Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Design Tutorial—Creating big_blinky (Part 1)
1. Introduction
(ver. 1)
(use Altium Designer project: my_big_blinky_v1_1.zip)
1.1 This tutorial has five sections
1. Introduction
2. Circuit Design—555 Timer
3. Schematic Design—in Altium Designer 2018
4. PCB Layout Design—in Altium Designer 2018
5. Bill of Materials and Soldering
1.2 Overview/Background
1. This tutorial is based on Jeremy Blum’s “blinky” PCB design done in Eagle software,
and using only surface-mount components. His first of 3 videos is found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AXwjZoyNno
2. In contrast, this “big_blinky” PCB design
is done with Altium Designer and uses only through-hole
components. The reason being that these are easier to solder
for a first-time PCB exercise.
2. Circuit Design—555 Timer
2.1 555 Timer design
1. Initially, we are using almost exactly Jeremy’s circuit/schematic design, as captured in
my big_blinky finished schematic:
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2. A good online tutorial for doing 555 Timer designs—how to choose component values
to create the timing you want—is found here:
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/tools/555-timer-astable-circuit/
a. Schematic
b. Brief explanation of 555 Timer operation/function
The 555 Timer device (chip) operates as a type of oscillator, here in a mode known as “astable”.
It creates a digital output signal that looks like a square-wave. But the symmetry (or “duty
cycle”) of its shape can be changed/varied based on the choice of values for the components that
go around the chip—specifically the resistors R1, R2, and capacitor C, shown above.
c. Equations (from above website)
The frequency is the number of pulses per second. The formula to calculate the frequency of the
output voltage is:
The period is the time covered for one pulse. This is just the reciprocal of the frequency:
The high time (T1) and low time (T0) can be calculated using the formulas below. Note that the
period is the sum of the high time and the low time.
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The mark space ratio is the ratio between the high time and the low time or:
The duty cycle is more commonly used than the mark space ratio. The formula for the duty cycle
is:
A 50% duty cycle means the high time is equal to the low time. If an LED is placed at the output
of this astable circuit, it will turn on at the same span of time as it is turned off. Note that getting
an exact 50% duty cycle is impossible with this circuit.
Notes
Increase C to increase the period (reduce the frequency).
Increase R1 to increase High Time (T1), without affecting the Low Time (T0).
Increase R2 to increase High Time (T1), increase Low Time (T0) and decrease the duty cycle.
3. Schematic Design—in Altium Designer 2018
3.1 About Altium Designer 2018 (AD18)
1. Value
While Jeremy used the popular, free version of Eagle, AD is a world-class professional PCB
design software tool—using it should look good on your resume, .
2. Here is Dr. Foist’s finished design, showing schematic and PCB layout:
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3.2 Overview of Altium Designer 2018 (AD18)
1. Two training documents for more detailed information
Dr. Foist recently took a 3-day basic course in learning AD18. Below is a link to the two
documents (pdf) that were provided with the course. One contains lesson material, the other has
exercises (based on a zip file that is not part of this link):
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8um50bgqo2haw8i/AACbf9c0vctWfDLWsPKDYI1Xa?dl=0
Let’s call them Training Documents 1, 2
TD1 = Altium Essentials Lessons AD18_V1_Secured.pdf
TD2 = Altium Essentials Exercises AD18_V1_Secured.pdf
2. Startup the tool
3. Get a license
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. Introduction to the AD18 Graphical User Interface (GUI)—Explorer 2 = “X2”
X2 is called a Unified Design Platform—meaning it handles all design work from within one
software application.
This includes: schematic capture, circuit simulation, signal integrity analysis, and PCB design.
The figure below is an example of the GUI from TD1.
Note the panels shown
 Project workspace—with folder/file hierarchy
 Schematic
 PCB layout
 3-D view of PCB—with components
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Here’s the bare workspace with no project loaded:
5. Some details
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3.3 Steps we will follow in building the schematic.
1. Create a new project
2. Place component symbols from an existing library (these are pre-built and include PCB
footprints)
a. Resistors, capacitors, LEDs
b. Power and Ground
3. Create new schematic symbols and associated PCB footprints for:
a. 555 Timer chip
b. Battery holder
4. Wire/connect nodes of all symbols
5. Compile
3.4 Schematic Design of my_big_blinky
3.4.1. Create a new project
1. Select the menus: File  New  Project  Project…to launch the Project Wizard. The
dialog shown in Figure S1 will appear.
Figure S1. Create a New Project
2. Select PCB Project in the top left pane with the Project Template <Default>
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3. Enter a project name = my_big_blinky.
