Am I missing something or Cadence has really diverged the Allegro free Viewer's user interface from the Allegro PCB editor user interface?

First, I thought the new versions have a new panel structure, but maybe it is only for the viewers. The 17.2 viewer looked exactly like the 17.2 Editor, minus the editing icons/menus. The new GUI has Properties and search instead of Options and Find panels.

Or is it a different kind of Allegro like system something viewer?

https://preview.redd.it/pno2fql92j2e1.png?width=1829&format=png&auto=webp&s=072010aa63b68b1ccce842c3384201017ee35496

https://preview.redd.it/h7yrrmfa2j2e1.png?width=1918&format=png&auto=webp&s=a3fcec55e5af5e60b5bd89630009637e18bfdc2f

The Issue In Question.

Hi i'm building a custom MacroPad and i am new to KiCAD. I’m trying to turn my schematic into a PCB , but all I’m getting are weird blue lines instead of the expected PCB layout. Has anyone encountered this? What could be going wrong?

Hello,

Since I began working on the layout of my schematic, I’ve been learning again. However, I find myself wondering about the return path on the bottom layer of a 4-layer stackup (SIG-GND-VCC-SIG). I understand that I need to route every signal with respect to the ground return path, but I’ll surely need to route signals on the bottom layer as well. This raises the question: how do the signals behave without a ground plane underneath and instead a VCC plane?

Thanks to the internet and the insights of people like Rick Hartley, Eric Bogatin, Robert Feranec, and Phil's Lab, I understand the following:

• The current flows mostly underneath the signal traces (depending on the signal's speed).
• Electricity takes the shortest path, or more precisely, the path of lowest impedance/resistance.
• I visualize electricity as more like a magnetic field tunnel (sorry for the odd wording) that tries to couple to something. Ideally, it should couple between the ground plane return path and the signal trace, moving in the dielectric. In the worst-case scenario, when there is no return path, it spreads out on the PCB and couples to whatever is nearby (EMI).
• Place ground vias next to signal vias.
• Traces over 3mm in length act as mini antennas (though I’m not sure if this applies when they have a return path).
• Keep current loops short as possible.

I’m trying to learn as I finish my layout. Currently, I’m curious and need to understand how signals on the bottom layer behave when they don’t have a direct ground plane underneath and instead have a VCC plane. I don’t fully understand the term "reference plane" yet. Is it handled with copper pours and stitching, or does the VCC plane also serve as a return path?

I apologize for the beginner-level question. I now realize that my project may be a bit ambitious for a first PCB design, but I enjoy a good challenge. Here is what i did so far, but its not finished, i need probably 1-2 more days to learn a bit more and do a functional layout.

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely

deficientInventor

workInProgress-Layout

I am preparing a new revision for my board. Could you please check the following parts are good.

• ON-OFF switch. Did I connect it correctly? Is it the right place to put it?
• I added pull up resistors for the SD-card. some said they are needed, some said they are not. I added 10K resistors but not for the SCK pin. should I add for the SCK or it should work fine with only 3 pull up resistors for the other pins of the SD card?
• I corrected the connection of the BME688 sensor. is the connection good now to be used with I2C?

https://preview.redd.it/5s8kbgnihc2e1.png?width=2484&format=png&auto=webp&s=c1e6cdfbe9202f49dc7b311f97e90e631a6f9900

Overview

The main circuit.

MCU

Other

Hi i am making a project in wokwi to control with arduino nano a stepper motor and lcd and a sound module with 11 buttons and I have many questions on how to convert my prject to a pcb to send to printed and assemble. 1st how easy is design the pcb on example kidcad? 2nd Because in my model all the conections are virtual when i model my pcb can i add a conectors to them to just plug the lcd motor or the buttons? 3rd As far i can undersyamd i can add my arduino nano to the pcb but this one have to be soldered to the pcb or can i add a socket when i just press the arduino nano and that is 4rd The software i going to use just create the gerber or create the position file and the BOM as well? If not can i get a good link tutorial for that 5th because i can solder at home ia possible to tell the pcb factory to add conectors to the components as well to just plug a cable from example the lcd to the pcb Thanks and i hope was clear my post because english is my second language

This is an audio DAC with PCM1794 receiving I2S signal with a board I'll attach it on my PCB , opa1612 for I/V stage & Differential to single-ended amp. TPA6120 is used for headphone amp. Its a 4 layer board attempting to separate digital & analog apart. and digital power will be on the bottom-left, analog power is on top-right. use layer 2 as ground plane, but cut-out on TPA6120's ground plane to avoid parasitic capacitance since it's a CFB amp with fast slew rate.

