Using EAGLE: Schematic: Suggested Reading
Using EAGLE: Schematic: Suggested Reading
Using EAGLE: Schematic: Suggested Reading
com
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JI MB0
F A V ORITE 15
Introduction
PCB design in EAGLE is a two-step process. First you design your
schematic, then you lay out a PCB based on that schematic. EAGLEs
board and schematic editors work hand-in-hand. A well-designed schematic
is critical to the overall PCB design process. It will help you catch errors
before the board is fabricated, and itll help you debug a board when
something doesnt work.
This tutorial is the first of a two-part Using EAGLE series, and its devoted
entirely to the schematic-designing side of EAGLE. In part 2, Using EAGLE:
Board Layout, well use the schematic designed in this tutorial as the basis
for our example board layout.
Suggested Reading
If youd like to follow along with this tutorial, make sure youve installed and
setup the EAGLE software. Our How to Install and Setup EAGLE tutorial
goes over this process step-by-step, and it also covers the basics of what
EAGLE is and what makes it great. It also covers how to download and
install the SparkFun EAGLE libraries well be using in this tutorial.
Definitely read through that tutorial before you continue on.
Wed also recommend you read and understand the concepts behind these
tutorials:
How to Read a Schematic
PCB Basics
Create a Project
Well start by making a new project folder for our design. In the control
panel, under the Projects tree, right click on the directory where you want
the project to live (by default EAGLE creates an eagle directory in your
home folder), and select New Project.
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Give the newly created, red project folder a descriptive name. How about
Bare Bones Arduino.
Project folders are like any regular file system folder, except they contain a
file named eagle.epf. The EPF file links your schematic and board design
together, and also stores any settings you may have set especially for the
project.
Create a Schematic
The project folder will house both our schematic and board design files (and
eventually our gerber files too). To begin the design process, we need to lay
out a schematic.
To add a schematic to a project folder, right-click the folder, hover over
New and select Schematic.
A new, blank window should immediately pop up. Welcome to the schematic
editor!
youll use to place every single component on the schematic. The ADD tool
opens up a library navigator, where you can expand specific libraries and
look at the parts it holds. With a part selected on the left side, the view on
the right half should update to show both the schematic symbol of the part
and its package.
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the right half should update to show both the schematic symbol of the part
and its package.
The ADD tool also has search functionality very helpful when you have
to navigate through dozens of libraries to find a part. The search is very
literal, so dont misspell stuff! You can add wildcards to your search by
placing an asterisk (*) before and/or after your search term. For example if
you search for atmega328 you should find a single part/package combo in
the SparkFun-DigitalIC library, but if you search *atmega328* (note
asterisks before and after), youll discover two more versions of the IC
(because theyre actually named ATMEGA328P). Youll probably want to
get accustomed to always adding an asterisk before and after your search
term.
To actually add a part from a library either select the part you want and click
OK, or double-click your part.
After selecting the part you want to add, itll glow and start hovering
around following your mouse cursor. To place the part, left-click (once!).
Lets place the frame so its bottom-left corner runs right over our origin (the
small dotted cross, in a static spot on the schematic).
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After placing a part, the add tool will assume you want to add another a
new frame should start following your cursor. To get out of the add-mode
either hit escape (ESC) twice or just select a different tool.
Library
SparkFunConnectors
Part Name
Quantity
POWER_JACKPTH
SparkFun-Capacitors
CAPPTH
SparkFun-Aesthetics
SparkFun-Aesthetics
VCC
GND
1
2
All of these parts will go in the top-left of the schematic frame. Arranged like
this:
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(left toolbar or
under the Edit menu). Left-click once on a part to pick it up (your mouse
should be hovering over the parts red + origin). Then left click again when
its where it needs to be.
Library
SparkFunConnectors
Quantity
1
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8-Pin 0.1"
SparkFunM081X08
Header
Connectors
2x3 AVR
SparkFunProgramming
AVR_SPI_PRG_6PTH
Connectors
Header
6-Pin Serial
SparkFunProgramming
ARDUINO_SERIAL_PROGRAMPTH
Connectors
Header
Voltage Supply SparkFunVCC
Symbol
Aesthetics
SparkFunGround Symbol
GND
Aesthetics
2
2
Finally! Heres what your schematic should look like with every part added:
to
(left toolbar,
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Dont forget to add nets between the LEDs, resistors, and GND symbols!
to name each of the six nets. With the NAME tool selected, clicking on a net
should open a new dialog. Start by naming the net connected to the top,
GND pin. Delete the auto-generated name (e.g. N$14), and replace it with
GND (sans the quotation marks). This should result in a warning dialog,
asking you if you want to connect this net to all of the other nets named
GND (that would be every net connected to a GND symbol). Thanks for
looking out for us EAGLE, but in this case Yes we do want to connect GND
to GND.