4. Click on the Browse Location button and navigate to your Desktop. (First, create a new
folder there called PCB_designs). Be sure that the Create Project Folder checkbox is enabled.
5. Select Regular for the Project Kind.
6. Click the OK button to create the new project. Go to your PCB_designs folder to confirm that
my_big_blinky folder has been created.
7. Return to AD18 and notice that the Projects panel there is a project called
my_big_blinky.PrjPcb as shown in Figure S2.
Figure S2. Project panel with my_big_blinky project added after using the wizard.
3.4.2 Adding New Documents
8. Right-click the project and select Add New to Project – Schematic from the pop-up menu.
This will add a new schematic to project. The default name is Sheet1.SchDoc (Fig. S3).
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Figure S3. Adding new Schematics to the Project.
9. Select menu File Save All, a dialog box will pop up prompting you to save the new file you
created in folder my_big_blinky. Name the schematic = my_big_blinky.SchDoc.
10. The Projects panel should now look like the one in Figure S4. Double check this by
navigating to the desktop project folder. This can be done within AD18: right-click on the
project and select the Explore menu.
Figure S4. Renaming the schematic file.
3.4.3 Using a Built-In Library (for components)
The schematic library can be a local library or a library of components contained in an integrated
library stored on a server. For big_blinky, we will 1) use a local library that comes with AD18,
for simple components, and 2) create two of our own component symbols and PCB footprints.
11. Open the Libraries panel by clicking on the Panels button in the bottom right corner of the
editor and selecting the Libraries menu if not already checked.
a) The Libraries panel should open with the Miscellaneous Devices.IntLib selected as shown
in Figure S5.
b) Note that the panel is divided into several panes. The
topmost displays a list of library components for the
selected library—and the subsequent panes have
associated information about the selected component:
e.g., symbol and footprint previews, and models.
12. Click anywhere on the blank schematic and the
Libraries panel will close to the right, with its tab still
available in the upper right corner. But if you close by
clicking on its X, it will close even the tab, and to reopen
you need to click again on PanelsLibraries to open it.
Figure S5. Libraries panel with
Miscellaneous Devices.IntLib selected.
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3.4.4 Component Placement
3.4.4.1 Setting the (snap) Grid (p. 51 of Exercises)
13. Open the Properties panel.
a) Note in Figure S6 that the initial grid value is 100mil
Figure S6. Initial Snap Grid value = 100mil.
b) In the pane General (Fig. S7), set the Snap Grid value to 200 mil, and press Enter to apply
the new value.
Figure S7. Set the Snap Grid value = 200mil.
3.4.4.2 Component Placement—Resistors
14. Re-open/select the Miscellaneous Devices.IntLib from the drop-down list of libraries in the
Libraries panel.
15. Type “Res” into the search bar, then click on the Res1 component, and click Place Res1
from the command button of the Libraries panel (Figure S8). After clicking, you should see a
“ghost” of the Res1 over the schematic wherever you hover the cursor…now wait, read on…
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Figure S8. Select the Misc Devices Lib and component Res1.
16. Before placing the connector on the schematic, press the TAB key:
a) In the Properties panel that opens, any changes to the default properties will be applied
to subsequently placed objects.
b) Change the reference designator to R1 (Fig. S9, left)
c) Click the “eye” shaped icon, right of “Res1”—this will hide its appearance on the part
d) Select the Parameter tab and note that the (default) Value = 1k (ohm) is correct
Figure S9. Select the Misc Devices Lib and component Res1 + change values
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e) Go back to the General tab and hit Enter, or just click the “pause” icon on the
schematic, so as to close the panel
f) Before clicking (placing) hit the Spacebar to rotate the component (counterclockwise
90º)
g) Experiment with: 1) Shift + Spacebar rotates CW, x flips along x-axis, y along y-axis
17. Now hover near the left half of the schematic and left-click the mouse to place the resistor
a) After clicking, AD automatically gets ready to place another Res 1 by changing the
name to “R2”
b) Click and place resistors until you have 4 as shown in Figure S10
c) END placing by Right mouse click
d) ZOOM IN/OUT…by holding Ctrl and rolling the mouse wheel forward, backward.
Figure S10. Four resistors placed, before updating values.
18. Update values for R2-R3 by double clicking on them and changing values per Figure S11.
(Remember to Save your work as you go along: FileSave or Ctrl s).
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Figure S11. Four resistors placed, with updated (final) values.
3.4.4.3 Component Placement—Capacitors
19. From within the Libraries panel with the Miscellaneous Devices.IntLib selected, now search
for “cap, and select Cap2 as shown in Fig. S12 (and click below to expand and show the
Footprint)
a. Imitating previous steps, click on Place Cap2, then before clicking on the Schematic…
Figure S12. Selecting a Cap2.