Is this a okay layout? Anything else I should do to improve it?

https://preview.redd.it/72qvd51l2b2e1.jpg?width=1789&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56374863b7e26f06a98347cf93a140e6845d51e6

https://preview.redd.it/4n914b2l2b2e1.jpg?width=1699&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ff5a216d53a883e8979b9682bcd4c6a9877bf41

Overall

1

2nd

3rd

4

https://preview.redd.it/3e5xk26o2b2e1.jpg?width=862&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a227f2298754ac567cb84ffffb631ea8da0dd2cb

https://preview.redd.it/fa1b7c3bn82e1.png?width=390&format=png&auto=webp&s=202d2991074d42356458bdd7559e70d4494759fb

https://preview.redd.it/6agikqmen82e1.png?width=1612&format=png&auto=webp&s=567f4c71f5f637fd3d1a03da9d1b938308d80d8b

https://preview.redd.it/my15iqsqn82e1.png?width=463&format=png&auto=webp&s=087793fa4c205179b6f022b867b450926a2f949f

Hi everyone,

this is a follow-up post to the one I made 4 days ago (https://www.reddit.com/r/PrintedCircuitBoard/comments/1gtgh55/review\_request\_first\_time\_pcb/)
I tried to implement the advice given.

summary of the board:
- Powered via VBUS and GND pads to a TP4056 charger for an 18650 with DW01A over-discharge protection

- 3.3v LDO with very low quiescent current draw (2uA) that provides 600mA with input voltage >2.3V

- Load sharing through a P-Channel MOSFET to disconnect the load from the battery while charging

- Diode to prevent voltage from the battery from turning on the MOSFET

- Voltage dividers of 2M ohms value with theoretical < 1uA draw

- Capacitors were added to the 3.3v input for ESP32 C3 to help when the device wakes up and sends data.

Overall, the circuit should draw around 15uA when deep sleep is active. I will be using esp now protocol and not a Wi-Fi connection to the router and the wake period should be 5 seconds every 8 hrs.

Perhaps again, I missed something and I'd appreciate any feedback

Top Assembly

Top layer

Schematic

Board 3d view

Top down board 3D

Top down board view

Hey everyone,

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to look at this. This is my first-ever circuit!

Project Overview
I’m designing a USB switch that connects ground to the USB port when 5V is applied to pin 1 on the GH connector (trig).

Purpose
I have a 3D printer and want to add a USB LED strip for better lighting.
The printer has a built-in LED output, but it’s very dim and only supplies about 300mA of current via its GH connector. However, its USB port can supply around 1.3A of current—problem is, it’s always on and not controllable by the printer.

To solve this, I’m using the built-in LED output to control the USB port. This way, I can turn the USB LED strip on and off through the printer.
The circuit uses an NPN MOSFET to switch the ground connection and a micro GH connector to interface with the printer's LED output. I’ve also added a small diagnostic LED to check for issues with the printer signal or LED lights.

Questions and Concerns

• Should I connect the USB shields together?
• I tested this on a breadboard but don’t have this specific MOSFET (it has a higher current capacity). Is this the right choice?
• Do I need reverse polarity protection on the GH connector?
• Should I worry about current backfeeding into the GH connector when toggling the lights?
• Are the 10-mil traces thick/wide enough to handle 1.3A continuously?
• Is there a better way to achieve this? I’d like to keep the board as small as possible due to limited space.

I’ve read the newbie wiki and understand this is a simple 1-layer circuit that might not be worth your time, but I’d really appreciate any feedback. Thanks so much!

All parts i tried to source from LCSC

SM02B-GHS-TB(LF)(SN): Designator LED-CON, Footprint CONN-SMD_SM02B-GHS-TB-LF-SN, Manufacturer Part "SM02B-GHS-TB(LF)(SN)".

FDC637BNZ-VB: Designator Q1, Footprint TSOP-6_L3.0-W1.5-P0.95-LS2.8-BR, Manufacturer Part "FDC637BNZ-VB".

1MΩ Resistor: Designator R2, Footprint R0603, Value 1MΩ, Manufacturer Part "0603WAF1004T5E".

220Ω Resistor: Designator R3, Footprint R0603, Value 220Ω, Manufacturer Part "0603WAF2200T5E".

470Ω Resistor: Designator R4, Footprint R0603, Value 470Ω, Manufacturer Part "0603WAF4700T5E".

19-217/GHC-YR1S2/6T: Designator SIG, Footprint LED0603-RD_GREEN, Manufacturer Part 19-217/GHC-YR1S2/6T.

AM 180° USB Connector: Designator USB-IN, Footprint USB-SMD_AM180, Manufacturer Part "AM 180°".

