Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 1 of 30
Table of Contents
General Design Criteria ..................................................................................................... 4
DIY HobBYist 1 or 2 layer ................................................................................................. 4
Commercial Boards .......................................................................................................... 4
Power Pins .......................................................................................................................... 6
Power supplies.................................................................................................................. 6
Transistors ........................................................................................................................ 6
IC chips ............................................................................................................................. 6
Vcc, Vdd, Vee, Vss, A+, B+ .............................................................................................. 7
Trace Width & Spacing ...................................................................................................... 8
DIY HobBYist 1 or 2 layer ................................................................................................. 8
Commercial Brds 1 or 2 layer............................................................................................ 8
Commercial Brds 4 layer ................................................................................................... 9
SpaciNG............................................................................................................................ 9
DIY HobBYist 1 or 2 layer ................................................................................................. 9
Commercial Boards 1 or 2 layer........................................................................................ 9
Commercial Boards 4 layer ............................................................................................... 9
Drills & Holes .................................................................................................................... 10
DIY HobBYist 1 or 2 layer ............................................................................................... 10
Commercial Boards 1 or 2 layer...................................................................................... 10
Commercial Boards 4 layer ............................................................................................. 10
VIAS ................................................................................................................................ 10
IC .................................................................................................................................... 10
Capacitor, diode, resistor ................................................................................................ 10
Hole Sizes ....................................................................................................................... 11
Drilling ............................................................................................................................. 11
Pads................................................................................................................................... 13
HobBYist 1 or 2 layer ...................................................................................................... 13
Commercial Boards 1 to 4 layer ...................................................................................... 13
Silkscreen Text ................................................................................................................. 14
Capacitors & batteries ..................................................................................................... 14
LED & diodes .................................................................................................................. 15
IC .................................................................................................................................... 15
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 2 of 30
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 3 of 30
COMMERCIAL BOARDS
1 or 2 layer board: ......... 1.60mm (62mil / .062) FR4 material, 1oz copper
Trace width: .................... 0.25mm (10mil) preferred
0.90mm(35mil) maximum
1.0mm(40mil) maximum
0.90mm(35mil) minimum
4 layer board: ................ 1.60mm (62mil / .062) FR4 material, 1oz copper
Trace width: ................... 0.25mm (10mil) preferred
0.90mm(35mil) maximum
1.0mm(40mil) maximum
0.90mm(35mil) minimum
No blind/buried vias
Resistors and caps 0.80mm (31mil)
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 4 of 30
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 5 of 30
Power Pins
Place decoupling capacitors as close as possible to power and ground pins of ICs to maximize
decoupling efficiency. Its not uncommon to use two or more different-valued, even different types of
capacitors to bypass the power supply, because some capacitor values will be better than others at
filtering out certain frequencies of noise. For low-power ICs 10uF to 22uf are the most common (0.1uF
in 0402 or through hole ceramic is std for SMD).
POWER SUPPLIES
The output of the power supply should typically get a 10F to 470uF capacitor.
TRANSISTORS
Should have pin numbers or base, emitter, collector abbreviations
IC CHIPS
All inputs must go somewhere. A solid connection to an input signal, to +V, or to ground must be
provided for all inputs, particularly when bread boarding. An unconnected and unused input lead can
have a time constant of half an hour or more before the gate mysteriously changes state.
Unconnected pins can also "track" neighboring pins.
Protect the protection. Avoid ever having the input protection diodes conduct. If you must use diode
current, limit the current to 10 milliampere or less. Watch for the effects of diodes on time constants
and other shaping circuits.
Use high impedance test inputs. If you remove supply power without removing "stiff" input signals, you
can damage the input protection or latch up the package.
Avoid static during handling. Store the ICs in conductive foam or metal carriers. Leave them on foil or
on a cookie sheet during bench work. Don't use a soldering gun. Make sure any inputs going off board
have a load resistor (1 meg ohm) across them.
Condition all mechanical inputs going to clocked logic. Push buttons, switches, and keyboard contacts
must be debounced with contact conditioning (Chapter 4) to make them noise - and bounce free.
Use fast rise and fall clocks. The rise and fall times on the clock input of clocked logic blocks must be
faster than 5 microseconds. Otherwise, erratic operation caused by clock skew can result.
