PCB Design & Layout Services

Venture Electronics has experienced PCB design engineers to provide our global customers with high quality, multi-layer, high speed, high density, and high precision PCB design services, including high-speed backplane design, high-speed A/D PCB design, HDI, FPC, Rigid FPC, SI/PI simulation, EMC/EMI design, etc., from PCB schematic design, PCB layout, PCB manufacturing, SMT/DIP assembly, testing, verification, and certification, etc. to meet the diversified technical and service needs of our customers.

PCB (Printed Circuit Board)

Printed circuit boards (printed wiring boards, PCBs) are specialized flexible printed circuits made of layers of materials containing different conducting metals laminated onto a non-conductive material, typically fiberglass. In another definition, it is a substrate of an electronic circuit made of a thin flat sheet of insulating material with a pattern of holes and copper traces on or to which electronic components are mounted and on which manufacturers print the interconnections between the surface mount components and surface mount device. The metals are usually copper layers and PCB traces attached to them on which manufacturers place electronic components and connect wires via solder.

It is an essential part of almost every electronic device or machine people use, including computers, cellphones, medical devices, industrial machines, wiring, industrial control, etc. Its job is to hold and electrically connect most of the other metal things and parts that go into the gadgets of the devices or the machines. It can also track signals from one point to another by signal power traces and make electrical connections between these electronic components. It provides a cost-effective and straightforward way to create complex systems by connecting chip components and single-board layout computers. Some examples of its features are capacitors, resistors, and integrated circuits (ICs).

In the PCB industry (printed circuit board), many different PCB design tools and database solutions are available for PCB designers including any PCB layout tool. Also, a wide range of PCB options that a user can use for different types of projects. Designers could design large and small-scale PCBs with the help of any kinds of PCB CAD programs or PCB Layout Software during the design process and PCB manufacturing by the PCB manufacturer. The PCB has gained widespread popularity due to its low cost and ease of assembly, yet being highly effective. Typically, a PCB is composed of multiple layers.

PCB Layout

PCB layout process is the process of designing a printed circuit board layout. This involves breaking down a circuit into its components and drawing how these will be placed onto a substrate. This component placement process includes arranging and routing the electrical components and interconnections on a substrate material to construct the PCB board outline. The design of each element is passed from an electronic drawing package to a CAM processor that can output data for manufacturing via CNC milling machines by the PCB manufacturers. The circuit board designs involve several other steps too. These steps are cloning the schematic and schematic symbols into a netlist (a list of interconnections between electrical devices, holding electrical properties and electrical characteristics), usually in GDSII format. In addition, laying out the components on the pattern image of the PCB layout editor and routing copper traces on the PCB using pre-planned copper shapes in the copper layer. Some special PCB design rules have to be considered during those steps. 

Manufacturers can use more advanced building techniques, part selection, and component layout using PCBs for complex integrated circuits. Using light-emitting diode (LED) boards is a popular choice for prototype PCBs as it allows a circuit to produce desired results quickly. 

The PCB or printed circuit board consists of integrated circuits and parts of any electrical equipment or product. It includes the processor, power supply, power plane, memory chips, Wi-fi chips, voltage regulator, and other parts assembled onto a ground plane or a flat surface. The PCB board shape contains connection points for components and enables current flow between these components. The schematic diagram of a PCB clearly shows all connections and component placement on a PCB, including passive devices such as resistors, capacitors, inductive devices, and others. In contrast, the layout refers to the actual pattern in which manufacturers place the components. PCB designer designs this schematic diagram through one of the best PCB design software, the computer-aided designs tools (CAD).

A. PCB Design Rules

Based on circuit performance, also should consider the components placed neatly, beautiful, easy to test, and the mechanical side of the board. And the location of the socket, etc., also needs to be carefully considered.

Component layout’s rationality is the basis of designing a quality PCB diagram. Mainly five requirements for component layout are installation, force, heat, signal, and aesthetic requirements:

• Installation

Refers to the specific application to smoothly install the board into the chassis, housing, slot without space interference, short circuit, and other accidents. Make the designated connector in the chassis or housing a series of basic requirements in the selected location.

• Force

The Circuit board should withstand the installation and work with various external forces and vibrations. For this reason, the board should have a reasonable shape, the board of a variety of holes (screw holes, shaped holes) in a proper arrangement. The general hole and the board edge distance should be at least more significant than the diameter of the hole. Note also that the weakest part of the plate caused by the shaped hole should have sufficient bending strength. Board directly “extended” out of the equipment shell connector especially to be reasonably fixed to ensure the long-term use of reliability.

• Heat

For high-power, serious heat-generating devices, in addition to ensuring the heat dissipation conditions, also should pay attention to the placement of the appropriate location. Especially in the precision analog system, pay extra attention to the temperature field generated by these devices on the fragile preamplifier circuit’s adverse effects. Generally speaking, the big high power part should be made into a separate module and take specific thermal isolation measures between the signal processing circuit.

• Signal

Manufacturers need to consider signal interference the most critical factor in PCB layout design. Several of the most fundamental aspects are: weak signal circuits and robust signal circuits are separated or even isolated; AC part and DC part of the separation; high-frequency part and low-frequency part of the separation; attention to the direction of the signal lines; ground arrangement; appropriate shielding, filtering, and other measures. These are repeatedly emphasized in many treatises and will not be repeated here.

