Manual PCB layout in DesignSpark
Posted by Phil_G at
Please could someone point me to a tutorial or set me on the right path, I have several of my existing layouts as UV transparencies but now I find I need the boards in quantity. I want to keep my existing layout but use DesignSpark to copy my existing layout manually, so that I can create gerbers to get them made commercially. I'm a complete newcomer to DesignSpark, having used EasyPC, Visio and even tape (yes!) to produce a few layouts. Its not a commercial thing, just a hobby, and theres no copyright issue here as they're all my designs, I just need to transfer what I already have. I dont want to start from a schematic - some of the designs are not electronic circuits so there is no schematic.
Has anyone any experience of manual layout in DesignSpark please, who can explain in simple terms to a simple bloke? (~:
Many thanks!
Phil
Replies
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Have you done the Tutorial under Help?
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I suppose you know which components are in the board.
Then what I would do is: in a schematic, add all those components. You don't have to place them in a logical way or connect them. You may have to define some of those components (and footprints and schematic symbols) in your own library if you don't find them in the standard libraries.
You now have a "schematic" consisting of just a heap of disconnected components.
Then, forward the design changes to the pcb. Draw an outline and place all the components matching your original layout. Then in PCB you can add connections between pads and route them the same as in your original layout.