A printed circuit board (PCB) consists of an insulating substrate with a number of specially designed conductive tracks on top. PCBs are custom made for a particular device and allow the combination of electrical components such as resistors, capacitors and inductors. The design of a PCB can be a complicated process and device manufacturers are increasingly making double-sided boards to allow more room for components. A professional PCB cannot be made at home and typically a computer aided design file will be sent to a manufacturer for fabrication.
Instructions
1 Design the PCB using CAD software. The software allows the design of a number of layers. Here is a suggested way to separate the layers:
Layer 0: PCB outline
Layer 1: Copper layer for side A of PCB
Layer 2: Copper layer for side B of PCB
Layer 3: Drilled holes
2 Save the CAD drawings as a Gerber file. This is the industry standard for PCB manufacturers.
Saving as a Gerber file will create a file for each each layer in the drawing.
3 Decide upon the "Copper weight" . This is the thickness of the copper tracks on the board
Create a text document that describes the contents of each layer, specify the board dimensions and copper weight.
4 E-mail the Gerber files and text document to a PCB manufacturer. They will typically get back to the you within a few days and send a PDF of the design. The PDF should be reviewed before the manufacturing process begins.
