Lecture8Eagle:Schematics

WelcometothewonderfulworldofPCBcreation!We'veusedafewsoftwarepackagesover
theyears(namelyProtelDXP)andhavefoundEagleLayoutEditorfromCadSofttobevery
easytouse,verycosteffective,andverypowerful.
Eagleisfree!Therearesomelimitationsinplace,butbasicstudentsandnonprofitgroups
canuseit.Proteliscurrentlyabout$12,000aseat.
Eagleisnotthe'hobbyists'toolyoumaythinkitis.I'veseensomeverycomplex8layerBGA
boards going into a firewall/router consumer product. I too was amazed to hear it was
createdinEagle.Itcanbedone,youjustneedtodreamupthedevice!
Thereareafewfilesthatyouwillneedtodownloadforthisworkshop.
1. Download Eagle itself. Currently we use v4.16 (~8MB). Versions are available for
Windows, Linux, and Mac. If the above link does not work, google eagle pcb
downloadtogetthelatestversion.
2. Download the SparkFun Eagle Library. This is the collection of all the components
SparkFun designs with and therefore components and footprints that have been
tested.UnzipandplacetheSparkFun.lbrfileintotheEagle\lbrdirectory.Iftheabove
linkdoesnotwork,googlesparkfuneaglelibrarytogetthelatestcollection.
3. Download the SparkFun Eagle keyboard shortcuts. Place this file in the Eagle\scr
directory.Iftheabovelinkdoesnotwork,googlesparkfuneagleshortcut.
4. DownloadtheSparkFunCAMfile.PlacethisfileintheEagle\camdirectory.Thisfile
isresponsibleforcreatingthegerberfilesforsubmissiontoaPCBfabhouse.
Note: The SparkFun Eagle shortcut key script file has an .scr extension. This is a common
virusinfiltrationmethod.Ifyouchoosetodownloadourkeyboardshortcuts,andyoudon't
trust us, rename the file to a .txt extension and view it in a text viewer. There's nothing
therebuttextandEaglecommands.Justbesuretorenamethefiletothe.scrextensionso
thatEaglewilluseit.
TolearnhowtouseEagle,wearegoingtocreateasimplebreakoutboardforapopularUSB
IC.TheFT232RLisaUSBtoTTLserialconverter.


WhatisaUSBtoTTLconverter?
Once the FT232RL is attached to the USB port on your computer, you will need to install
some simple drivers (available for Windows, Linux, Mac), and then you will see a Virtual
ComPort(VCP)appearonyourcomputer.Youcanthenusehyperterminaltoopenthisnew
comportnumber.AnylettersthataretypedinhyperterminalareconvertedtoaUSBpacket
inthebackground,sentdowntheUSBcabletotheFT232RLwhereitreconstructstheserial
information and passes these letters out the TX pin on the IC at whatever baud rate you
choose.IfyouhaveadeviceconnectedtothisTXpin,itwillheartheserialletterandreact.
ThiswilleffectivelygiveyourdeviceUSBconnectivityandyouwon'tneedtoknowathing
abouthowUSBactuallyworks!
This IC is very popular, but only comes in surface mount device (SMD) packages (sound
familiar?).Solet'sspinasimplePCBthatwillallowustousethishandyIC.

FT232RPage
FT232RDatasheet
FT232RVCPDrivers

Whenindoubt,followthemanufacturer'srecommendedcircuit.This'typical'applicationis
justwhatweneed.


ThisisabareminimumfeaturesetupfortheFT232R.JustwhatweneedforsimpleTX/RXto
USB.WewanttoplugtheFT232RLontotheUSBport,haveitbuspowered,andpossibly
powertherestofourcircuit.OurATmega8uses5Vsowe'lltieVCCIOtotheUSB5V.AUSB
connector,acouple0.1uFcaps,abiggertantalumcap,aferritebead,thisdoesn'tlookso
bad!
Beforewecangetstarted,weneedtocreateorlocatealibrarypartfortheFT232RL.Ireally
don't like using other people's footprints and schematic parts but in this case, FTDI has
createdsomefreelibrariesfortheirparts.ThispageshouldhavetheEaglelibrary(search
the page for FT232RL) but if not, google 'ft232rl eagle footprint'. We also have this part
proven in the SparkFun.lbr library. Use their library, use ours, create your own, it doesn't
matter.Butbecausewearemostcomfortablewithourownparts(weknowtheywork!)we
willbeusingtheSparkFun.lbrfileforthistutorial.
Nowlet'saddtheFT232RLparttoourschematic.Closethelibraryeditorandgobacktothe
EagleControlPanel.ClickonFile>New>Project.Namethisnewproject'FT232Breakout'.
RightclickontheFT232BreakoutprojectandcreateanewSchematic:


Theschematiceditorshouldopen.NowgobacktotheEagleControlPanelandexpandthe
SparkFunLibrary:

Youshouldseealonglistofparts.HighlighttheFT232RLBasicpartandintherightscreen
clickonADD.TheschematiceditorwillpopupallowingyoutoplacetheFT232RL.


