How To Learn PCB Design (My Thoughts, Journey, and Resources) - Phil's Lab #87

Recommendations on how to approach learning PCB and hardware design, including my journey, thoughts on university courses, IPC CID, ECAD tools, and resource tips.

[SUPPORT]

[GIT]

[WEBSITE]

[LINKS]

Rick Hartley Grounding Video:

Rick Hartley Reading List:

Robert Feranec's Channel:

[TIMESTAMPS]
00:00 Introduction

01:02 Altium Designer Free Trial

01:24 Why Learn PCB Design (Unlocking New Electronics)
03:52 Why Learn PCB Design (Career)
04:47 Problems With University Courses
05:37 My Initial PCB Design Journey
09:01 Key point: Learn by doing and challenge yourself!
10:14 Open-Source Hardware
11:16 Get Your PCBs Manufactured!
12:02 Thoughts on IPC and IPC CID
13:08 ECAD Tools (KiCad, Altium Designer, ...)
14:04 Beginner PCB Design PDF Tutorial
14:37 Design Reviews
15:56 YouTube and Courses (Robert Feranec, Phil's Lab)
16:39 Rick Hartley (Videos, Books)

18:02 Outro

[mechee]

I graduated in mechanical engineering but my career path right out of school took a particular turn and I ended up starting to learn PCB design. This lead me down a rabbit hole and the YouTube algorithm brought me to your channel. Thanks to you and many others, I now work as a hardware designer using Altium to design industrial embedded systems. Thanks again for your great work!

[heliumlabs]

The niche of PCB design might not be wide as millions but please keep making these videos. Trust me, there are people who don't waste a second clicking your video.

[scottyanke]

I'm a hobbyist and in the past 5 years I've created a number of different PCB's, most being used for simple sensors, WLED, etc. You don't need to be an EE. I start out on a perfboard to ensure that my ideas work, then design the PCB using KiCad and have it made by a reputable company. My PCBs sometimes take a few tries to get right, but it's still easier than trying to wire things together using jumpers. I've got a bin full of "oops", but keep them to remind myself of my mistakes. It's worth doing, and incredibly simple once you figure out footprints and spacing. And 5 boards for under $10 (inc shipping) is a good incentive. Keep in mind that the manufacturers will make EXACTLY what you tell them to make.

[ZayMeisters]

You, Robert Feranec, Rick Hartley, and Dave Jones have been the biggest help for me personally. Thanks for all that you guys do!!!

[rubemjr]

As an EE student, your channel is an incredibly valuable resource, and I owe you a lot of my understanding of PCB design. Thank you and keep up the good work.

Greetings from Brazil!

[pamelabraman]

You just blew my mind.
30 years ago when I got my AAS in EET I had PCB design and manufacturer in every semester.
We etched, drilled, and assembled a 2 layer board. Senior project pass was a fully functional PCB.

[RobertFeranec]

Thank you very much Phil. I love your videos.

[natealbatros]

I'll go into EE next year and been an electronics hobbyist for the past few months, just found out this channel and it's amazing

[TorgeirFredriksen]

First, thanks a lot for all the videos and knowledge you share. It was quite a relief to hear that you weren't taught PCB Design even at Cambridge. Myself, I had my electronics education in the 90's, 3 years at technical high school, then 2 years at a technical college, then 3 years at university level. All these years attending electronics classes. However, none of the courses I attended over these years taught us anything about PCB Design. I learned a lot about designing discrete circuits, amplifier designs, RF/antenna theory, maxwell's equations, filter calculations analog/digital, FIR responses and so on. But never anything about practical circuit/PCB design. What kept me not "missing out" on this was my home lab. I had a genuine interest in electronics as a hobby, and during the years I made my own small circuits at home. It started with a few soldering kits, then developed as I got my own etching tray and blank PCBs with photoresist film on, which I could produce myself. It took years to develop a process for printing traces on suitable transparent paper, UV exposure, dissolving and finally etching to get a good result. Double layer boards were especially hard to get right. But man, that hobby was worth it looking back now. Even if I don't work as an electronics engineer as my day job, it is still my hobby, and I am still able to design small projects from start to end. I don't think I would be able to do that if I only knew the theory from school. In addition, It's a lot easier now as we can order the boards online :)

[ErickBuildsStuff]

Your comments section is filled with inspiration. I want to switch my career from computer science to electronics soon.

[tuck]

Thanks Phil! It's really helpful to see your learning journey and what benefited you to 'level up' your PCB skills. Really good comments about best practices. I think for new learners, that transition from copying a design to having the intuition of why something is implemented is difficult to navigate without the proper mentors/supports. I really appreciate that your channel helps fill the gap in this space as well!

[kaukospots]

I'm just a CS person that got into this as a hobby, it's crazy that they don't teach this in EE programs. Thanks for the helpful suggestions and resources!

[josealejandrotovarb]

I'm currently studying EE and we don't have any PCB course either. However, a teacher encouraged us to design one for a particular project. I followed along your STM32 design using KiCad and made my first PCB design a couple of days ago :) Looking forward to your other videos. Thanks for the good content! Greetings from Venezuela!

[IsaacC]

This channel is legendary. It fills the gap between what is not taught in college and the knowledge you need at the workplace.

[JMCV]

What I miss is the maths and knowledge needed to design the circuit. I'm reading "The Art of Electronics" and "Practical Electronics for Inventors" to get started

[PatrickHoodDaniel]

Excellent video! I mentioned you in my last video as you have the same ground-up process that I try to convey to my users and you are an excellent resource. I will be mentioning this video and others you create as your videos are quite complementary to the subject I teach. Thank you for making such clear and succinct videos.

[GFScreech]

So true, you go through four to five years of technical university, learn design and mathematical acrobatics complex numbers and laplace, and EMC. I remember I had like an hour of PCB design, in four years. Crazy as a junior engineer I had to do layout, and quickly learn that designing circuit and layout the same circuit are not the same thing. Tnx for the vids they help.

[adamt]

Just wanted to say thank you I’ve been using your videos to learn over the last year and now I’m hosting PCB workshops at my college through a club pulling in over 30 people each time and now a bunch of cool projects with PCBs are starting up around campus! All using Altium student licens

[LTVoyager]

Same here. EE degree with zero PCB content. We did a lot of breadboards in labs, but no PCB. Then again, making PCBs in the early 80s wasn’t quite as trivial as it is today. 😁

[BlackNSB]

I've gotta be honest, man. I've actually seen the opposite of standalone PCB designers. A lot of the older EE guys that I have worked with don't know PCB design. They all are used to just scribbling out a schematic on a piece of paper and then handing it off to the PCB guy. All of the younger guys all do their own designs. I've even seen the dedicated PCB guys retire and have their position eliminated. It actually makes a lot of sense because it was a whole ordeal back in the days before CAD when they had to use tape and a drafting table. Maybe it's different across the pond.