EAGLE Pro Webinar – Top Gun Manual Routing

We’re going to the danger zone of PCB design! There’s nothing quite so beautiful as seeing a finished board layout routed with high-quality craftsmanship. If you’re still relying on an autorouter to get the job done, then it’s time to join the ranks of the pros in Autodesk EAGLE and get to work on your manual routing skills. The more complex your designs get, the less autorouting will be able to save you. And when you get into a dogfight with the tight spaces on your board layout, you’ll need to take full control and do some top gun manual routing. We’ll show you how in a free webinar.

It’s More Than Connecting the Dots

The first time I routed a PCB layout, I didn’t take it seriously. After all, what could be so hard about connecting the pins together on all of my components?

They always say that your PCB layout is 90% component placement and 10% routing, and I considered that to be the amount of attention you give to each. But boy, was I wrong.

So my first run at it was a mess. Sometimes I wish the software just hid the autorouter button from you until you were ready for it. Because when I first learned about it, I had some pretty unreasonable expectations. I had a beautiful PCB layout pictured in my head, and figured that the autorouter would take care of the job for me.

But it didn’t. Traces were all over the place, and it looked nothing like I had envisioned. This moment made me realize – if I’m ever going to do this right, and do it well, then I would need to learn to route manually.

The progress came slowly at first as I learned the rules of the road. And the denser my boards got over time, the more I dove into the rabbit hole that is electromagnetic interference (EMI). When you get that deep, you’ve entered another realm of routing that requires an entirely new repository of knowledge to keep up. Regardless of what kind of layout you’re working on, there’s always a ton of questions to consider, like:

• What kind of trace angles should I be using on my board layout? Some people say 45 degrees create acid traps but hasn’t manufacturing improved since then?
• And is there a quick way that I can reuse my PCB layout circuitry once I know it works? It beats having to reinvent the wheel on each new design.
• Or what am I supposed to do differently when designing my first high-speed board layout? I’ve never dealt with SI or EMI before, and it is an entirely differently world.

If you’re like me, then you’ll realize that once your first routing job is completed, there still have so much more to learn. Routing is a never ending maze of complexity to navigate with each new project. But your journey has to start somewhere, beyond the dependency on an autorouter.

Crafting PCBs Like a Pro

Pilots learn to fly; designers get to route. It’s a finely honed skill that takes hours and hours of practice. And even after mastering your craft, you’ll still need to practice again and again to keep your skills fresh. Learning to route your PCB manually is your first step into the world of professional PCB design, and it opens a ton of doors.

So are you ready to step up to the big leagues and give it a shot? Join us for our EAGLE Pro webinar on manual routing where you’ll learn how to:

• Set Yourself Up for Future Success. You’ll learn all about creating your very own design blocks, allowing you to quickly reuse your tried and trusted circuitry in future projects. After all, who has time to reinvent the wheel every day?
• Route Like a Pro. You’ll also learn the ins and outs of the advanced routing engine in Autodesk EAGLE. Duck and weave your way through your component layout with the latest interactive routing features.
• Control Noise & Interference. As your boards get more involved with higher clock rates, you’ll need a way to control all of that noise. Here you’ll learn how to take advantage of differential pair routing and length tuning to fully control your EMI.

We’ll be hosting this webinar live on March 21st at 2 pm EST for 30 minutes. That’s plenty of time to soak in your new knowledge, and get to work practicing them on your design.

Register here for our EAGLE Pro: Top Gun Manual Routing webinar.