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b. In the panel that opens (Fig. S13), make changes so as to create/rotate a first capacitor,
then after clicking down, update a second as shown in Fig. S14.
Figure S13. Placing a capacitor CT.
Figure S14. Two capacitors placed.
3.4.4.2 Component Placement—LEDs
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20. Follow similar steps in the same library to place two LED1 components as shown (Fig. 15).
Figure S15a, b. Selecting and placing 2 LEDs.
3.4.4.3 Component Placement—Power and Ground
21. To place a ground port, use PlacePower Port on the Wiring menu
schematic) and place 3 GND ports as shown in Figure S16a.
(top of the
22. To place a VCC power port, repeat the above steps, but hit the Tab key before placing and
modify the style and name per Figure S16b. Use the Space bar to rotate, and place 2 VCC ports
as in Figure S16a.
Figure S16a, b. Placing GND and VCC power ports.
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3.4.5 Creating Your Own Symbol—555 Timer
Since there is no 555 Timer component within the AD18 built-in libraries, we need to create our
own schematic symbol, and footprint to be used in the PCB layout later.
The following steps were developed by imitating a video tutorial, based on AD 17:
Altium 17: Creating a component Library (Footprint and Schematic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gVBJspVliM
Create a New PCB Library
23. Hover over project name and right-click to select Add New to ProjectPCB Library, per
Figure S17
a. We could first create Schematic Library, but the order is not important.
Figure S17. Creating a new PCB Library.
b. A new, blank PCB library sheet opens along with a PCB Library panel, per Fig. S18.
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Figure S18. Creating a new PCB Library.
c. Double-click on the PCBCOMPON… in the left panel, and change the name as
shown in Figure S19 to 555_Timer_DIP and description as shown—for a DIP style package.
Figure S19. Naming the new PCB Library.
d. Since this is a through-hole component (and not a surface mount one), the package
style is known as Dual-In-line Package (DIP), since the pins are in a line, per Figure S20a.
Note also that this specific 555 Timer was chosen because it can run on a voltage as low
as 1V (important since we’re using a small battery for power), as highlighted in Fig. S20b.
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Figure S20a, b. Datasheet pages for 555 Timer—DIP style, and 1V minimum power supply.
e. Reset the origin (white circle with X through it) to have dx = dy = 0.00 mil (see box in
upper left of sheet), when the cursor is centered on the origin. Do this by hovering right on
center of the origin and then hitting the Insert key on the keyboard. See results in Figure S21.
The origin now is our reference point for movement of the cursor, in terms of dx, dy.
Figure S21. Origin “reset” so as to have dx = dy =0.00 mil when cursor on origin.
24. Save this library: FileSave and name it as Timer_555_Lib.PcbLib, per Figure S22.
Figure S22. Save the PCB Library
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Create Footprint by Placing the Pads
25. Place a pad (but don’t click down at first), by right-clicking in the sheet and selecting
PlacePad, per. Fig. S23…You can also use the key sequence p p (place pad).
Figure S23. Preparing to place a pad.
a. Click Tab before placing, to bring up the Properties panel—see Fig. S24.
1) Note that I scrolled down in the Properties panel to see more hole-size info.
Figure S24. Using Tab key to bring up Properties, before placing pad.
b. This is a Multi-Layer pad, it has a pad (metal) on the top layer, a hole, and a pad on the
bottom layer. Normally the hole will be plated with metal by the manufacturer.
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c. Make sure that hole size = 30 mil, and size/shape = 60 mil as shown (these three are
normally the defaults)
d. Set designator = 1, since the 555 Timer DIP is an 8-pin package, and we will begin
with pin 1.
e. Hit Enter and click to place the pad right on the origin, per Figure S25.
f. We could proceed and place 7 more pads, but better to make an “array” of pads
Figure S25. Pad for pin 1 placed on Origin, (& pad mode automatically prepares pad for pin 2).
26. Make an array of pads—with proper spacing, thus less error prone
a. Select pad, right-clickCopy
b. Then, important: click the crosshairs onto the origin (sets the start at origin again)
c. Then delete the pad (strange as it seems)
d. Main menu: EditPaste Special, per Figure S26a…Paste Special menu opens
Figure S26a. Paste Special for array.
S26b. Paste Special menu
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e. Uncheck Paste on current layer, and click Paste Array, Fig. S26b.
f. Setup Paste Array menu opens—choose values per Fig. S27 (note 100mil pin xspacing as required by Datasheet)
Figure S27. Setup values for pasting array.
g. Click OK, then click crosshairs back on Origin, four pads appear per Fig. S28
Figure S28. Four-pad array pasted at Origin.