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 6 of 30
A CMOS package with its supply-power pin may seem to work, only to turn out slow or limited drive
power. Why? Because the chip is getting its supply power from the inputs through the protection
diodes. As long as at least one input on the package is high, the chip gets some supply power.
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 7 of 30
Dielectric
Thickness
MIL-P-13949
Max
Temp
PX
105C
GE
125C
FR-4
GF
.004-.014"
120C
.015 +
130C
FR-5
GH
.025-.054"
140C
.055 +
170C
Width
.005"
.010"
.015"
.020"
.025"
.050"
.100"
.150"
.005"
.010"
.015"
.020"
.025"
.050"
.100"
.150"
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 8 of 30
SPACING
B1
.004
.004
.004
.004
.008
.008
.008
.008
.010
.0001
/Volt
Conductor Spacing
Minimum Spacing (inches)
Bare Board
Assembly
B2
B3
B4
A5
A6
A7
.025
.025
.005
.005
.005
.005
.025
.025
.005
.005
.010
.005
.025
.025
.005
.005
.015
.005
.025
.060
.005
.005
.020
.005
.025
.125
.015
.015
.030
.015
.050
.125
.015
.015
.030
.015
.050
.250
.015
.015
.030
.015
.050
.500
.015
.015
.030
.015
.100
.500
.030
.030
.060
.030
.0002
.001
.00012
.00012
.00012
.00012
/Volt
/Volt
/Volt
/Volt
/Volt
/Volt
B1 - Internal Conductors
B2 - External Conductors, uncoated, sea level to 10,000 ft.
B3 - External Conductors, uncoated, over 10,000 ft.
B4 - External Conductors, with permanent polymer coating (solder mask).
A5 - External Conductors, with conformal coating over assembly.
A6 - External Component lead/termination, uncoated.
A7 - External Component lead/termination, with conformal coating.
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 9 of 30
0.90mm(35mil) minimum
0.90mm(35mil) minimum
VIAS
All vias on a particular PCB should be the same size. Typical size is 0.60mm (25mil) diameter,
surrounded by a 1.0mm (42mil) diameter via copper pad, if at all possible. Some very dense SMT
boards require small vias down to a 0.012" hole, surrounded by 0.024" diameter via pad.
IC
Typical size is 0.60mm (25-32mil) diameter, surrounded by a 1.0mm (42mil) via copper pad.
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 10 of 30
HOLE SIZES
Standard finished hole sizes. Plating decreases the drilled hole by approx 5-8mm (3-5mils).
mm
mil
.50
.020
Drill Size
# 66 =
# 67 =
# 70 =
# 73 =
.64
.025
.75
.029
Inch
.033
.032
.028
.024
.90
.035
mm
0.84
0.81
0.71
0.60
1.15
.046
1.30
.052
# 76
# 77
# 79
# 80
=
=
=
=
2.00
.079
3.20
.125
.020
.018
.0145
.0135
6.40
.150
0.50
0.46
0.37
0.34
DRILLING
The ideal speed for a 7mm (250mil) hole is about 7,500 rpm. Large bits are good for about 1/4 the
number of holes as smaller sizes. Holes as small as 0.025mm (10mils) are possible in some
advanced shops but holes smaller than about 0.50mm (20mils) should be avoided. Any smaller than
this and anything that can go wrong, will. Namely, small bits break more often much more often.
Try to keep component hole sizes in the 0.75-1.00mm (30-40mil) and mounting holes around 3mm
(125mil). Most manufacturers would probably prefer to keep the hole size 7mm (250mil) or less.
If you see many holes similar 0.90-1.0mm (35/36/39mil) in size, consolidate them into the larger hole
size. Remember the manufacturer will bump this size up 0.1-0.2mm (5-8mils) to account for hole
plating. Since plating varies across the panel, so will the hole sizes. If you dont feel comfortable
manipulating your drill file, tell your manufacturer it is okay for them to do it.
Finished Finished
inch
mm
Approximate Use
.017"
0.43
via holes
.025"
0.63
.032"
0.81
.035"
0.89
.039"
0.1
TO-220 packages, IDC type square posted headers, 1/2 watt resistors, 1N9000
series diodes, IC chip carriers etc.
