My
Background with Eagle...
I have been an active Eagle user for around
twelve years. I first started using Eagle with
the early Windows releases and also served as
a beta tester for many of the early Windows
releases. Since this time I have created thousands
of library components and packages. Some of
my libraries and ULP's are available on the
CadSoft
web site. You can download my complete custom
public library, script and ULP sets on the downloads
page.
I have strong analog and high current layout
experience (analog, audio, power supplies, amplifiers,
switchers, drivers, etc). I have completed many
digital micro controller based projects using
a variety of processors by Atmel, Motorola,
Microchip, Cirrus and others. Some of my clients
produce thousands of boards per year in consumer
type products such as fire/gas/vapor alarms
and require mounting data for automated mounting
equipment.
Most of my clients are small companies or
independent contract engineers that need fast
professional layout services with attention
to detail. I approach each design as an individual
work of engineering art no matter how big or
small. Some clients require special cost reduction
techniques during layout to minimize assembly,
production, fabrication and/or testing costs.
In any case, I always work closely with clients
and strive to achieve the best professional
quality work possible.
In all of my designs careful grounding and
power rail layout techniques are always observed.
Good PCB layout requires a fundamental understanding
of the electrical design itself as well any
special associated considerations (resistive,
capacitive, inductive, current loading, common
mode, differential, etc). I can work closely
with your hardware and mechanical engineers
to achieve the best layout and performance possible
for your design.
Copper Pours
A good PCB designer must fully understand the
use of polygons and the art of flowing copper
pours. Nearly all power supply, regulator, high
current paths, high-speed digital and noise
sensitive circuits require the use of copper
pours. Polygons and flow control work great
in Eagle but mastering them requires experience.
Modem SMD packages commonly make use of copper
pours for thermal dissipation. Experienced PCB
designers understand the proper use of polygons,
creation of isolation regions, ranking and other
design rule parameters that control the addition,
subtraction and isolation regions of polygons.
Some examples of fluid flowing copper pours
are shown to the right.
Silkscreen Art
Silkscreen legends and artwork require careful
attention to achieve legible results. Typically
most manufacturers require at least 7 mil lines
to guarantee legible results. Unfortunately,
the default Eagle libraries ship with all sorts
of line width values. Sometimes upgrading to
a newer release causes unexpected changes or
makes modification difficult (when the symbol,
device or library name has been renamed, changed
or removed). Although there are methods to work
around these issues, I decided to address the
problem directly and modify all of the default
libraries. For this reason I like to work closely
with clients when creating, editing or modifying
drawings and/or parts.
The Default Libraries
After the 4.0 release I decided to diverge
and create my own complete set of customized
libraries based on the default libraries. I
created ULP scripts to modify all of the default
library silkscreen widths and text sizes globally.
Afterwards, I spent a great deal of time hand
editing LOTS of parts. Additionally I have modified
nearly all of the IC packages and pad styles
to give consistent results and appearance. In
the process of working with clients I have added
hundreds of new components and created many
new libraries for commonly used modern parts.
Client specific or customized parts and components
are generally placed in a client/project specific
libraries if desired. Typically many of my clients
download a fresh copy of my working set libraries
and work with these during new project development.
Any component updates or new updates are easily
updated by exchanging modified libraries as
needed. I keep master online and offline backups
of everything available on my server. I also
have my own FTP server available for large file
transfers if needed.
Fabrication and Mechanical
Drawings
Fabrication drawings are provided in PDF format
with each project as part of the PCB order package.
The order package is a zipped archive that contains
the final Gerber, Excellon Drill, Fabrication
drawing and file documentation needed by the
PCB manufacturer. This file contains all the
information needed by a board house to quote
the board and place the PCB order.
Sample
Fabrication Drawing#1 (PDF Format)
Sample
Fabrication Drawing#2 (PDF Format)
The fabrication drawing specifies all the mechanical
and material requirements for board fabrication.
The copper weight, board thickness, solder mask
type, plating type, total number of layers,
etc, etc as specified by the fabrication drawing.
Schematic Capture
I can accept Eagle schematics directly and/or
create schematic captures from any printed or
hand drawings you may have. Some clients create
all of the schematics in Eagle and send for
final routing. Others send me printed or hand
drawings that I capture into Eagle. In most
cases schematic changes and part updates are
required during routing (changing gate orders,
updating symbols, net changes, silkscreen width,
legends, etc) so it is important to keep the
files in sync with clients when making any changes.
I typically send clients many periodic snapshots
during the day as work progresses for review,
feedback and approval.
Sample
Schematic Drawing#1 (PDF Format)
Sample
Schematic Drawing#2 (PDF Format)
Whatever your need, I will work with you to
get your drawings completed and routed in a
quick professional manner.
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