AF180QT1.0 USB Connector: Designator USB-OUT, Footprint USB-A-SMD_AF180QT1.0, Manufacturer Part "AF180QT1.0".

Hello!

This is my revision of a split keyboard PCB, adding two switches in the lower right corner (furthest away from the MCU socket). I tried to mostly follow the original design, but I would still very much appreciate someone looking it over and checking that I didn't miss something stupid.

The only change from the original PCB design is two additional switches.

\"Front View\" (PCB is supposed to be reversible)

\"Back view\"

Close-up of the wiring for my two additional switches. Copper pours have been removed for your viewing convenience.

Schematic

Close-up of the switch section. My addition is SW32 and SW33, I added col6 for them, and each is in a different row. This is kind of dumb, but assigning them to row4 requires two additional columns which means two additional pins, so I opted for a single additional column and pin, even though I think this complicates the design unnecessarily.

Close-up of the MCU section. My addition is col6 on pin7, which is the only spare one.

Hello all! I have a weird problem with my PCB (I believe) where each SPI peripheral I connect works perfectly, however, when I connect them all, they stop working and won't initialize. I don't believe it's a problem with the schematic, maybe some crosstalk happens between the lines to a point where the devices don't work at all? I didn't fill the empty space with the ground to create ground planes, could that be a total game-breaker? Excuse my obvious faults, I'm very much new to this.

https://preview.redd.it/ntht3ie4z52e1.png?width=1509&format=png&auto=webp&s=9ab3e8ec19bc67e7545d5770146d5d23dad52609

https://preview.redd.it/nk18gie4z52e1.png?width=1419&format=png&auto=webp&s=2e3217a2bc6d42bff36c0c622899604f442eff89

Anyone facing the same problem?

I want to make a PCB for a USB enclosure I found, which is intended for UDP 2.0 packages (see pictures below). Can anyone see a reason why I wouldn't be able to just use a PCB with the same dimensions and trace pattern for the USB connector? I've looked at my parts and my highest component is 0.85 mm, so with an FR4 1.6mm board that gives me 2.45mm total height with an internal clearance of 3.6mm.

I think this should be workable but have never seen this UDP specification before and want to make sure there's not something obvious I am missing?

https://preview.redd.it/c6dhv1ybdz1e1.png?width=360&format=png&auto=webp&s=99fa8a858cb78e51c5a98c37126585e4a7e63297

https://preview.redd.it/89sh2x3ddz1e1.png?width=176&format=png&auto=webp&s=0fc99afa16f243a8c2eb0a874742022d5eae81a0

Hey everyone, I have a question about the photoresist. I have some old, maybe 7 years old photoresist that have been in the dark wrapped in the black bag that it came in and I started to get back into the hobby. It looks good to me. Even the exposure and after developing, it looks good. Even though it looks like the copper is showing, it will not etch those traces. If there is copper that wasn't covered by the resist, the copper is etched away so I don't think it is an issue with my FC. Does anyone know if the resist could be bad?

Hello, this is my first attempt at a PCB, I would really appreciate any advice/guidance on any mistakes I've made as well as how I can improve it.

POWER

This is the power circuit, 12V is coming in by DC jack, I've added an l7805 to get 5v for the Atmega.

https://preview.redd.it/d9i450yqqw1e1.png?width=1300&format=png&auto=webp&s=27401c16506b45f94adfe8d2f637fe9a6e90fe5e

Atmega328P/Crystal

I believe this configuration is fine for the atmega, I'm not 100% sure whether I need the crystal or not so any input on that would be nice! (ground is connected i just couldn't fit it on the screen)

https://preview.redd.it/ovtxifjzrw1e1.png?width=1292&format=png&auto=webp&s=27a56aa557cb6047e6972c47d8a279dd788287a0

12V Water Pump (3A)

I'm planning on connecting the water pump to the PCB using screw terminals,the MOSFET will be controlled by the Atmega, so the pump is only turned on at certain times, I again don't know if the resistors are sufficient.

https://preview.redd.it/8fj1bsxfsw1e1.png?width=1137&format=png&auto=webp&s=a1f8e160969f9e9fcea139bb86de097b8187ee12

UART

I followed a tutorial for the UART layout... I'm not sure what value would be best for the resistor as well as the diode type as the tutorial did not cover this. I believe the resistor should be good with 10 kΩ, but again i would really appreciate some advice on this!

https://preview.redd.it/ek6lx0y6tw1e1.png?width=963&format=png&auto=webp&s=df20d1af45f1b98ca23a827d6f748c8ca534488a

I'm aware that this will probably look awful, but I thought the best way to learn would be to just give it ago and hopefully get some valuable feedback. Thank you.