Questions tagged [trace]
Lanes of copper on a printed circuit board, for carrying current or signals between pads
278
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Impedance adaptation for two frequencies
I just received my first custom RF board that use 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz with a diplexer.
Unfortunately, it appears that the used PCB stack-up wasn't really what I expected so my traces are not 50 Ω, but ...
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How do I handle a component with pin spacings smaller than the necessary trace width?
I'm designing a board using a TPS2113 power mux in a TTSOP package to deliver ~1A from plug power or a battery to my board. My calculated trace width for this current is 25-30 mil, however the pins of ...
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Kicad telling me to connect pads together when I feel it's incorrect
Hey all I am wondering if this is the correct way to trace a fuse holder on my pcb. I would imagine that the top 2 pads connected to each other and the bottom 2 pads connected to each other. Running a ...
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Why is there a difference between pad-to-trace and trace-to-trace clearance?
I am looking to have a PCB produced for a personal project of mine. I have to use very thin traces and tight clearances to escape pads on a BGA chip on my board. I was looking at the capabilities of ...
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Layout- Should the output and input traces of this hex inverter be superposed
I am using this hex inverter in one of my pcbs; the inputs are TTLs, so fast switching signals going from 0 to 5V very fast ( I don't know yet the rise time of these signals, maybe 10 us ?). Both ...
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Can parasitic capacitances be decoupled?
I was working with some IC that has a bus that is really sensitive to trace capacitance and cannot be loaded with more than 8.5 pF.
I have to bifurcate the trace to an ADC because I need to see what ...
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Power traces in a 2 layer PCB
I have a two layer PCB, with signal traces and power traces on the top layer and a ground plane on the bottom layer. The top layer also has a ground plane extending over the space where there are no ...
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Kicad 7 - Automatically change all traces widths
In my pcb layout, I have two different trace widths.
Both of these have to be changed.
Is there a way to do this automatically?
Meaning, all trace widths of size X should become Y, while all trace ...
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Ideal track width
I created a failed PCB. One of the reasons could be that I had tight track widths.
I was advised to create larger track widths, where high {voltages, current} exists.
I placed the two values in ...
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Temperature rise for multiple layers of PCB
I'd like to better understand what to expect when carrying current on multiple layers of a PCB. I've used trace width calculators to determine how wide a trace needs to be to carry a given amount of ...
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Changing trace width on a PCB after reaching component pad
People advise not to change trace widths on a PCB because of the change in impedance of the trace and possible signal reflections for example.
Does that still hold true when the trace reaches a ...
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Trace widths and current capability Altium
I was working on a PCB where there was a single DC input with two traces +ve and -ve. At one end there was a connection to a motor which requires 40A. The traces of the DC input were 100mil and 1oz. ...
user340506
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4
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Altium Designer: Is there anything similar to trim in AutoCAD? Is there a better alternative method to remove stubs?
Let's say I have the track/trace below.
I want to remove the track stub so it ends at the via.
I could click on the end vertex of the track and drag the stub into the via until its gone, but with much ...
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Matching micro-strip line to load and generator
I have the following system.
I need to add stubs/ reactive components to the trace (L2) to match the generator to the load.
I understand that due to Z_trace being a micro-strip that its consists of ...
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Tracing to see if IC is TM1650 or something else
I am tying to determine where the PCB traces are going in order to figure out if this is using the TM1650 or something else. Most of these (this is from a pool pump) uses the TM1650 but there are some ...
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High current traces (up to 60 A) routing problem
I need to design a power inverter that might have up to 60 A of current flowing through the leg IGBTs and still could not figure out the best way out for that amount of current. The DC bus voltage may ...
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How to change the trace width in an accordian object in alitum 22 without deleting the trace first?
I have several accordion objects in altium. I need to change the trace width. If the trace is selected it won't show up the properties window to change the width. The only way I have found to change ...
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How can I determine the dimensions of a spiral trace on a PCB?
I was designing a circuit that contains some analog signals along with signals of relatively low frequency (2.5 kHz) and I was reading a bit about norms, standards, and good practices for the design ...
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How do high current paths work in PCB design?
Using a calculator like this one I see that the trace width required for 10 A is 9.36 mm at 2 oz (highest JLCPCB offers).
My IRLZ44N transistor has 2.54 mm spaced legs, so how does putting two 10 mm ...
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Maximum current through PCB traces
I am currently looking at a layout and I have a trace which has to sustain this current waveform (single pulse) according to the simulation:
As you can see, the current is passing through the trace ...
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How to design PCB traces for high-current applications
I am trying to make a WiFi switch using the ESP32 MCU.
The PCB I am building will be switching high-power applicances, such as a kettle (which can draw around 14 A @ 230 VAC). The relay I chose is the ...
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How to size track width for AC application
I want to run AC volatge through my relay shown below:
My track width is 2mm for the COM, N/O, and N/C pins. These tracks go from the relay to the 3-pin connector. The relay (G5LE-14-12DC) is found ...
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Connecting pads with the same functionality belonging to one chip
I have a question about routing style of pads with the same functionality belonging to one chip. I draw a picture in Paint (fictional IC; let it be the SOIC8 footprint). GND is only as example (it can ...
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PCB track width considerations based on starting current draw
I am making a PCB for which I need advice on widths of power traces. I am powering a 3A pump and a 1A solenoid valve through this PCB. I am drawing widths based on the table below.
3A + 1A = 4A. So ...
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3
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Splitting and rejoining a trace to reduce resistance
I'm teaching an embedded systems class and a question came up I've never considered. We were discussing the idea of "necking down" a trace to get through a tight spot and someone asked if ...
