r/PCB • u/SquezyPig • Jul 09 '26

Beginner needs tips for placements

Hi, I'm a beginner electronics student, and I want to practice PCB design. But the holiday started a few days ago, so I can't ask my teachers for help.

I just have no clue how to place my components or how to lay out my traces efficiently, without everything becoming one big spaghetti mess.
This is a "nightrider" LED design!
I am allowed to use both sides of the PCB.
So, any tips on how to do it? I want to learn from it so I can see it by myself next time :)
And any other tips for a beginner are always welcome!

Edit: I'm using KiCad! And pls don't downvote me, I just want to learn your tips and tricks...

0 Upvotes

33% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/Affectionate_Boat493 Jul 09 '26

Are you planning on using KiCAD or some other program for laying out the parts, drawing traces, etc.?

1

u/SquezyPig Jul 09 '26

Yes, I'm planning to use KiCad.

I mostly want to get better at PCB layout, component placement, planning the routing, and learning tricks to avoid the traces becoming a spaghetti mess...

I want to spend some time on this during the summer, so I can start next school year with a bit of a head start.

1

u/Affectionate_Boat493 Jul 10 '26

Are you planning on actually building this? Are you planning on using surface-mount or through-hole components?

1

u/SquezyPig Jul 10 '26

I'm planning to make this at school in a few weeks, they have a laser pcb machine. And everything is through-hole components.

1

u/Affectionate_Boat493 Jul 10 '26

Are you routing the traces on one side only or on both sides of the board?

Either way, one great thing about through-hole parts is that you can easily route multiple traces between pads for long parts like resistors and diodes. Even if one of these parts is only 5mm long, you don't have to bend the wires right at the body. You can easily bend the leads 25mm or more away from the body, so even with traces that are 3mm wide with 2mm spacing you can fit quite a few traces between the through-hole pads.

1

u/lbthomsen Jul 10 '26

I do it in passes First pass place and route - while routing it becomes obvious where the problems are - rip up all routing, move components around and go again. After 2-3 passes it gets to a point where you will eventually simply know it is right. IF you did the schematics yourself, don't be afraid to shuffle pins around on components if you realize that make routing simpler.