On 28/11/09 19:36, DJ Delorie wrote: >> I've designed a circuit that I'm planning to home-fab, and as such, >> I've had to design my board using only a single layer. > > I do 2 and 4 layers at home, no reason why you can't do a double sided > board. Are you using sockets for all the ICs, or soldering them > directly? > > The regular autorouter had no problem routing on two layers with 10 > mil traces (one trace between pins), but you get bad power > distribution. If you could put a ground/power plane on the top, and > route the LED signals around the edges on that side, it will leave > more room for signals on the bottom. You might be able to get the > toporouter to route the rest of it then. > > You'll have to manually route any component that can't be soldered on > both sides, but that's not as much of a problem as you think. Also, > switching to SMT chips (like SOJ so they're not too small) makes it > easier to route signals underneath them (i.e. other side of the > board). Plus, less holes to drill :-) > > > _______________________________________________ > geda-user mailing list > geda-user@moria.seul.org > http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user Thanks for the reply!
I was under the impression multi-layer boards were extremely difficult to do properly at home. How would I go about doing that, exactly? I'm using sockets for the ICs. I'm not skilled enough to be certain I don't damage them when I solder directly onto the board. Besides, they make replacing parts and reusing ICs from old boards a lot easier. ;) Unfortunately, electronic components are difficult to get at a reasonable price where I live (the Netherlands), and SMD parts even more so. Since electronics is just a hobby of mine, it's not something I'm eager to spend a huge load of money on. I'm afraid that leaves SMDs out of the question, save for the most basic of parts, unless I shot myself in the foot by choosing a much more expensive supplier (big chains like Digi-Key have everything, but they're expensive when buying in low amounts [and I'm not planning on buying 1000 of a component when I need 6 or so!] and have high shipping costs). Also, how on Earth could I possibly get 10 mil traces /in between/ IC pins at home? Keep in mind that I don't have any ridiculously expensive soldering stations, laser printers, or anything to that effect. I'm just a poor 19-year-old student aspiring to become a mad scientist! :D _______________________________________________ geda-user mailing list geda-user@moria.seul.org http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user