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The electronics design process is split into two distinct design stages, the schematic design and printed circuit board (PCB) layout. See how to work on the schematic design portion of the process.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
6 min.
Transcript
00:03
An electronics design begins with a schematic, which serves as the blueprint, or logical representation, of the design.
00:12
It defines how all of the components are connected, and lays the groundwork for every successful circuit board.
00:19
In the Fusion Electronics workspace,
00:22
the Schematic Editor provides access to thousands of components and tools to help streamline the schematic design process.
00:30
In this example, you will design a schematic consisting of several components, including flashing LEDs.
00:38
To enter the Electronics Design workspace, from the Design workspace, on the Application bar,
00:45
click File and select New Electronics Design.
00:49
In the Data Panel, you see a new design, and on the Electronics toolbar, there are tools to link to an existing schematic, or create a new one.
00:60
Click Create New Schematic.
01:03
This opens a blank canvas in the Fusion Schematic Editor.
01:08
On the left side of the interface, you see several panels.
01:12
To begin placing components, on the Place Components panel,
01:17
use the drop-down list to select a library as the source for these components.
01:22
Here, the Tutorial - Fusion library is selected.
01:27
To confirm that the selected library is currently in use, click Open Library Manager,
01:33
and in the Library Manager dialog, begin typing “tutorial” in the search field.
01:39
Here, you see the Tutorial Fusion library, with In Use selected.
01:45
Close the Library Manager.
01:48
The first component that needs to be placed is the timer chip, which is available in multiple variants.
01:55
To view these options, on the Place Components panel, locate the row for the component,
02:01
and in the Variant column, click the drop-down list.
02:05
You can also preview the selected component at the bottom of the panel.
02:10
Here, a different variant is selected.
02:14
To place the component, drag it onto the canvas.
02:18
Before placing the component, you can right-click to rotate it by 90 degrees or click the middle mouse button to mirror the component.
02:28
Then, click to place the component on the canvas.
02:32
Notice that there is another component still attached to the pointer, enabling you to use the same component multiple times
02:39
—for example, when placing capacitors and resistors.
02:44
When you are finished placing the timer, press ESC to exit the command.
02:49
Next, add some passive components, which are parts that do not require an energy source to perform their functions.
02:58
For this example, place 4 resistors around the timer chip, and then add 2 capacitors to help the timer work the correct mode.
03:07
Now, add the LED lights—here, select a green variant and place 2 lights in the design.
03:17
The next step is to define the connections needed to make the circuit work.
03:22
On the toolbar, click Net.
03:26
Then, on the canvas, place the pointer over the end of a pin.
03:31
A circle highlights the pin if a connection is available.
03:35
Click to start drawing the connection, then move the pointer to the pin at the desired endpoint.
03:42
Again, click when you see the circle to complete the connection.
03:47
As you draw the remaining connections, you can click to create segments and change directions.
03:54
If you cross two nets, they are treated as separate connections and will not cause a short circuit.
04:00
If you join a line to another by clicking it, a junction point is created and the lines are now part of the same connection.
04:09
When you are finished, press ESC to exit the command.
04:14
For this example, you need a few more components, such as a 2-pin connector to power up the design.
04:21
When you drag the connector onto the canvas, click the middle mouse button, so that the supply pins point toward the timer.
04:30
Click to place the connector, then press ESC to exit the command.
04:35
Now, you are ready to bring in power using ground and V+, or voltage, supply pins.
04:43
Using supply pins enables you to easily distribute power throughout your design without having to run net to every point.
04:51
Here, 5 each of the V+ and ground supply pins are rotated and placed as needed for this design.
04:58
Note that supply pins and power pins automatically connect if they have the same name.
05:04
A final step is to add the correct values to passive parts.
05:09
On the toolbar, in the Modify group, click Value.
05:15
Then, on the canvas, select the R1 resistor.
05:20
In the Value dialog, enter a new value of 1K, and then click OK.
05:26
Repeat these steps to set the value of resistor R2 to 470K and the values of resistors R3 and R4 to 220.
05:38
Do the same to set the values of capacitors C2 and C1 to 1u and 10n, respectively.
05:46
With the design process complete, you are ready to create a PCB from your schematic design.
Video transcript
00:03
An electronics design begins with a schematic, which serves as the blueprint, or logical representation, of the design.
