Designing and Assembling My First PCB
An electronics adventure starting with Arduino
1Starting with Arduino
A couple of months ago, I purchased an Arduino Nano ESP32 development board. Although I had worked on firmware at an IoT company before, I had little experience with hardware. With the help of Arduino IDE and LLMs, I quickly managed to blink the built-in LEDs.
2Moving to Command Line
Next, I learned how to build and flash firmware directly from the CLI. This process gave me confidence that I could return to my usual coding tools. The devboard itself didn't have many features, so I ordered peripherals like an LCD and a BME280 temperature/humidity sensor.
3Moving Beyond Prototyping
While using existing modules is great for prototyping, I wanted to quickly move beyond this phase into a 'production' workflow. The idea of recreating the Arduino board with all components hardwired was tempting but ambitious. Instead, I decided to design the BME280 sensor module.
4Schematic and PCB Design
There are several tools available for schematic and PCB design. I needed something free and compatible with Mac OS. I chose KiCad over EasyEDA. Using the BME280 datasheet, I transferred the I2C connection diagram to KiCad.
5Footprint Selection
To transfer a schematic to a PCB, you need to select a footprint for each component. While the BME280 sensor has only one footprint, resistors and capacitors have multiple options. Choosing between SMD and THT components affects the board size and assembly ease.
6PCB Layout
The PCB layout process isn't too complicated, but you need to be careful when routing connections. I placed everything on the front layer and filled empty spaces with ground, connecting the front and back layers with vias. This is a common practice in PCB design.
7Component Sourcing and PCB Ordering
Sourcing components and ordering the PCB are the final steps in the design process. It's crucial to find the right components and choose a suitable PCB manufacturing company.
8Assembly and Testing
Once the PCB arrives, you need to assemble the components and test the board. This step is critical to verify the design's accuracy and ensure the board functions correctly.
9Lessons Learned
This project taught me many new things about PCB design and assembly. I particularly understood the importance of careful component selection and PCB layout.
10Future Projects
This experience gave me confidence to design more complex PCBs in the future. I'm eager to continue with electronics projects and learn more.
Original article: Hacker News: Front Page — İlk PCB Tasarımı ve Montajı