Ugh Design Rules

Well, everything fun must come to an end eventually. This is the point where you realize that the routing that you thought was easy could possibly turn into a nightmare. Did it? Absolutely, it did.

Before finishing the PCB, we have to check the design rules in order to make sure each pin and via is properly connected. Thankfully, KiCad made the process a lot easier as it allowed me to pinpoint exactly what tracks were protruding into different areas or were unconnected.

But to end things off, just to make the PCB look even slightly better, I added text. Another reason to switch from EasyEDA to KiCad. One thing I've noticed through the process of making this project is that I'm starting to like using KiCad more. I'm never turning back to EasyEDA! Except that setting the footprints for the parts was quite annoying (you win this round, EasyEDA).

Routing the PCB

This, at least in my opinion, was quite a big step up from setting up the schematic. For one, there are a lot more things to worry about, such as the placement of each component - to simplify the routing - vias, copper layers, and more.

Speaking of copper layers, since this was my first time using EasyEDA (yes, I realize I overused that statement quite a lot), I did not realize that copper layers could be used to simplify the routing process by allowing me to place vias anywhere in the layer's vicinity. That really simplified routing,
and I wish I had learned that sooner (curse EasyEDA).

However much to my surprise, routing was actually not as bad as I originally thought it would be. It was quite fun, and I enjoyed the 4 hours I spent doing it! Does my PCB look really ugly? Yes. Does it probably not work because I routed something wrong? Absolutely. But did I have fun making it? Kind of, yeah.

Anyway, enough with the yap. Routing 10/10 would definitely recommend.

Creating the Schematic

This project was not only one of my first times creating a PCB, but also my first time using KiCAD. My first project - the ESP32 Devboard - was made using EasyEDA, so using KiCad was a completely new experience for me.

The Schematic itself was not very complicated, but it took time to get used to the new hotkeys and configurations that come with the switch from EasyEDA to KiCad. I must say, however, that KiCad's aesthetics are much nicer, and can be easier to use if practiced enough.

While making the schematic, I also made sure to learn the key concepts that come with it, such as Differential Pairs - which were previously unused in EasyEDA (at least for my project) - copper layers, decoupling capacitors and more. Looking at the datasheets for each component also helped understand how each part was used in the puck.