After naming a net, you should use the LABEL tool
to add a text
label. With the LABEL tool selected, left-click on the net you just named.
This should spawn a piece of text that says GND, left-click again to place
the label down right on top of your net.
Follow that same order of operations for the remaining five net stubs. In the
end, they should look like this (note the net connected to the TXO pin is
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VCC should be the only other net that warns you that youll be connecting to
other nets named VCC (anything connected to a VCC voltage node). For
the other named nets, well need to create this same stub somewhere else.
Where exactly? Well, we need to add a RX and TX net on the
ATmega328, and a DTR nearby as well:
Even though theres no green net connecting these pins, every net with the
same, exact name is actually connected.
We need to do a lot of the same to connect the 2x3 programming header to
the ATmega328. First, wire up the connector like so (naming/labeling MOSI,
MISO, SCK, and RESET):
Then, back to the ATmega328, add the same four named/labeled nets:
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Phew youre done. Get excited, its about time to lay out a PCB! When
your schematic is done, it should look a little something like this:
The schematic layout is done, but there are a few tips and tricks wed like to
share before moving over to the PCB layout portion of the tutorial.
A parts value allows you to define unique characteristics of that part. For
example, you can set a resistors resistance, or a capacitors capacitance.
The importance of a parts value depends on what type of component it is.
For parts like resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc. the value is a critical
piece of information when youre generating a bill of materials or assembly
sheet. To adjust a parts value parameter, use the VALUE tool
.
Verifying Connections
The SHOW tool
schematic are connected correctly. If you use SHOW on a net, every pin
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schematic are connected correctly. If you use SHOW on a net, every pin
its connected to should light up. If youre dubious of the fact that two
like-named nets are connected, give the SHOW tool a try. SHOW-ing a net
connected to GND, for example, should result in a lot of GND nets lighting
up.
If all the nets connected to a part MOVE with it, all connections are good.
If a net isnt moving along with the part, its not connected to the pin
correctly. Double check to make sure you routed to the very end of the pin,
and not a bit further:
it,
Group Moving/Deleting/Etc.
Any tool that you use on a single component, can also be used on a group
of them. Grouping and performing an action on that group is a two-step
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Group Moving/Deleting/Etc.
Any tool that you use on a single component, can also be used on a group
of them. Grouping and performing an action on that group is a two-step
process. First, use the group tool
modify. You can either hold down the left-mouse button and drag a box
around them, or click multiple times to draw a polygon around a group. Once
the group is made, every object in that group should glow.
After grouping, select the tool you want to use. The status box in the far
bottom-left will have some helpful information pertaining to using the tool on
a group:
In order to perform any action on a group, you have to select the tool, then
hold down CTRL and right-click the group. After you CTRL+right-click,
the tool will operate on the group just as it does a single component.
Copy/Paste
EAGLEs Copy
and Paste
other copy/paste tools you may have encountered before. Copy actually
performs both a copy and paste when its used. As soon as you copy a part
(or any object on the schematic name, text, net, etc.) an exact copy will
instantly spawn and follow your mouse awaiting placement. This is useful if
you need to add multiples of the same part (like GND nodes or resistors).
Paste can only be used to paste a group that has previously been copied
to your clipboard. To use paste you first have to create a group, then (with
the copy tool selected) CTRL+right-click to copy it, but hit ESC instead of
gluing it down. Thisll store the copied group into your operating systems
clipboard, and you can use paste to place it somewhere. This tool is
especially useful if you need to copy parts of one schematic file into
another.
to create
If youd rather read about other EAGLE-related concepts, here are some
tutorials you may want to check out:
How to Create SMD PCBs This is a more advanced and fast-paced
EAGLE tutorial. In this one, we focus on laying out a more complex,
surface-mount (SMD) design.
How to Create SMD Footprints If you want to create unique parts in
a library, check out this tutorial.
Making Custom Footprints in EAGLE Another footprint-making
tutorial. This one details a unique process for making a custom 1:1
footprint.
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