.049"
1.25
.057"
1.45
.083"
2.10
.122"
3.10
mounting holes
.149"
3.80
mounting holes
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 11 of 30
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 12 of 30
Pads
HOBBYIST 1 OR 2 LAYER
1 or 2 layer board: ......... 1.6mm (62mil = .062) FR4 material, 1oz copper
Drill size: ......................... 0.90mm (35mil)
Hole. device: ................... 0.90mm (35mil)
Pad ,device: .................... 1.25mm (50mil)
Via hole: .......................... 0.90mm (35mil)
Via pad:........................... 1.25mm (50mil)
0.90mm(35mil) minimum
Try to make pads 1.00mm (40mil) bigger than the holes. That may sound like a lot, but remember that
the hole size will be stepped up .005 to .006.
Subtract the hole size from the pad size, remove the .005 that was stepped up, divide by two to get
the annular ring size, and you will be left with a .015 annular ring. Grab a pair of calipers and take a
look at what .015 looks like. It isnt a lot.
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 13 of 30
Silkscreen Text
You will want to specify an aperture width of .010 to .012. That means that, while your characters will
possibly survive if they are as little as .040 or .050, you will probably want them to be .070 tall or
taller. When you print your circuit, play around with a pair of calipers and see how tall you can make
the characters and still have the board look good.
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 14 of 30
IC
Footprints for ICs should have a polarity mark "dot" or "1" near pin 1. Most people give pin 1 a
"squared-off" pad, and all other pins a "rounded pad". Some people also like additional "10", "20",
"30", etc., marks in silkscreen next to pin 10, pin 20, pin 30, etc.
If you place a reference designator under a component, you or your contract manufacturer may be
able to place the component, but it will be hard to find the component on the PCB if you need to
remove or replace the component for repair or debugging. In the picture below, the reference
designator for U1 will be hidden after U1 is placed on the PCB. The reference designator for U2 will
be clearly visible after U2 has been placed.
Place reference designators as close as is practical to their components. Place the reference
designators in a way so that it is clear which components they belong to. Not doing this makes it hard
to place the correct components in the correct place. This is important for assembly and debug. In the
picture below, it's not clear which resistor is R1 and which is R2.
REFERENCE AMBIGUOUS
Page 15 of 30
Use a font for reference designator that is large enough to easily read. The author has had success
with fonts that are at least 0.060 tall and 0.050 wide. This tip doesn't get a picture because reference
designators of any size can look good on a large, high resolution monitor, especially when you're
zoomed in.
RANDOM ORIENTATION
Reference designators on a PCB should face one or at most two directions. Randomly oriented
reference designators makes assembly and debug more difficult as components are more difficult to
find. The components on the left have reference designators placed appropriately. The components
on the right have reference designators with different orientations, which is bad.
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 16 of 30
By Jan Zumwalt
Page 17 of 30
Environment Factors
Min
Temp
Max
Temp
Service
Consumer
0C
+60C
1-3 Yrs
Computer
+15C
+60C
~5 Yrs
Telecomm
-40C
Civ Aircraft
-55C
+95C
~10 Yrs
Industrial
-55C
+55C
~10 Yrs
-55C
+55C
~10 Yrs
Mil Gnd/Ship
-55C
+95C
~5 Yrs
Space
-40C
Mil Aircraft
-55C
+95C
~5 Yrs
Auto Engine
-55C
+125C
~5 Yrs
By Jan Zumwalt
USE
Page 18 of 30
Chip Size
Metric
Code
0402
0603
1005
1608
2012
2520
3216
3225
4516
4532
5025
6332
Imperial
Code
01005
