5 Design
5.3 Schematic design

Before creating a schematic, the first step will be create a new project folder for our design. This folder will house both our schematic and PCB design files.

The PCB design process starts by drawing the schematic diagram of your electronic circuit into the software you have chosen. The schematic drawing controls the project, so accuracy and completeness are critical for success. A schematic includes all information that is necessary for the proper operation of the circuit. Thus, a schematic should include adequate design details, such as pin numbers, names, component values, ratings, and interconnections between electronic components.

The schematic symbol of each electronic component has a PCB footprint associated with it. The PCB footprint will define the component’s physical dimensions and placement of the copper pads or through holes. Embedded within the schematic symbol of the component is the manufacturer part number used to determine price and specifications. The package specification determines the size of the footprint for each component.

Before generating a PCB, the symbols are mapped to component footprints and the symbol interconnections are converted to a netlist that specifies the connections between the component footprints in the layout process [10].

Fig. 4. PCB Schematic.