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A PCB is composed of many layers of copper and insulators (dielectrics) sandwiched together into a panel. The stackup is wat what defines the details of this construction, such as the thickness of each layer and it’s material properties.
We will be using a 2 layer board, meaning there are 2 conductive copper layers where we can route electrical signals. You can load a preset for the stackup we use by going to Design → Layer Stack Manager and then File → Load Stackup from Server and navigate to Managed Content → Templates → Layer Stacks and select JLC 2L 1oz 1.6mm. 1.6mm refers to the approximate thickness of the finished board, and 1oz refers to the thickness of the copper layers. Why thickness is measured in ounces is beyond me (these Americans amirite), but 1oz copper represents the thickness of 1oz worth of copper spread evenly over 1 square foot. That equates to about 35um.
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Design rules dictate the complete set of physical design constraints to ensure that the board is manufacturable. For example, this is where you would define the minimum trace width and spacing, component clearances, etc. JLC’s capabilities improve every so often and are listed on their site, however you can grab this template (maintained for now by f39zhou) and load it through Design → Rules, right click Design Rules in the tree on the left and click Import, click ctrl + A to select all, and then load the 2L 1oz rule file. Hit Yes to the prompt about clearing existing rules prior to import.
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A decoupling capacitor is a device that supplies charge to an IC. These should be placed closed to the ground and power pins of the device as to minimize the “current loop”. Recall that current flows always in a closed loop. To visualize the size of the current loop, you can draw the path the current takes from the positive pin of the cap to the positive pin of the IC, through the chip to the gnd pin on the IC, and then to the gnd pin of the capcapacitor.
In this example, the current loop on the left is smaller than the one on the right! Realistically both of these are not too bad, at least the cap is next to the component.
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If you have no warnings or violations, get a lead to look over your board, you might be done!
PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE IN YOUR THREAD ON DISCORD TO CELEBRATE 🥳
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