PCB Design and Panelization Tips for Microcontroller Projects

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Hey everyone,

I’m working on a microcontroller-based project and designing a custom 2-layer PCB to make it more compact and reliable. I want to get the layout right, especially when it comes to signal integrity, power distribution, and manufacturability. Should I go for a dedicated ground plane on the bottom layer, or is a mixed approach fine?

Also, I’m looking into panelization since I might need multiple boards. Are there any common issues to watch out for, like spacing or alignment problems? Would you recommend mouse bites or V-grooves for easier depanelization?

Lastly, if anyone knows of good open-source PCB designs for microcontroller projects, I’d love to check them out for inspiration. Any tips, advice, or shared experiences would be super helpful.

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For a 2-layer PCB with microcontrollers, I would definitely recommend a dedicated ground plane on the bottom layer, because:

  • Better signal integrity by offering a low-impedance return path
  • Reduced EMI/noise issues
  • Simpler routing (you only need to place vias to ground)
  • More consistent impedance for critical signals

V-grooves are good if your design is rectangular, mouse bites if not

Common issues:

  • Insufficient spacing between boards (2-3mm minimum)
  • Forgetting to add fiducial markers for pick-and-place assembly

There are thousands of open-source designs online (like ours!), just poke around a bit… hackster.io has a lot of neat stuff, youtube as well

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Hi Aria (@ariajames_121 ),

We can strongly recommend KiCad for PCB design. For panelization, we wrote our own simple v-score Panelizer. It currently only works on KiCad 7 & 8, but we’ll be updating it for KiCad 9 in a few days. If you need more features - like mouse bites - check out KiKit.

Best wishes,
Paul

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Thanks, that’s really helpful! A dedicated ground plane on the bottom sounds like the way to go, especially for keeping signal integrity and noise under control. I’ll also make sure to leave enough spacing between boards and add fiducial markers and hadn’t thought about that before, so I appreciate the tip! I’ll definitely check out hackster.io and YouTube for inspiration. Thanks again for the advice!

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Thanks for the recommendation! I’m using KiCad, so I’ll definitely check out your panelizer for v-scoring. Good to know an update for KiCad 9 is coming soon. I’ll also look into KiKit for more advanced features like mouse bites. Appreciate the suggestions!

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