0201
0402
0603
0805
1008
1206
1210
1217
1806
1812
2010
2020
2045
2512
2920
0.2
0.30 +/- 0.05
0.50 + 0.10
0.80 +/- 0.10
1.25 +/- 0.15
2.0
1.60 +/- 0.15
2.60 +/- 0.15
4.20 +/- 0.20
1.6
3.2
2.60 +/- 0.15
5.08 +/- 0.20
11.5 +/- 0.30
3.10 +/- 0.15
5.1
Resistor
Watts
0.03w
0.05w
0.06w
0.06w
0.10w
Solder side
Solder Foot
Height
0.25+ 0.05
0.25 + 0.05
0.30 + 0.20
0.30 + 0.20
0.125w
0.250w
0.25w
0.50 + /-0.20
0.50 +/- 0.30
0.80 +/- 0.30
0.80 +/- 0.30
0.60 +/- 0.25
0.50 + /-0.20
0.40+/-0.20
0.80 +/- 0.30
0.80 +/- 0.30
0.50 +/- 0.25
0.75w
0.25w
0.50w
1.00w
0.50w
0.55 + /-0.10
0.70 +/- 0.10
0.9 max
0.9 max
0.60 +/- 0.10
Pg 19 of 30
Pg 20 of 30
Packaging
DIP - (Dual Inline Package)
LCC
TO - (Transistor Outline)
Pg 21 of 30
SOT
SOT-89: 4.5 mm 2.5 mm 1.5 mm body: four terminals, center pin large heat-transfer pad [22]
SOT-23 (SC-59, TO-236-3): 2.9 mm 1.3/1.75 mm 1.3 mm body: three terminals for a transistor [23]
SOT-323 (SC-70): 2 mm 1.25 mm 0.95 mm body: three terminals [24]
SOT-416 (SC-75): 1.6 mm 0.8 mm 0.8 mm body: three terminals [25]
SOT-663: 1.6 mm 1.6 mm 0.55 mm body: three terminals [26]
SOT-723: 1.2 mm 0.8 mm 0.5 mm body: three terminals: flat lead[27]
SOT-883 (SC-101): 1 mm 0.6 mm 0.5 mm body: three terminals: leadless [28]
Five & six terminal packages
SOT-23-5 (SOT-25): 2.9 mm 1.3/1.75 mm 1.3 mm body: five terminals [32]
SOT-23-6 (SOT-26): 2.9 mm 1.3/1.75 mm 1.3 mm body: six terminals [33]
SOT-23-8 (SOT-28): 2.9 mm 1.3/1.75 mm 1.3 mm body: eight terminals [34]
SOT-353 (SC-88A): 2 mm 1.25 mm 0.95 mm body: five terminals [35]
SOT-363 (SC-88, SC-70-6): 2 mm 1.25 mm 0.95 mm body: six terminals [36]
SOT-563: 1.6 mm 1.2 mm 0.6 mm body: six terminals [37]
SOT-665: 1.6 mm 1.6 mm 0.55 mm body: six terminals [38]
SOT-666: 1.6 mm 1.6 mm 0.55 mm body: six terminals [39]
SOT-886: 1.5 mm 1.05 mm 0.5 mm body: six terminals: leadless
SOT-891: 1.05 mm 1.05 mm 0.5 mm body: five terminals: leadless
SOT-953: 1 mm 1 mm 0.5 mm body: five terminals
SOT-963: 1 mm 1 mm 0.5 mm body: six terminals
Pg 22 of 30
Resistor Markings
Pg 23 of 30
Capacitor Markings
CAPACITOR MARKING EXAMPLES
1pf(1)
7pf(7)
20pf(20)
47pf(47)
120pf(121)
330pf(331)
1.5nf(152)
10nf(103)
68nf(683)
2pf(2)
8pf(8)
22pf(22)
50pf(50)
140pf(141)
470pf(471)
2nf(202)
15nf(153)
100nf(104)
3pf(3)
9pf(9)
27pf(27)
56pf(56)
150pf(151)
560pf(561)
2.2nf(222)
20nf(203)
4pf(4)
10pf(10)
30pf(30)
68pf(68)
180pf(181)
680pf(681)
3.3nf(332)
22nf(223)
Pg 24 of 30
5pf(5)
15pf(15)
33pf(33)
82pf(82)
220pf(221)
820pf(821)
4.7nf(472)
33nf(333)
6pf(6)
18pf(18)
40pf(40)
100pf(101)
300pf(301)
1nf(102)
6.8nf(682)
47nf(473)
Proprietary Formats
Express PCB
Pad2Pad
Pg 25 of 30
Common Conversions
MM VS MIL
1 millimeter
1 inch
1/100 inch
=
=
=
0.0394 inch
25.4 mm
0.25 mm
1/64 inch
1/32 inch
1/16 inch
= 0.39 mm
= 0.79 mm
= 1.58 mm
Pg 26 of 30
3/32 inch =
1/8 inch =
1/4 inch =
2.30 mm
3.17 mm
6.35 mm
TIME
1sec(second) =
1,000ms(millisecond)
1sec
1,000,000uS(microsecond)
1ms(millisecond)
1/1,000sec(second)
1ms(millisecond)
1,000uS(microsecond)
Pg 27 of 30
Standard Components
PC audio jack........................................... 3.5mm
Walwart pwr ............................................. 5.5mm
Pg 28 of 30
2 layer 3 x 3 board
(75mm x 75mm)
Service Provider
2 layer, 6 x 6 board
(150mm x 150mm)
2 qty
10 qty
25 qty
50 qty
2 qty
10 qty
25 qty
50 qty
Smart-Prototyping.com
$2.00
$1.25
$1.50
$1.75
$18.00
$9.00
$7.00
$6.00
MakerStudio.cc
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$1.00
$21.00
$7.25
$6.50
$6.50
Elecrow.com
$2.50
$2.50
$1.50
$1.50
$17.00
$9.00
$4.00
$4.00
PcbWway.com
$2.25
$1.25
$1.50
$1.25
$9.00
$5.75
$4.00
$3.20
ITEAD.cc
$2.00
$2.00
$1.75
$1.50
$6.25
$6.25
$4.00
$3.75
EasyEda.com
$3.50
$1.75
$1.25
$1.25
$5.00
$4.00
$3.25
$3.25
Note: Amounts are price for each board rounded up to nearest .25, but does not included shipping.
