diy guide to make pcb in 2022

Hello everyone, if you are here, you have surely used or at least seen an Arduino , ESP8266 or some other microcontroller. Also, surely you have already wondered how to make a PCB, plate or electronic card, full of things that we like a lot and are essential to us when creating our Maker projects.

Even maybe you are already an expert and you need your project to include some sensor or component that your development board does not have. The time has come to learn how to make a PCB. However, there is a world of information on the web on how to do them, but we must start at the beginning.

The first thing is to use the protoboard (Bredboard) correctly, to assemble your prototype and check that it works correctly. Next is to pass that prototype to a pre-drilled or multipurpose card, where you must insert the various components (resistors, capacitors, IC, etc), wire them, and solder them. This will allow you to see the performance of your circuit as closely as possible to a professional production PCB.

Summarizing in this article you will learn:

  • use breadboard
  • Basic components used in electronic circuits
  • read schematics
  • Build circuits on breadboard
  • Assemble circuits in pre-drilled or multipurpose phenolic plates
  • solder components

Material to make a PCB from scratch

The first thing is to see the material that we are going to use throughout this article. Here I leave you with everything you need to follow this tutorial. Even if you don’t have a component, don’t wait to take action.

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Take any other similar or with superior or inferior benefit. You have to act; this is the only way to bring your project to a successful conclusion.

  • 1 Breadboard (400 or 800 points)
  • 3 Led 5mm (Colour indistinct)
  • 1 9v battery
  • 1 9v battery clip
  • 3 100k potentiometer (all 3 must be of the same value)
  • 1 RGB LED
  • 5 Resistors of 470 ohms
  • 5 1K resistors
  • 1 x 5*9 Perforated PCB Board (Preferably with single and double-sided holes)
  • 1 Soldering iron (soldering iron) of 40w
  • 1 Rosin core welding
  • 1 Pin Strip with 40
  • Wires (various)

How to manufacture a PCB: assembly of the prototype

Let’s start with the minimum viable prototype. This will allow us two very important things. The first thing is to gain experience with some of the components and tools. The second thing is to get something functional as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Do not forget that you are learning and that is why it is important to get results as soon as possible. It does not matter if everything does not work correctly; that is not the goal. The goal is to move forward and learn by doing.

Let’s start with the most basic, the use of the protoboard.

Use of breadboard

The breadboard is a plate that at first glance shows many holes, in which the terminals (legs) of the electronic components are inserted. But beware, we must be careful where we place things, since inside, this plate has pathways (roads) that connect some holes with others.

Through Hole and SMD Components

There are two types of components that can be mounted on PCB boards, True hole and SMD.

True Hole: They are all the electronic, passive or active components that have ” legs ” and that are soldered to the plates using the holes that were previously made for this purpose.

SMD: They are passive or active components that are soldered to the plates using pads that were previously manufactured; these types of components are the most used today.

Placing components on PCB Board

Next we will do some practical exercises that will allow you to reaffirm the previous concepts.

Exercise 1 Turn on a Hello World Led

We are going to build our first circuit, which is made up of a 470 ohm resistor, a Led (any color) and the 9v battery. We start with the schematic diagram of the circuit, which is composed of 3 elements mentioned above; it is easy to locate each of them.

9v led schematic

The Led and the battery have polarity, that is, they have Positive or Anode (+) and Negative or Cathode (-) poles. It is important to have both poles well located, to avoid a short circuit. On the battery they are identified by the symbols (+) for positive and (-) for negative.

For the Led, the longest Leg (Terminal) is positive and the shortest is negative. The resistor has no polarity, so you can place it interchangeably.

If we translate this electrical diagram to an electrical circuit we obtain the following. The circuit may vary depending on which breadboard you have and how you connect the components.

Led breadboard 9v

Guide yourself with the image to place each of the components, inserting the leg (terminal) in the hole of the Breadboard or protoboard. Start with the Led, then the resistor, leaving the battery last.