27. Make a second array of four pads (for pins 5-8)
a. Per Datasheet, distance between pin rows is minimum 310 mils, so we’ll use 350 mils
for margin
b. Set the snap grid at 10mils: Click the g keyboard key to bring up the grid menu (Fig.
S29)
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Figure S29. Using the grid menu to set the grid “snap” at 10mils
b. Instead of doing another paste special, let’s just select and copy the first array, place
the copy 350 mils above the pin 1 origin, and manually renumber the pads/pins.
c. Left mouse click and drag a box around the 4-pad array to select.
d. Right mouse clickCopy
e. Now click the green crosshairs on Origin, then right clickPaste, and as you move the
cursor, a new set of 4 pads will move—carefully move the second array 350mils above (using
the x-y, dx-dy menu in upper left of schematic), and click to place it, per Figure S30.
Figure S30. Copy and paste of second pad array.
f. Manually update the pin numbers by individually double-clicking each pad of the upper
array and updating the Designator, with results per Fig. S31
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Figure S31. Finished 555 Timer pad placement.
Draw a Footprint Border
28. Select Top Overlay (yellow tab) at bottom of schematic
a. Select the Place Line tool from upper context menu (top of schematic), Fig. S32
(Could also use main menu: PlaceLine)
Figure S32. Select the Place Line tool from the Context menu.
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b. You can start near pin 8 (or anywhere you like) and click the green crosshairs, then
trace out a rectangular pattern, Figures S33a, b.
c. Click to change directions, and use Esc key to stop drawing.
d. Draw a small triangle as a pin 1 indicator (to guide the later soldering of this
component on the finished PCB), per Fig. S33b.
Figure S33a,b. Using the Line tool to draw a border on the Top Overlay layer.
29. Save your work as you go along (FileSave or Ctrl s).
Create a Schematic Symbol (to go with the footprint of the 555 Timer)
30. Create a new schematic library…as we did previously for a new pcb library.
a. Hover cursor over project name, right clickAdd New to ProjectSchematic
Library (Fig. S34).
Figure S34. Add new Schematic Library for 555 Timer symbol.
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b. A new Schematic Library sheet opens (Fig. S35), with a default-named component.
Figure S35. New Schematic Library sheet opens.
c. Double click on the default name, Component_1 to open its Properties panel.
Figure S36. Properties panel for default, Component_1.
d. Fill in the values per Fig. 37
1) Note that the “?” on “IC?” will give auto increment when parts are placed.
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Figure S37. Values for the new component/symbol.
31. Select a model for the footprint—we want the one we just created.
a. Click on Add in the Footprint section of the Properties panel (Fig. 38, lower right)
b. A PCB Model menu opens, click on Browse, and navigate to select the one shown in
Fig. 38.
c. Click OK and then OK.
Figure S38. Selecting a footprint model.
d. The results should appear as shown in Figure S39.
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Figure S39. The selected footprint model now appears in the Properties panels.
32. Click in the blank schematic to close the Properties panel, note what is updated (Fig. S40).
Figure S40. New Schematic Library values and footprint selection completed.
Draw the Schematic Symbol (555 Timer)
We normally will use information from the datasheet to guide how we create the symbol—so as
to make a meaningful arrangement of the pins around the symbol. In this case however, we will
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create a symbol similar to the one in Figure S41 (the finished schematic of section 2.1), which is
indeed based on the datasheet.
Figure S41. Imitating the 555 Timer symbol from the Figure of section 2.1.
33. Place a rectangle to form the 555 Timer schematic symbol:
a. Set the schematic grid to 50mil by clicking g and cycling until 50mil is reached (each
click of g toggles between the 3 settings: 50, 100, 200mil).
b. Right clickPlaceRectangle (Fig. S42).
Figure S42. Place a rectangle…for the 555 Timer symbol.
c. Place it (left click), then zoom out and make the box a square of 20x20 smaller (50mil)
grid squares, by clicking and dragging the small green boxes on the rectangle’s edges, per Fig.
S43.
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Figure S43. Place a rectangle, make it a square.
d. For the pin names, we will use the signal names given in the datasheet, per Fig. S44
(except we will name the power pin as VCC, not VDD).
Figure S44. Pin names given in Datasheet.
e. Place the first pin: Right clickPlacePin (Fig. S45)…but then hit Tab key, before
placing, to edit the Properties. The first pin name to appear is the last one that was used. Here
we see GND.
Figure S45. Place pin.
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f. For GND, set the Designator = 1, for pin 1 (Fig. S45). Then hit Enter and place the
pin (left click) on the symbol per Fig. S46.