• Beauty

Not only to consider the neat and orderly placement of components but also to consider the beautiful and smooth alignment. As the general layman sometimes more emphasis on the former, as a one-sided evaluation of the merits of the circuit design, to the product’s image, the performance requirements are not demanding to prioritize the former. However, in high-performance situations, where manufacturers must use dual panels and package the circuit board inside, which is usually invisible, priority should be given to the aesthetics of alignment.

B. General Design Capabilities

Chip companies, communication, industrial control, automotive electronics, aerospace, scientific research, medical, consumer electronics, etc.

C. Design software

We are committed to using leading software systems to complement our design and production processes to ensure that your PCBs benefit from the best and most powerful tools available.

• Protel/Protel 99se.
• Altium Designer.
• Protel DXP.
• Cadence allegro.
• Mentor PADS.
• Mentor Xpedition.
• Mentor WG.

D. PCB Design and Layout Process

Simply speaking: Create board schematic via software > Create blank PCB layout > Schematic capture: Link to your PCB > Design your PCB stack > Define design rules and DFM requirements > Component mounting > Insert drill holes > Route trace > Add component labels and identifiers > Generate PCB Gerber file

Complicatedly speaking, Our PCB layout services proceed through the following steps.

Schematic Capturing: Schematic capture is the first PCB layout design development stage. The circuit design is drawn on paper and processed using a schematic editor in the computer. We use various types of schematic capture software for schematic capture. After we complete the schematic capture process, we store the complete electronic design in a file and convert it into a netlist file. This file has information about the interconnectivity of the component pins or circuit nodes present in the electronic circuit.

PCB Component Footprint Creation: The creation of component footprints helps determine the space available for placing components. Technicians choose the appropriate mounting solution based on component footprint creation. Our PCB designers use surface mount technology (SMT) or through-hole technology (THT) to place components on the physical board. Footprint creation helps determine the number of layers required on the board. We can provide PCBs from a single layer to 30 layers.

PCB Routing: This is the next stage after placing the components on the board. Our layout designers use the best PCB layout software to determine the physical connections between all the elements on the board. Then the software uses the netlist obtained from the schematic to route the physical connections. Our extensive experience and expertise allow us to incorporate analog and complex wiring into the PCB.

PCB Verification & Analysis: This is essential in any PCB manufacturing process. Our PCB layout designers ensure that the assembly is free from defects. We offer a full range of testing and inspection services. Here are our services:

In-circuit testing.

X-ray testing.

Function testing.

AOI.

E. Special components and layout design

In the PCB, special components are critical components in the high-frequency section, core components in the circuit, components susceptible to interference, high voltage components, high heat generation, and some heterogeneous components. The location of these special components needs to be carefully analyzed, do with the layout in line with the requirements of the circuit function and production needs. If manufacturers place them improperly, it will cause circuit compatibility and signal integrity problems, finally failing PCB design.

In the design of how to place special components, consider the size of the PCB. Too large PCB size, long printed lines, increased impedance, decreased resistance to dryness, and increased costs; too small, poor heat dissipation, and the proximity of the lines are susceptible to interference. After determining the size of the PCB, in determining the placement of special components square location. Finally, according to the functional unit, the layout of all parts. The location of special elements in the general design to comply with the following principles:

• Shorten the connection between high-frequency components as far as possible, and minimize their distribution parameters and mutual electromagnetic interference. Vulnerable elements should not be too close to each other, and input and output should be as far apart as possible.
• Some components or wires may have a high potential difference and should increase their distance to avoid accidental short circuits caused by the discharge. High voltage components should be placed out of hands’ reach as far as possible.
• Consider the weight of more than 15G components, available bracket to be fixed, and then welding. Manufacturers shouldn’t place those heavy and hot components on the board. They should put them on the backplane of the main chassis and consider the issue of heat dissipation. That is why thermal elements should be far away from the heat-generating components.
• The layout of adjustable components such as potentiometers, flexible inductor coils, variable capacitors, and micro-switches should consider the structural requirements of the actual trigger. Some frequently used switches should be placed in places easily accessible to the hand where the structure allows. The components’ layout is balanced, sparse, and dense, not top-heavy.

For the success of a product, one must focus on internal quality. Instead of considering the overall aesthetics, both are perfect toggles to become a successful product.

F. Layout check

• Does the board size match the drawing requirement processing size?
• Whether the layout is balanced, neatly arranged, and whether they are complete.
• Each level has no conflict, such as components and outer frame, and the need for the private printing of the level is reasonable.
• Is it convenient to use the commonly used components? Such as switches, plug-in boards inserted into the equipment, parts that technicians must frequently replace, etc.
• To check whether the distance between the thermal and heat-generating components is reasonable.
• To check whether the heat dissipation is good.
• Also, to check whether manufacturers need to consider the interference problem of the line.

G. Deliverables

• PCB source files.
• Gerber files.
• Assembly files.
• Stencil files.
• Structure files, etc.

H. How to get started?

Give us a call: 86 0755-85296692 * 603 or email us：support@venture-mfg.com

And you only need to provide:

• schematic diagram: a complete electronic file format that can produce the correct netlist (netlist).
• Mechanical dimensions: This is to supply the positioning device’s specific location and directional identification and identify the particular height limit location area.
• BOM list: mainly to determine and check the specified package information schematic diagram of the device.
• Wiring guide: It is primarily for the description of the specific requirements of unique signals, as well as the design requirements of impedance, stacking, etc.

I. Our purpose

We are providing customers with more valuable technical services and total solutions in the direction of Venture’s forward development. Further international development is the goal that Venture strives for it. Venture still focuses on the innovative development of electronic hardware and makes other efforts in PCB business and one-stop service to provide first-class service and create more value for customers.