00:12
It defines how all of the components are connected, and lays the groundwork for every successful circuit board.
00:19
In the Fusion Electronics workspace,
00:22
the Schematic Editor provides access to thousands of components and tools to help streamline the schematic design process.
00:30
In this example, you will design a schematic consisting of several components, including flashing LEDs.
00:38
To enter the Electronics Design workspace, from the Design workspace, on the Application bar,
00:45
click File and select New Electronics Design.
00:49
In the Data Panel, you see a new design, and on the Electronics toolbar, there are tools to link to an existing schematic, or create a new one.
00:60
Click Create New Schematic.
01:03
This opens a blank canvas in the Fusion Schematic Editor.
01:08
On the left side of the interface, you see several panels.
01:12
To begin placing components, on the Place Components panel,
01:17
use the drop-down list to select a library as the source for these components.
01:22
Here, the Tutorial - Fusion library is selected.
01:27
To confirm that the selected library is currently in use, click Open Library Manager,
01:33
and in the Library Manager dialog, begin typing “tutorial” in the search field.
01:39
Here, you see the Tutorial Fusion library, with In Use selected.
01:45
Close the Library Manager.
01:48
The first component that needs to be placed is the timer chip, which is available in multiple variants.
01:55
To view these options, on the Place Components panel, locate the row for the component,
02:01
and in the Variant column, click the drop-down list.
02:05
You can also preview the selected component at the bottom of the panel.
02:10
Here, a different variant is selected.
02:14
To place the component, drag it onto the canvas.
02:18
Before placing the component, you can right-click to rotate it by 90 degrees or click the middle mouse button to mirror the component.
02:28
Then, click to place the component on the canvas.
02:32
Notice that there is another component still attached to the pointer, enabling you to use the same component multiple times
02:39
—for example, when placing capacitors and resistors.
02:44
When you are finished placing the timer, press ESC to exit the command.
02:49
Next, add some passive components, which are parts that do not require an energy source to perform their functions.
02:58
For this example, place 4 resistors around the timer chip, and then add 2 capacitors to help the timer work the correct mode.
03:07
Now, add the LED lights—here, select a green variant and place 2 lights in the design.
03:17
The next step is to define the connections needed to make the circuit work.
03:22
On the toolbar, click Net.
03:26
Then, on the canvas, place the pointer over the end of a pin.
03:31
A circle highlights the pin if a connection is available.
03:35
Click to start drawing the connection, then move the pointer to the pin at the desired endpoint.
03:42
Again, click when you see the circle to complete the connection.
03:47
As you draw the remaining connections, you can click to create segments and change directions.
03:54
If you cross two nets, they are treated as separate connections and will not cause a short circuit.
04:00
If you join a line to another by clicking it, a junction point is created and the lines are now part of the same connection.
04:09
When you are finished, press ESC to exit the command.
04:14
For this example, you need a few more components, such as a 2-pin connector to power up the design.
04:21
When you drag the connector onto the canvas, click the middle mouse button, so that the supply pins point toward the timer.
04:30
Click to place the connector, then press ESC to exit the command.
04:35
Now, you are ready to bring in power using ground and V+, or voltage, supply pins.
04:43
Using supply pins enables you to easily distribute power throughout your design without having to run net to every point.
04:51
Here, 5 each of the V+ and ground supply pins are rotated and placed as needed for this design.
04:58
Note that supply pins and power pins automatically connect if they have the same name.
05:04
A final step is to add the correct values to passive parts.
05:09
On the toolbar, in the Modify group, click Value.
05:15
Then, on the canvas, select the R1 resistor.
05:20
In the Value dialog, enter a new value of 1K, and then click OK.
05:26
Repeat these steps to set the value of resistor R2 to 470K and the values of resistors R3 and R4 to 220.
05:38
Do the same to set the values of capacitors C2 and C1 to 1u and 10n, respectively.
05:46
With the design process complete, you are ready to create a PCB from your schematic design.
The electronics design process is split into two distinct design stages, the schematic design and printed circuit board (PCB) layout. The schematic design serves as the blueprint or logical representation of an electronic circuit. It defines how all of the components are connected together, but not how they are physically placed on a circuit board.
In this video, you see how to work on the schematic design portion of the process:
For more, see Schematic design tutorial.
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