Figure S46. Place pin—name goes inside the box, pin number outside.
g. NOTE: We must place the name inside the box, and the pin number outside. Also note
the small “x” symbol on the tip of the pin (number side)—it means this is the end used to make
wiring connections.
h. After placing a pin, a new one appears (Fig. S46). Again, hit Tab before placing to
edit the Properties. Give this one the name DISCH, pin number 7, per Fig. S47. Hit Enter, but
before placing we must rotate it by using the Space bar. Then place as shown in Fig. S48.
Figure S47. Pin names we will use.
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Figure S48. Placement of DISCH (Discharge) pin.
i. Now continue placing all the pins per Fig. S47 to get final results as shown in Fig. S49.
To stop adding pins, hit the ESC key.
Figure S49. All pins placed and a “bubble” added to the RESET pin (for negative logic).
j. Add a circle to the RESET pin: Right clickPlaceCircle, and click twice to place it
as shown in Fig. S49. Since the RESET pin is actually negative logic (meaning that a logic zero
causes it to Reset the Timer), it is customary to add a “bubble” on the pin.
k. If mistakes are made, you can move a pin by clicking and dragging to change its
location. To edit a name or value, double click on the pin to bring up its Properties menu, then
edit as usual and hit Enter to finish.
l. Note that under the Projects pane, and under project my_big_blinky there is now a
Libraries entry for the Timer 555—both a pcb (Timer_555_Lib.PcbLib) and schematic
(Timer_555_Lib.SchLib), per Fig. S50.
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Figure S50. Libraries now appear for Timer_555_Lib—pcb and schematic.
m. Save your work: FileSave.
34. Place the Timer_555 Symbol within the Main Schematic and Make Connections
a. Open the my_big_blinky schematic, then click on Libraries tab (upper right of GUI)
and under the Libraries panel that opens select Timer_555_Lib.SchLib, per Fig. S51.
Figure S51. Selecting Timer_555 symbol from Libraries.
b. Click on Place 555 Timer button, but then hit Tab key before clicking to place it
c. Change Designator to IC1 (from IC?), then hit Enter and place…off to the side, since
components may need to be moved around to make room for it, per Fig. S52
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Figure S52. Initial Placement of Timer_555 symbol.
d. Use Figures S53 and S54 as a guide to make preliminary move of 555 Timer
1) Move a component by clicking, dragging/dropping it—green highlights or
green boxes indicate it's selected
2) Zoom in/out by holding Ctrl key and rolling the mouse wheel up/down
3) Move the whole schematic (“pan”) by holding down the Right mouse button
and then while holding (cursor becomes a hand), move the mouse in any
direction
3) Use Ctrl z to undo a move (or series of moves, by repeating)
4) Move a group of components by clicking, holding and dragging and making
a box around the desired components, and releasing. Then click within the
highlighted area and drag/drop into desired location
Figure S53. Imitating the 555 Timer connections from the Figure of Section 2.1.
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Figure S54. Preliminary Placement of 555 Timer.
35. Wire the Components Together and to the Timer_555 Symbol
a. Main menu: PlaceWire (or Ctrl-W) to start the wire command…an X will now
appear near the cursor (along with related “cross-hairs”) and will snap to the grid as cursor
moves. (Before wiring, you may want to set snap grid to 50mil, or 100 mil by hitting the g key
as needed to select the desired grid.)
b. Hover the cursor for example so as to align the X to the top of resistor R1 (Fig. S54),
then click on it to attach a wire, then release and move the cursor so as to move the X to bottom
of the nearby VCC terminal and click again to complete the wire.
c. Hit ESC key to end the wire command.
d. An additional GND symbol needs to be connected to pin 1 of 555 Timer. Just select
one of the existing GNDs, then copy/paste (Ctrl C, Ctrl V) and move the cursor (with a new
GND now “stuck” to it) to the bottom of the pin 1 “whisker” and click the top of the GND to pin
1’s bottom. This will connect (wire) them together, per Fig. S55.
e. To delete a wire, just click to select (will be highlighted in green), then hit Delete key.
Figure S55. Connecting a GND to 555 Timer’s Pin 1.
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e. Finish moving and wiring everything (thus far) together to approximately match Fig.
S56.
Figure S56. Wired Together, Thus Far.
3.4.6 Creating Your Own Symbol—Battery Holder ********************
Repeat steps similar to those for the Timer 555 symbol (Section 3.4.5)
Create a New PCB Library
36. Hover over project name, right-click to select Add New to ProjectPCB Library (Fig. S57)
Figure S57. Creating a new PCB Library—Start.
a. A new, blank PCB library sheet opens along with a PCB Library panel, per Fig. S58.
