# Never designed a PCB Before...

**URL:** <https://community.sparkfun.com/t/never-designed-a-pcb-before/27518>\
**Category:** PCB Design\
**Created:** [September 30, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/never-designed-a-pcb-before/27518 "2013-09-30T00:55:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![James211](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@James211](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/James211)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/never-designed-a-pcb-before/27518/1 "2013-09-30T00:55:41Z")

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I was able to build what I need done on a bread board, but I have no clue how to go about building a PCB from it. I’m here looking for help because rather than having a hack of a PCB, I’d like a clean PCB. Plus the enclosure I’m putting this project into needs to be small.

Any suggestions for help?

Thank you!

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**Author:** ![Kamiquasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@Kamiquasi](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/Kamiquasi)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/never-designed-a-pcb-before/27518/2 "2013-09-30T01:20:48Z")

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That’s a slightly vague question, but you could try starting here: [https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/ho … etup-eagle](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-install-and-setup-eagle)

It’s the beginning of a series of short tutorials that goes through installation of software (in this case Eagle), drawing schematics, designing PCBs, etc.

Just give it a quick read-through, and if you’ve still got questions by the end of it, feel free to drop 'm here 🙂

Oops… the series proper: [https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/pcb-basics/res](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/pcb-basics/res)

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**Author:** ![Rohar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Rohar](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/Rohar)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/never-designed-a-pcb-before/27518/3 "2013-10-03T14:46:11Z")

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I can say that following the tutorials and then designing your first PCB _AND_ having it work is very rewarding! In addition to the tutorials James mentioned there is also a recent “According to Pete” [https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1248](https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1248) which had some excellent pro tips on PCB design and layout. I suggest that you complete the tutorial and work with Eagle for a bit before you watch Pete’s tutorial, or some of it won’t make much sense.

Another tip I would add, that I don’t remember reading anywhere, is that when you are designing SMD boards, make sure you leave enough room between components for your tweezers to fit! 😉

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**Author:** ![witch359](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/6a8cbe/32.png) [@witch359](https://community.sparkfun.com/u/witch359)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://community.sparkfun.com/t/never-designed-a-pcb-before/27518/4 "2013-10-18T12:35:06Z")

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FYI, another good tool is KiCad. It’s free and does not have the limitations of the Eagle free version.

Don’t get me wrong; Eagle is a great tool that I’ve used for 10 years or so. But for a hobbyist, KiCad is a nice alternative. Both tools take some practice.