pcb design software diptrace tutorial 8

I hope you all are good, in the previous series of tutorials I have discussed the staircase of the developing the printed circuit board (PCB) in the Eagle software and describe the basic commands employed at the beginners’ level. I am starting another series of tutorials in which I will discuss the PCB designing and basic commands of Diptrace which is popular PCB design software.

So sit back, keep reading and enjoy learning.

PCB Design Stairway in Diptrace:

In first tutorial on “Introduction to Eagle” I have discussed the complete PCB design method step by step. The PCB design method using all of the PCB design software is essentially the same the only difference among these software are UI and technique of using the basic commands, let us first review PCB design staircase.

Footprint in Diptrace:

As discussed earlier that as the schematic symbol of an electronic symbol which is to be used in circuit is essential to be present in the library of the software in the similar way it is also important that the footprint of the electronic component be present in the library of the software before developing the PCB that requires that component.

 

Netlist in the Diptrace:

 

Second thing is netlist of the schematics whose circuit board is to be developed. The netlist of the schematics defines which pin of one electronic component is to be connected to which pin of another component. The netlist along with the footprint of the component are loaded into the PCB design software.

Placement in Diptrace:

When initially the components are placed in the PCB design software the footprints are scattered and randomly placed. The components in the PCB are then arranged manually in order to meet the design rules.

Board Boundary:

When the components are placed the boundary of the board is selected which defines the dimension of the board on which the circuit is to be printed.

Routing:

The final step is the routing by which the copper etch is developed which connects the pin of one component to the pin another component. Routing is done keeping in mind the design rules specified by the client or by manipulating the expertise of the PCB design engineer.

Let us now discuss the GUI (Graphical User Interface) of the Diptrace software.

UI of Diptrace:

The User Interface of the Diptrace is as shown in the following image:

The UI consist of the Design Area on which the board is designed. The routing, placement, layers, objects, properties, 3-D options, Design Manager, drawing tools all are present in the User Interface of the Diptrace. The User Interface of the Diptrace is quite handy as all of the frequently used commands are present at front of the UI.

 

 

Routing Tools in Diptrace:

The routing tools of the Diptrace in the User Interface are as shown in the following figure:

 

 

 

 

Placement Tools in Diptrace:

The placement tools of the Diptrace are as show in the following figure:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Design Area in Diptrace:

The design area is the area where the board is designed:

 

Layers / Objects / Options:

The layers / objects and options window is as shown in the following figure:

 

 

Design Manager in Diptrace:

The design manager of the in Diptrace is as shown in the following figure:

The tools pointed in the above are frequently employed commands used at the beginners’ level.

pcb design software diptrace tutorial

 

That is all for now, I hope this tutorial(pcb design software diptrace tutorial) would be helpful for you. In the next tutorial I will discuss about how to use these commands while designing the layout of the PCB. Till then stay connected, keep reading and enjoy learning