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Figure S58. Creating a new PCB Library—Sheet opens.
c. Double-click on the PCBCOMPON_1… in the left panel, and change the name as
shown in Figure S59 to Batt_Holder and description as shown. Click OK.
Figure S59. Naming the new PCB Library.
d. Reset the origin (white circle with X through it) to have dx = dy = 0.00 mil (see box in
upper left of sheet), when the cursor is centered on the origin. Do this by hovering right on
center of the origin and then hitting the Insert key on the keyboard. See results in Figure S60.
The origin now is our reference point for movement of the cursor, in terms of dx, dy.
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Figure S60. Origin “reset” so as to have dx = dy =0.00 mil when cursor on origin.
37. Save this library: FileSave and name it as Battery_Holder_Lib.PcbLib, per Figure S61.
Figure S61. Save the PCB Library
38. Examine the Battery Holder Datasheet as a Guide for Creating the Footprint (Fig. S62)
Figure S62. Battery Holder Datasheet
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a. Two electrical pins—separation = 393 mils (see upper left, Mounting Detail)
b. Diameter of those 2 pins, estimated = 35 mils, per drawing
c. So will use drill hole size = 40 mils for center pin (“positive contact” = VCC)
d. Use 70 mils for pin with “shoulder” tab above pin (“negative contact” = ground)
e. Three “legs” = 62 mils, so use drill hole size = 70 mils (see lower right of dwg.)
f. Place 3 legs on circle = 375 mils
g. Note outer circle of holder, diameter = 593 mils, will draw as measurement guide
for holes
h. “Arm” extending from outer circle, width = 196 mils, centered about center pin
i. Note from overhead view (plus end view)—lower edge of arm centers on 2 lower legs
j. We will follow a previous design as a guide to layout the above details (Fig. S62a)
Figure S62a. Previous Design of Battery Holder footprint
Create Footprint: Step 1—Place the Pads
39. First set snap-grid to 5 mils: hover cursor over schematic, hit G key, select 5 mils (Fig. S63)
a. Note that “Grid: 5 mil
(Hotspot Snap)” should now appear in lower left of window
Figure S63. Set snap-grid to 5 mils.
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
40. Place first pad (but don’t click down at first), by right-clicking in the sheet and selecting
PlacePad, per. Fig. S64…You can also use the key sequence p p (place pad).
Figure S64. Preparing to place a pad.
a. Click Tab before placing, to bring up the Properties panel—see Fig. S65.
1) Note that I scrolled down in the Properties panel to see more hole-size info.
Figure S65. Using Tab key to bring up Properties, before placing pad.
b. Recall, this is a Multi-Layer pad, it has a pad (metal) on the top layer, a hole, and a pad
on the bottom layer. Normally the hole will be plated with metal by the manufacturer.
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c. Set the hole size = 40 mil, and size/shape = 70 mil as shown (Fig. S66)
d. Set/keep designator = 2, consistent with the previous design.
Figure S66. Using Tab key to bring up Properties, before placing pad.
e. Hit Enter and click to place the pad right on the origin, per Figure S67.
Figure S67. Pad for pin 2 placed on Origin, (& pad mode automatically prepares pad for pin 3).
f. Hit Esc key to cancel placing pad 3 (auto-generated)
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
41. Place pad 1 (per datasheet) 393 mils to the right
a. Let’s zoom out to see enough room for placing the other pad
1) Zoom out: Ctrl + roll mouse wheel
2) Pan: Click right mouse button, touch to schematic, and move while holding
b. Verify that cursor hovering over Origin is still at x = y = dx = dy = 0.0
1) Per upper-left measurement box (Fig. S68)
2) Use Insert key again (while hovering cursor over Origin) if not, to reset it
Figure S68. Verifying Origin is reset to 0:0 position.
c. Hit G key and set grid snap to 1mil (although 5mil may be not so “sensitive”)
d. Place pad: hit p p keys, then Tab to bring up Properties, before clicking down to place
e. Set drill hole size = 70 mils, Shape x/y = 90 mils, 90 mils (Fig. S69)
Figure S69. Setting Properties of pad/pin 1.
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
f. Hit Enter to close Properties and move pad 1 to right by 393 mils (using measurement
window + yellow guide line that pops up, per Fig. S70)…click to place it per the figure.
Figure S70. Placement of pad/pin 1—393 mils to right of pad 2.