Prices effective August 1, 2016
However, I also had a personal curiosity about larger production runs. When I spot checked several
PCB fabricators internet sites, I noticed many did not provide pricing for one-hundred or more parts
and the pricing seemed to flatten out well before that. Realistically, not very many hobbyists would be
laying down the cash needed for a run of one-hundred or more boards. Besides, one-hundred or more
boards is no longer a hobby, its a business! I whimsically gazed heavenward, in a rather arbitrarily
fashion I picked quantities of two and ten for proof of concept designs, then twenty-five and fifty for
small production runs.
What would be an appropriate board size? Admittedly the hobbyist is apt to have very specific needs.
We would be wise to eliminate the very small (2 x 2 or smaller) boards. There is a well established
niche market that adequately provides for very small boards in quantities of one or two. Small low
quantity boards also do not typically jeopardize significant sums of money. At the other extreme, most
PCB fabricators production equipment is limited to a maximum board size of about ten to fifteen
inches in the largest dimension, so that narrows the upper size. I pulled from my past experience and
chose two representative board sizes: 3 x 3 and 6 x 6 form factors.
How many layers would be typical? I think we would agree that many single layer boards are apt to be
prototyped in an experimenters home. Three or four layer boards are certainly interesting but would
add considerably overhead to the data to be acquired and sifted thru. So, I chose to stay with two
layer boards and was hopeful that we could use a little interpolation to give ball park trends for other
needs.
Choosing the specifications was much simpler than I thought it might otherwise be. Many PCB
fabricators have (from their own experience) determined what the public is interested in. They
frequently advertize economy services that are targeted for mass customer appeal. All that was
needed, was to document the commonality of these offers. The solution pretty much managed itself.
Are there any important observations from this data? Positively, YES!
The first thing that struck me was the conspicuous absence of many vendors that I had been using.
Most the fabricators I had used did not even qualify to be on this list! I would have expected the major
players to fall within 10%-15% of the lowest prices, but that was certainly not the case. Some
fabricators best price is two to five times higher than other competitors.
Some carful shopping is certainly going to be prudent. Some vendors literally offer two boards for the
same price that another vendor will make ten! Notice that Table-1 shows we could order fifty 6x6
boards from some fabricators for the same price as two 3x3 boards from others. Which would you
rather have?
It should be pointed out that some fabricators do not offer economy pricing. They may automatically
include many other desirable options. For example, some insist on
testing and/or minimum quantity orders of three or four boards. There
are several vendors that provide two sided solder masks and double
silk screening at no additional charge. There may be some
fabricators that have lower prices but do not have internet quote
systems so they were not researched. Several fabricators offer first
or second time return customers up to 80% discounts and these
provisions are not considered in this report.
No attempt was made to compare quality, consistency, lead time, on
time delivery, location and accessibility, customer service, problem
resolution, shipping, nor combining multiple circuits on panels. These
other considerations are certainly worth adjustments to the value that
someone is receiving. Still, I hope this helps. As for me, I will soon be
trying some new discount PCB fabricators.
[Jan Zumwalt has instructed University level aviation, robotics and
engineering electronics. He is a retired aerospace engineer that now
enjoys electronics as a hobby during his pastime.]
Pg 30 of 30