Design a printed circuit board for a project: draw the schematic, lay out the board, run the design rule check, and prepare the files a manufacturer needs.
Every device you own has a printed circuit board. Designing one is how a prototype becomes a product.
Client: you, for a project with a working breadboard version (a driver-and-sensor shield for the drive base is a good first board). Context: the board may be ordered for the class, or kept as a design.
Brief: a schematic that matches the working circuit, a board layout at most 5 × 5 cm (or Uno-shield size), no errors in the design rule check, and manufacturing files (Gerbers) exported. Free tools only (KiCad or EasyEDA).
Inquire: Read the brief: who it is for, what it must do (criteria) and the limits (constraints).
Develop: Plan before you build: parts, circuit, code and the tests you will run.
Create: Build it, first in the simulator, then for real if you have the kit. Expect a few tries; that is normal.
Test: Run your tests and record what happened, including what failed.
Evaluate: Judge it against each criterion, and say what you would change.
Make your prediction first. Help opens once you've locked it in.
InquireRead the brief: who it is for, what it must do (criteria) and the limits (constraints).
Inquire: the brief
Sort each line of the brief: a criterion (what it must do, which you can test) or a constraint (a limit you must work within)?
The schematic matches the working circuit
No design rule check errors
Gerber files exported
At most 5 × 5 cm, or Uno-shield size
Free tools only: KiCad or EasyEDA
DevelopPlan before you build: parts, circuit, code and the tests you will run.
Develop: plan before you build
Put the PCB design steps in order.
Pieces (click to add)
Your program
CreateBuild it, first in the simulator, then for real if you have the kit. Expect a few tries; that is normal.
Create: build it
TestRun your tests and record what happened, including what failed.
Test: run your table
EvaluateJudge it against each criterion, and say what you would change.
Evaluate: against the brief
For teachers
A stretch project: design a PCB for a working project in KiCad or EasyEDA (schematic, footprints, layout, design rule check, Gerber files), optionally ordered and assembled. About 250 minutes.
Teacher-run: tool skills come from KiCad's or EasyEDA's own tutorials (link them); this page structures the project. Ordering boards needs a budget and a manufacturer's student-friendly service; plan a few weeks of lead time. Through-hole parts are easiest to solder for a first board.
If you assess with MYP Design, the steps line up with the criteria:
A Inquiring and analysing: the brief, its criteria and constraints, and research into parts (Inquire).
B Developing ideas: a design specification, the circuit and code plan, and the test table written before building (Develop).
C Creating the solution: building it (in the simulator, then for real), following the plan and justifying changes (Create).
D Evaluating: testing against the specification, recording failures, improvements and impact (Test, Evaluate).
Otherwise, use the same four headings as a simple rubric: each step's reflect checks are the evidence list.
Running the lesson
Develop: schematic checked against the breadboard before layout starts.
Create: run the DRC early and often.
The hard part (on purpose)
Footprints that don't match the real part (pin spacing, hole size) are the classic first-board failure. Check each one against the part in hand.
When students get stuck
The DRC shows unconnected nets. Ask: Which pins does the schematic join that the layout doesn't? Fix: Route the missing tracks, or fix the schematic.
Stretch and support
Stretch: A two-layer board with a ground plane.
Support: A finished example board for an LED and resistor to copy the steps from.
Where it leads
Back to the Engineering capstones, or CAD and fabrication for an enclosure.
Inquire: the brief: Separating what the design must do (criteria) from the limits it works within (constraints) is the first move of any design brief.
Develop: plan before you build: Ordering the steps of PCB design, and knowing what the design rule check catches, plans the work before the tool is learned.
Create: build it: Building in the simulator first catches wiring and code slips cheaply; the real build then tests the design against the world.
Test: run your table: Running the test table written in Develop, and recording every result including failures, is the evidence for the evaluation.
Evaluate: against the brief: Judging the design criterion by criterion, with evidence from the tests, is what separates an evaluation from a description.