Create Footprint: Step 2—Create Outline (on Top Overlay) as Guide for 3 Leg Vias
Create outline like previous design: from Figure S62a and Datasheet details
42. *** Inner Circle
a. Select yellow Top Overlay layer, from bottom tabs of schematic
b. Set grid snap = 5mils (using G key)…Reset Origin also, if necessary.
c. Right mouse click: PlaceArc and make a circle about the Origin (pad 2), of
diameter = 375mils (radius = 187.5milsuse 187mils), per Figures S71a, b
1) Click yellow cross-hair on Origin—and release—then drag outward as circle
grows to proper radius per Measure box.
2) Click once to fix the radius, then click-hold, slowly release to finish (+ Esc)
Figure S71a, b. Placement of arc as circle for guiding placement of vias for 3 legs.
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43. *** Outer Circle
a. Repeat the above steps and place a circle with diameter = 593 mils
(radius = 296.5 mils, use 296mils, may need to set grid-snap = 1mil), per Fig. S72
1) Note when hovering over the finished circle (“net”), that the radius is reported
in the lower tray of the tool display: “Net Radius 296…”
Figure S72. Placement of outer circle.
44. *** Center Line (horizontal)
a. Set grid snap = 5mils
b. PlaceLine to make a horizontal line = 750 mils (per datasheet dwg.), draw from
left to right (Fig. S72).
1) Before clicking down, you can hover the cross-hairs over the left most
edge then hit Insert to Reset the Origin (and thus see the Measure box count L to R)
Figure S72. Placement of center line.
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
45. *** Create “Arm” to right of circle
a. Set grid snap = 1mil
b. PlaceLine to make right edge of box-like “arm” = 196 mils (per datasheet dwg.),
1) First, draw from centerline up: 196mils/2 = 98 mils,
2) Then, click at the 98mils point and drag left to intersect the outer circle
3) Click again and hold, then release and hit Esc to end command (Fig. S73a)
Figure S73a, b. Placement of upper and lower arm lines.
c. Repeat above steps to create lower arm lines (Fig. S73b)
1) Can also copy/paste by selecting segments and using Ctrl-C (copy),
Ctrl-V (paste)
46. *** Place 3 Vias (for component legs) on inner circle per datasheet
a. Set grid snap = 1mil
b. For ease of guide-line accuracy, change the inner circle’s width to 5mils, per Fig. S74
(Select, then R-mouseProperties, Enter to close/complete)
(** Verify/set inner circle radius = 375/2 = 187.5 mils—select circle, and Properties if not)
Figure S74. Change inner circle line width to 5mils.
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c. PlaceVia, hit Tab key before placing, make sure Diam. = 70mils (Fig. S75)
(Then Enter and click to place—off to the side initially)
Figure S75. Place 70 mil Via off to side temporarily.
d. Use PlaceLine to create 3 sets of 1 mil cross-hair-like guide-lines per datasheet
1) Zoom in and use auto-guide wire (white) to align lower right, horizontal
guide-line with center of “arm” line; make (temporary) guide-lines wider
than via (Fig. S76). To finish line, L-mouse click, then R-mouse click.
Figure S76a, b, c. Placing temporary “cross-hair-like” guide-lines for Via placement.
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Figure S77a, b, c, d. Placing guide-lines for lower-left Via placement.
Figure S78a, b, c. Placing guide-lines for top-center Via placement; plus final guide-line.
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e. Move first Via into lower-right location, using auto-cross-hairs to guide (Fig. 79a)
f. Use PlaceVia to place last two Vias (Fig. 79b).
Figure S79a, b. Placing 3 Vias on temporary guide-lines.
g. Select and delete the temporary cross-hair guide-lines, and center line (Fig. 80).
Figure S80. Guide-lines removed.
Create a Schematic Symbol (to go with the footprint of the Battery Holder)
47. Create a new schematic library…as we did previously for a new pcb library.
a. Hover cursor over project name, right clickAdd New to ProjectSchematic
Library (Fig. S81).
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
Figure S81. Add new Schematic Library for Battery Holder symbol.
b. A new Schematic Library sheet opens, with a default-named component.
c. Double click on the default name, Component_1 to open its Properties panel.
d. Fill in the values per Fig. S82
1) Note that the “?” on “B?” will give auto increment when parts are placed.
Figure S82. Values for the new component/symbol.
48. Select a model for the footprint—we want the one we just created.
a. Click on Add in the Footprint section of the Properties panel (Fig. S83, lower right)
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
b. A PCB Model menu opens, click on Browse, and navigate to select the one shown in
Fig. S83.
c. Click OK and then OK.
Figure S83. Selecting a footprint model.
d. The results should appear as shown in Figure S84.
Figure S84. The selected footprint model now appears in the Properties panels.
e. FileSave, and name it Battery_Holder_Lib.SchLib
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49. Click in the blank schematic to close the Properties panel, note what is updated (Fig. S85).
