How to Make a Circuit Board (Beginner's Guide)

this is the first pcb i ever designed a

year and a half ago i didn't even know

how to use transistors so let's talk

about what you need to learn to get

started with electronics design all the

channels videos and playlists i

mentioned will be linked below in the

description for easy reference later on

first we'll go over the uses of some

basic electronic components then we'll

discuss prototyping on a breadboard to

test a circuit next we'll hand solder

our circuit on perf board to make it

permanent after that we'll talk about

kicad a software used for designing pcbs

and finally we'll go over the pcb

ordering process so you can get your own

boards made quickly and inexpensively by

the end of your journey you'll have

learned the basics of electronics design

and be on your way to creating all kinds

of custom projects number one learning

basic electronics designing electronics

involves understanding a few key

concepts these include voltage series

versus parallel circuits the difference

between ac and dc and more you'll also

need to know how basic components work

resistors capacitors diodes leds

transistors all these things are

components that you combine in various

ways to build a circuit they are the

building blocks of electronics as an

ultra brief overview resistors are used

to limit the flow of electric current

capacitors are used to store electric

charge kind of like a battery diodes

allow current to flow in only one

direction light emitting diodes or leds

are diodes that also emit light and

transistors act like an electrically

operated switch you give them an

electrical signal and they turn on to

allow current flow or turn off to

prevent current flow we combine all of

these with buttons switches and more to

create anything you can imagine to

troubleshoot circuits we use a

multimeter to check voltages and

currents individual component values

electrical continuity and more numerous

guides have been written about the

fundamental principles of electronics

and the components involved i recommend

basic electronics by randy on

instructables read it through to get a

crash course in what you'll want to know

before diving into circuits when you're

comfortable with the basics the learning

circuit playlist from element 14 the

engineering mindset channel the learn

electronics channel and the great scott

channel will help you further expand

your knowledge if you're looking to use

arduino boards in your projects check

out the arduino workshop playlist from

core electronics the how-to mechatronics

channel and the dronebot workshop

channel number two prototyping on a

breadboard solderless breadboards come

in various sizes and allow you to easily

connect components together to build and

test circuits while there are slight

variations they are typically

electrically connected in the following

format power rails altogether and inner

channels connected with a gap in the

middle for integrated circuits or ics

you add components by pushing their

leads into the breadboard holes when you

place the lead of another component in

the same channel you have electrically

connected the two in the same way as if

you had touched or twisted the leads

together directly after you've drawn a

circuit design called a schematic you

can easily test your circuit on a

breadboard to check that it does what

you intended you'll start by creating

simple circuits like an led on off

button and as you get more and more

comfortable you'll learn tons of

different ways to use these same

components in all manner of

configurations science buddies how to

use a breadboard video is a complete

guide to breadboards the types available

how they work and methods for common

troubleshooting you can find some

entry-level project examples at the end

of the basic electronics guide number

three hand soldering on perf board

eventually you'll want to make one of

your projects more permanent instead of

leaving it on a bulky breadboard where

it could fall apart we do that by

placing the components and wires onto

perf board creating a hand-wired circuit

that is useful as a prototype or even in

certain permanent projects if you're

only making a one-off perf boards are

blank boards with individually plated

holes they can be plated on one side or

both i prefer using two-sided plating to

maximize my circuit design options no

hole is connected to another until you

bridge them using solder a wire or a

component lead they can be cut by

scoring them with a utility knife then

snapping them on the score line or by

using a rotary tool with a cutoff wheel

if you use a rotary tool make sure you

wear a respirator and clean up

afterwards as the dust created while

cutting can be harmful to your lungs

after adding your components bend the

leads so they stay in place you'll use a

metal alloy called solder to make the

connections the board and component lead

are heated using a soldering iron then

solder is applied to mechanically and

electrically connect the component to

the board use proper ventilation to

avoid breathing in the fumes soldering

takes a steady hand and some practice so

be patient with yourself while you learn

adafruit industries has a great overview

of the process and wormy's soldering

crash course goes into more detail with

plenty of tips and tricks for beginners

as for equipment i use a hakko fx triple

hd soldering iron it heats up quickly

has an incredibly flexible cable and

many aftermarket tips exist due to its

popularity including sets used for

melting threaded inserts into 3d printed

parts check the description for links to

all the equipment i use for soldering

number four learning kai-cat eventually

you'll want to make something on a

smaller board or turn your circuit into

a real product hand-wired boards aren't

ideal for this due to their larger size

and the time it takes to make them

instead you'll want to create a printed

circuit board or pcb like this one these

are the ones you find in your laptop

cell phone and basically all commercial

electronics they have really small

components that mount directly to the

surface of the board rather than through

holes in it giving them the name surface

mount device or smd components

after designing and testing your circuit

you'll need to learn an electronic

design automation program or eda in

other words pcb design software i use

kycad because it's free and has plenty

of power for hobbyists you'll use kicad

to recreate the circuit you made on

breadboard or perfboard this time in a

digital format that a pcb manufacturers

machines can understand you can

customize everything the shape of the

board the placement of the components

the silk screened labels and even the

size of the individual solder pads i

highly recommend you learn kycad by

following the getting to blinky 5.0

course from contextual electronics as it

breaks down everything from start to

finish you can find the course on

youtube however i suggest using their

website instead since it includes all

the videos as well as links to relevant

images reference pages and downloads

number five ordering circuit boards from

this video sponsor jlc pcb they make

high quality boards at low costs with

quick turnaround times i would know

because i ordered these boards from them

to test out the process start by going

to jlcpcb.com hwn make sure to use the

hwn extension as it gives you some free

coupons and helps out the channel at the

same time upload the zip file you

created at the end of getting to blinky

and you'll see your circuit board pop up

soon after scroll down to customize your

board color

quantity and all kinds of other settings

you can even have jlc pcb assemble your

boards for you to save you soldering

time later on

search their parts database to find the

ones you want

and use the part numbers to create a

bill of materials file

after that generate the part orientation

file using kai-cad and upload both files

to the order page

check the links in the description for

the official write-ups on how to create

these files

once they're added you'll see an image

of your circuit board containing the

parts

if some of them are misaligned don't

worry jlc pcb engineers will check over

the design prior to production and

contact you if they find any issues

choose your shipping method then submit

your order to the queue apply any

relevant coupons submit your payment

then sit back and wait for your boards

to arrive if you'd like you can track

them every step of the way by going to

your order history

and that's the process you're left with

the professional circuit board you can

use for your own builds or in products

you intend to sell to give you an idea

of what's possible i've used the skills

i described to automate the movement of

my desk add reactive lights and sound to

cornhole boards and make a wirelessly

controlled quad barrel air cannon among

other things

remember all the resources i've

mentioned are linked in the description

for convenient reference later on i hope

this guide has been useful for you if it

has and you'd like to help me make more

of these videos there are several things

you can do the most direct way is by

supporting the channel on patreon you

can also like comment on and share any

of my videos as well as subscribe to the

channel

finally you can place an order with

jlcpcb using the link in the description

as it shows them that their sponsorship

is working if you choose to support me

in any of these ways from the bottom of

my heart thank you i love making these

videos i'm just getting started and i

have so much to share with you please

consider subscribing for more projects

and most importantly thank you for

watching

you