PCB Wiring – Important Tips and Tricks for a Proper Layout
It wouldn’t be wrong to call PCBs the heart of modern technology. The reason why PCBs are superior to hand wired boards is that they are fairly stable. Modern PCBs are made up of rigid reinforced fiberglass epoxy and its variants. The copper traces on the PCBs are responsible for creating interconnections between various electronic components. This sort of PCB wiring cannot change over a period of time. Vibration, or even environmental conditions (in most cases), do not have any adverse impact on the board. This ensures exceptional stability of the board – only component variation and aging will result in inconsistent performance.
Here are some tips and tricks to PCB wiring that will help you create a topnotch layout:
1. Wire Loops Test Points
You will have to figure out why the circuits are not working as it should be sooner or later because of this; measure the signals flowing in the PCB wiring. So you need to identify any test points that are essential to troubleshooting of the circuit. If these points are not accessible easily, include wire loops so that the test probes can hook on to them easily.
2. A little Extra Space between Components
Yes, you may want to cram in everything in as little space as possible, but resist the temptation. Later on, you may realize that you have left no space for the routing of PCB wires. Leave adequate space in between different components so that the wires can reach out to other components easily. Proper spacing will result in two major benefits:
- The soldering will be easy
- Auto-routing will be facilitated
3. Separate the Grounds of Mixed Signal Circuits
Control circuits are generally low voltage and low current circuits. Power circuits usually suffer from voltage and current spikes of great magnitude. In order to avoid the disruptive interference, it is better to have separate ground traces for power and control circuits.
4. Traces
It is always better to measure the width of the power traces as per the current flowing through it if you do not want excessive heat to burn the PCB wiring. Make the power and ground traces thicker than the signal traces. Thicker traces will not just have a higher current flowing capacity but will also help in differentiating between signal PCB wiring and power PCB wiring. No chance of hooking a power trace to the signal trace anymore!
5. Keep Heat Spots in Mind to Increase Efficiency
Heat is generated in some portions of the PCB; voltage regulators, ICs, and motor drivers, for instance. If not dissipated properly, this heat can negatively affect the performance of the PCB. Review the Thermal Resistance parameter on the datasheet of all such components that consume a lot of power. Analyze how much temperature increases per watt over various conditions. An easy solution to tackle the heat problem is to place copper plains (large squares of copper) beneath the chips. Sometimes you will have to make use of fans and heat sinks as well.