Figure S85. New Schematic Library values and footprint selection completed.
50. Create the schematic symbol—imitating Fig. S86.
Figure S86. Schematic symbol example for Battery Holder.
a. Set grid = 50mil
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
b. PlaceRectangle…as shown: 8 squares wide, 9 squares high
c. PlaceLine…to place 2 medium (thickness) blue lines (per Fig. S86)
1) Before clicking each line in place, use Tab key to open Properties
2) Select Line = Medium (Fig. 87)
3) Click on (black) color square to open colors palette and choose the blue color
as shown, then Enter…and click to start line, click again, then Esc to
end line…Esc once more to stop placing lines.
Figure S87a, b. Selecting Line properties.
d. PlacePin, use Tab to access Properties, then when placing use Space bar to rotate
1) Recall: Signal names go inside the rectangle, and end of pin with an “x” goes
outside (x means for connection)
2) Top pin:
3) Bottom pin:
Name = VCC, Designator = 1
Name = GND, Designator = 2
e. Save and close schematic symbol window
51. Note the 4 Libraries that now appear in the project (Fig. S88)
Figure S88. Four Libraries within my_big_blinky project.
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
52. Returning to the main schematic, now place the Battery Holder symbol
a. Click on the Libraries tab, and select Battery_Holder_Lib (Fig. S89)
Figure S89. Selecting the Battery_Holder Library and symbol for placement.
b. Select Place Battery_Holder, then before clicking down on schematic, hit Tab to
bring up the Properties, and set Designator = B1, then Enter, and place the
component. Right-mouse click (or Esc) to end the command.
c. Copy and paste existing VCC and GND symbols to connect to the Battery Holder
(Fig. S90)…my_big_blinky schematic is finished!
Figure S90. Finished schematic: my_big_blinky.
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***** Compiling and Preparing to Transfer to PCB *****
The following steps are based on Exercises 9 and 11 of training document given above:
Altium Essentials Exercises AD18_V1_Secured.pdf
Figure S91a, b, c. Training document—Chapters 9 and 11.
53. Before compiling, check/set-up Error Reporting settings
a. ProjectProject Options…to bring up Options menu (Fig. S92)
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
Figure S92a, b. Project Options menu and Error Reporting tab
b. On Error Reporting tab, click Set To Installation Defaults (lower left of menu), then
click Yes to confirm (Fig. S93)
Figure S93. Set Error Reporting to Installation Defaults
c. Click Connection Matrix tab, again click Set To Installation Defaults (lower left of
menu), then click Yes to confirm (Fig. S94)
Figure S94. Set Connection Matrix to Installation Defaults
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
d. Select Options tab and disable options (per training doc.) as in Fig. S95, click OK
Figure S95. Set/Unset Options
54. Compile: ProjectCompile PCB Project… (Fig. S96)
Figure S96. Compile
a. If compile passes, click Messages panel (lower right) to confirm (Fig. S97):
Figure S97a, b. Compile passed, message.
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
55. Transfer to PCB
a. Tools >> Footprint Manager…select all on left using Shift and click (Fig. S98)
Figure S98. Footprint Manager selections.
b. Select all on right (Fig. S99)
Figure S99. View Footprints to validate.
c. Click Validate…result should be as in Fig. S100
Figure S100. Validated Footprints.
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
d. Close the Footprint Manager
********************
4. PCB Layout Design—in Altium Designer 2018
4.1 Initial Transfer from Schematic to PCB
1. Initial Transfer…since all Footprints valid
a. Right-click the project name in the Projects Panel and select
Add New to ProjectPCB
b. Save the PCB and name it: my_big_blinky.PcbDoc (Fig. P1)
Figure P1. New PCB document.
c. From within the main schematic, click DesignUpdate PCB Document… (Fig. P2)
Figure P2. Update PCB document.
d. Click the Execute Changes button in the lower left dialog (Fig. P3)
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Figure P3. Engineering Change Order—Before Execute Changes.
e. Results should be as in Fig. P4
Figure P4. Engineering Change Order—After Execute Changes.
f. Click Only Show Errors…should get blank window (Fig. P5), then Close window
Figure P5. Engineering Change Order—Only Show Errors, result with no errors.
g. Can now see components (“rubber-banded”) in small window to right (Fig. P6)
…ready to be arranged (laid out)
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PCB Tutorial—big_blinky (Part 1—Schematic), Dr. Rod Foist, s2019.1
Figure P6. PCB drawing.
h. Pan and zoom to show black “default board outline” and components (Fig. P7)
Figure P7. Default board outline and components.
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