component (e.g., an accelerometer, a temperature sensor).
Design a schematic and PCB layout for a breakout board that allows easy access to the component's pins.
Generate the necessary manufacturing files (Gerbers, drill files) and send them to a PCB manufacturer.
Solder the component onto the manufactured board and test its functionality.

Contribute to an Open-Source Hardware Project

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Gain experience working on a real-world hardware project and collaborate with other engineers. This will expose you to different design styles and best practices.

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Find an open-source hardware project on platforms like GitHub or GitLab.
Identify a task that you can contribute to, such as fixing a bug, adding a new feature, or improving the documentation.
Submit your changes to the project maintainers for review.

Career center

Learners who complete Learn to Design Your Own Boards will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

PCB Layout Designer

PCB layout designers specialize in creating the physical layout of electronic circuits on circuit boards. As a PCB layout designer, you may want to enhance your skills. This course helps build your expertise in using Altium Designer, a widely used software for PCB design. The course teaches how to draw schematics, route PCBs, and generate manufacturing documents, making it ideal for aspiring or current PCB layout designers to improve their design skills.

See salaries and explore the career path for PCB Layout Designer

Printed Circuit Board Designer

A printed circuit board designer creates the physical layouts for electronic circuits. This course helps build a foundation in using Altium Designer, a leading software in PCB design, and teaches how to draw schematics, route PCBs, and generate manufacturing documentation. The course's focus on Arduino-like board design provides practical skills directly applicable to designing PCBs for various electronic devices. This course may be useful for aspiring PCB designers to learn the essentials of board design and manufacturing.

See salaries and explore the career path for Printed Circuit Board Designer

Electronics Prototyper

An electronics prototyper builds and tests prototype electronic devices. This course helps build skills in using Altium Designer, a crucial tool for prototyping electronic boards. The course teaches how to draw schematics, create PCB layouts, and generate manufacturing documents, all essential steps in the prototyping process. The hands-on approach to designing an Arduino-like board provides valuable practical experience for electronics prototypers.

See salaries and explore the career path for Electronics Prototyper

CAD Technician

A CAD technician uses computer-aided design software to create technical drawings and designs. This course helps build skills in Altium Designer, a powerful CAD software used for electronic board design. The course teaches how to draw schematics, create PCB layouts, and generate manufacturing documents, making it very suitable for those aiming for a role as a CAD technician specializing in electronics. You will also gain experience in electronics manufacturing.

See salaries and explore the career path for CAD Technician

Electronic Drafter

An electronic drafter creates detailed drawings and schematics for electronic equipment. This course helps build a foundation in using Altium Designer. The course teaches how to draw schematics, create PCB layouts, and generate manufacturing documents. This course is suitable for electronic drafters looking to improve their skills and create professional-quality electronic designs.

See salaries and explore the career path for Electronic Drafter

Internet of Things Engineer

Internet of Things engineers design and develop connected devices and systems. This course helps build a foundation in electronic board design, which is fundamental to creating IoT hardware. The course teaches how to use Altium Designer to draw schematics, create PCB layouts, and generate manufacturing documents. This course is suitable for IoT engineers looking to enhance their hardware design skills and create custom IoT devices.

See salaries and explore the career path for Internet of Things Engineer

Electronics Engineer

Electronics engineers design, develop, and test electronic components and systems. This course may be useful because it provides hands-on experience with Altium Designer, a crucial tool for designing electronic boards. The course teaches how to draw schematics, create PCB layouts, and produce manufacturing documents. This course, which emphasizes designing an Arduino-like board, provides a practical foundation in board design, which electronics engineers use to create various electronic products.

See salaries and explore the career path for Electronics Engineer

Hardware Engineer

Hardware engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and testing computer systems and components. As a hardware engineer, you may design boards. This course may be useful because it focuses on using Altium Designer, a widely used software in hardware design. The course covers drawing schematics, routing PCBs, and generating the necessary documentation for manufacturing. The hands-on approach to designing an Arduino-like board provides practical experience relevant to hardware engineering tasks.

See salaries and explore the career path for Hardware Engineer

Electrical Technician

Electrical technicians assist in the design, development, and testing of electrical equipment. This course helps build a foundation in understanding board design and using Altium Designer. You will learn how to interpret schematics, assist in PCB layout, and understand manufacturing documentation. The course's practical approach to designing an Arduino-like board provides the technician with valuable hands-on experience applicable to various electrical engineering projects.

See salaries and explore the career path for Electrical Technician

Instrumentation Engineer

Instrumentation engineers design, develop, and maintain instruments and control systems used in various industries. This course helps build skills in board design using Altium Designer, a valuable tool for creating custom instrumentation solutions. The course teaches how to draw schematics, create PCB layouts, and generate manufacturing documents, which are all crucial for designing and building instrumentation systems. This is a very suitable course for instrumentation engineers.

See salaries and explore the career path for Instrumentation Engineer

Product Development Engineer

A product development engineer oversees the design and development of new products. As a product development engineer, you may wish to understand the design of electronic boards. This course may be useful because it provides an overview of the PCB design process using Altium Designer. The course covers drawing schematics, routing PCBs, and generating manufacturing documentation, offering valuable insights into the hardware aspects of product development.

See salaries and explore the career path for Product Development Engineer

Robotics Engineer

Robotics engineers design, build, and maintain robots and robotic systems. This course may be useful because it provides a fundamental understanding of electronic board design, which is essential for creating robotic control systems. The course covers using Altium Designer, drawing schematics, creating PCB layouts, and generating manufacturing documents. The skills taught in this course can be very valuable for the robotics engineer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Robotics Engineer

Firmware Engineer

Firmware engineers develop the software embedded in hardware devices, and must also understand the hardware. This course may be useful as it covers the creation of manufacturing documents and processes and the importance of board design. The course covers using Altium Designer, drawing schematics, creating PCB layouts, and generating manufacturing documents. This course will expand the firmware engineer's understanding of the role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Firmware Engineer

Avionics Technician

Avionics technicians maintain and repair electronic systems in aircraft. This course may be useful as it provides an understanding of the components on electronic boards. The course covers using Altium Designer, drawing schematics, creating PCB layouts, and generating manufacturing documents. The technician will gain a greater appreciation for designing boards.

See salaries and explore the career path for Avionics Technician

Electronics Assembler

Electronics assemblers put together electronic components and systems. This course may be useful because it provides a deeper understanding of board design and the importance of manufacturing documents. The course covers using Altium Designer, drawing schematics, creating PCB layouts, and generating manufacturing documents. A deeper knowledge of these topics makes an assembler more valuable, and may lead to promotions.

See salaries and explore the career path for Electronics Assembler

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Learn to Design Your Own Boards.

Practical Electronics for Inventors, Fourth Edition

Save

Provides a comprehensive overview of electronics, covering both theoretical concepts and practical applications. It's a valuable resource for understanding the components and circuits used in the Arduino board design. It serves as a useful reference throughout the course and beyond. Many universities and industry professionals use this book as a reference.

Practical Electronics for Inventors, Fourth Edition

Paperback

Putting Knowledge to Work

Save

This is the official documentation for Altium Designer. It provides in-depth explanations of all the software's features and functionalities. While it's not necessary to read the entire guide, it's a valuable resource for looking up specific information and troubleshooting problems. It is most valuable as a reference tool.

Putting Knowledge to Work

Paperback

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Putting Knowledge to Work

Kindle Edition

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Learn to Design Your Own Boards

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Learning objective

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Activities

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