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PCB design for air quality measurements
I want to make a simple PCB with the following components:
1x CO₂, humidity and temperature sensor - SCD40 (Qwiic) from Sparkfun
1x 1.3 inch OLED display I2C SSH1106 from AZDelivery
1x TinyS3 (ESP32-...
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How to map equivalent AWG wire gauge to PCB trace width?
There are some online calculators that let you calculate trace width based on PCB trace characteristics e.g. this one from digikey.
If there is a terminal connector on the PCB that connects solid AWG ...
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PCB power plane copper and lamination thickness
One of the boards I have has these surface traces that run a lot of current through. I believe they are called power planes. Does anyone know a typical copper thickness (35 um?) ?
Also, what is the ...
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How can I repair peeled through-hole solder pads and trace?
The top and bottom through-pads were torn off in a botched desoldering. The bottom pad’s trace was peeled to the solder joint.
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How to import wiring csv into cad?
I have a .csv file which contains the (complicated) points of the paths that I need my wires to trace. I would normally use EasyEda for making grbl files, but I don't think it is capable. Is there a ...
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Altium trace symmetry
I am designing a board and the traces look like this:
Is there any hotkey to make the traces be similar? I.e. the vertical lengths are uniformly varying, the distance between the diagonal tracks is ...
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5
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Is voltage important for calculating PCB trace width? If not, why?
As per the IPC 2221A the formula for calculating PCB trace width follow the process given below;
First, the area is calculated:
Area[mils²] = (Current[Amps]/(k*(Temp_Rise[°C])b))^(1/c)
Then, the width ...
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1
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Instrumentation Tools for Collecting Data in DRAM accesses
We can use instrumentation tools, such as Pin tool, to collect memory accesses of an application running on a system. The type (read or write) and memory address can be collected. How about data? Can ...
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FR4, 1 oz. copper, PCB trace width for 48V/8A, pulsed (8 ms pulse length, up to 20Hz)?
I would like to determine suitable trace width for the pulses shown.
Other details: The application is to pulse a solenoid; board size is 100mm x 100mm. An LM317 charges a 1000uF cap and the cap is ...
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Why is this recommended in PCB layout: 2 leads between pads
Why is the connection recommended as in the top picture?
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Power Circuit for TB9051FTG Trace Width
I am working on a PCB with a Toshiba motor driver chip, TB9051FTG.
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/toshiba-semiconductor-and-storage/TB9051FTG-EL/10123940
The datasheet mentions the ...
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Making a high current PCB (power PCB)
I want to make a power PCB with 1 oz copper thickness. The problem is that I want this PCB to stand up to 50 A and I don't know what to do to keep the traces a reasonable width.
Using the KiCad PCB ...
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1 oz PCB printing for high current power mosfet
I have a power mosfet (STP55NF06FP) used as a low-side switch to cut-off a current of 40 A. Using pcb calculator, I estimated that the trace width is too large (50mm) and as a result I can't connect ...
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Position of voltage divider relative to measured voltage and analog input
I am designing a PCB that includes a resistor voltage divider to measure the output voltage of a regulator. I am aware, that position of some components on the PCB may affect the performance and ...
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Can I use vias and long trace between processor and 24MHz crystal?
I have a situation where I can't put crystal (24MHz) close to the processor pin. As you see on the layout the trace between crystal Y1 and processor pins 46 and 47 is about 13mm and there are two vias ...
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Routing traces to and from a 48 pin microcontroller becoming a mess
I have a 48 pin microcontroller with VCC = 5V. I'm becoming worried that I have the traces too close and all the vias and crossing traces may mess with the signals' integrity.
Are there examples and ...
user298907
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Best way to "cut" a connection on a pcb [closed]
Imagine you have some traces on a PCB, that connect from point A to point B.
I would like to have control over that connection. I want to be able to enable/disable the connection from a distance (...
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Using a PCB trace as a heater / Hilbert Curves
I'm considering making a PCB to use as a heater for a 3d printer bed. This has been common practice for ~10 years (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3919).
I was playing around with KiCad and python, ...
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Defining VIN trace width of DC\DC
I intend to use RT8068A in the following design:
The requirements are: Vin = 3.3V, Vout= 2.5V, Iout_Max = 1A (+VPP is connected to DDR4 Memory SODIMM-260, 32GB, 2400MHz/2666MHz, 1.2V).
My question is,...
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Help needed with determining PCB trace termination for µC/SDRAM interface
I am trying to figure out whether I need termination resistors for my PCB routing between a µ-Controller and an SDRAM (IS42S32800J-6BLI) that I plan to clock at 166 MHz. According to Table 72 of ST's ...
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Why is it not possible to measure PCB trace characteristic impedance using a multimeter?
I was looking into StackExchange posts for PCB trace impedance measurement.
How to measure trace impedance?
This posts clearly explains what the methods to be used for trace impedance measurement are.
...
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Any short formula for PCB trace capacitance when w/h <<1 [closed]
I have this formula/equation e(w/d) for capacitance of PCB traces (parallel plate). But as it appears, this equation is valid for the assumption w/d>>1 (much greater). And multiplying 11.3 with ...
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In PCBs, why is copper etched away instead of added?
I know that in virtually every case, PCBs start as a substrate with a layer of copper laminated on top, which is then etched away, leaving the traces. But why are the traces not added on an empty ...
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How are high currents generally handled on PCB?
I am working on a 4-layer PCB where an electric current of 40 A - 12 VDC needs to pass through 2 traces (for 2-3 cm) between two through-hole components, for 1 minute every hour. 200 units of the ...
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5
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Why does signal loss increase when the frequency of a signal increases?
Particularly in the context of long PCB traces. What is the physical explanation for greater loss at higher frequencies?
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