Nowsaveyourschematic!

Iliketouseaboardnameandaversionnumberwithinthefilename.v10,v11,v12,etcas
1.0,1.1,and1.2advancethroughlayoutchanges.
Nowaddtheseotheritemstoyourschematic:

1xFRAMELETTER:Thiswilladdaniceframetoyourschematic.Addallpartsinside
thisframe.

3xCAP(DevicenameCAP0603):0.1uF/0.01uF0603capacitors
1xCAP_POL(DevicenameCAP_POL1206):10uFtantalumcapacitor
1xINDUCTOR(DevicenameINDUCTOR0603):Ferritebead
4xSTANDOFF(DevicenameSTANDOFF):Thispartwilladdaholeandakeepout
ringfora#440screw.Thesecanbeusedtoraiseyourboardupoffasurfaceorto
mountyourboardtoanenclosure.
USB(DevicenameUSBPTH):USBTypeBthroughholeconnector
M04(DevicenameM04PTH):Fourpin0.1"connector
GND(DevicenameGND):Groundconnections
VCC(DevicenameVCC):Powerconnections

Partsaddedtotheschematic


Youcanclickonthebuttonyouneedonthemenuontheleftsideofthescreen.Youcan
alsohoverovereachbuttonanditsnamewillpopup.Thisworksgreatforbeginnersbutas
youadvance,you'llwanttospeeduplayoutbyusingkeyboardshortcuts.Herearesomeof
thebasicquickkeys:

Press escape at any time to stop the current action and return to the schematic
window
F7tomoveapart
Alt+F7togroupabunchtogether
F3todeleteapart
F4torenameapart(changeC7toC2)
F5torevalueapart(change0.1uFto10uF,etc)
F6tosmashapart(beabletomovethenameandvaluetags)
F9tostartawire
Alt+F9toaddalabeltoawire

NEVERchangethegridsizeintheschematiceditor.Leaveiton0.1inchstepsanddon'tuse
thealternate0.01step.Ifyoudo,youwon'tbeabletohookwirestothepintiepoints.
Now we just need to begin wiring nets. Arrange the pieces so that there is as little net
overlapsaspossible.


PrimordialFT232RLbreakout
To wire a pin (TXD) to a far point (the 4pin connector for example), instead of sending a
wirehalfwayacrossthepage,weusenetnames.Thegreenwireisnotphysicallyseenon
the schematic, butEagle knows toconnect the two points on the layout becausethe two
greenwireshavethesamename.
Press F9 and click on pin 1 (TXD). Bring out the net a couple square widths and left click
againtoendthenet.PressAlt+F9tonamethenet.Clickonthewireyoujustcreated.You
shouldseeanetname(likeN$5)appearandbefloating.AnchorittothewireandTXpin:

To change the name on the N$5 wire, press F4 (Name command) and click on N$5. A
windowwillappeartype'TX'andpressreturn.TheTXpinshouldbecorrectlylabeledand
wehaveafewoftheschematicconnections.
Torenameadevice(changeU$1toU1),pressF4andthenclickonthedeviceyouwantto
rename.Thisalsoworkstorenameanet.
Tochangethevalueofacomponent(0.1uFto10uF)pressF5andclickonthedeviceyou
wanttochangethevalueof.Tomoveadevice,pressF7(movecommand)andclickonthe
device you wish to move. Now with a little renaming and rearranging the various
components:

We've thrown a 4pin connector into the schematic and used a very stripped down
schematicsymbolfortheFT232R.Forthepurposesofthistutorial,wereallyonlycareabout
VCC/GND/TX/RXthebareminimum.Ifyouneedaccesstomoreofthepins,usethemore
completeFT232Rsymbolandbreakthemout!
Usethemirrorcommandandrenamethe4pinconnector(pressF4torenameadevice):


Eaglefiles/PDF
IprobablycouldhavewiredJP1directlytothevariouspinsbutIwantedtodemonstratethe
net/nameproperties.ThiswillalsomakeiteasiertolabelthepinsonthePCB.Speakingof
which,ifyouhavenotalready,clickonthe'Board'buttontoopenthePCBeditor:


Allright!We'vegotthecomponentsontoaboardandmostofthenetsconnected,timefor
PCBlayout!
HowtocopyandpasteinEagleSchematic:
ThisisperhapsthemostcounterintuitivepartofEagle.Aswithanynewtechnicalsoftware,
it'slikelearninganewlanguage.Onceyouknowtheintricacies,you'llloveit.
Tocopyonethingwithinaschematicisreasonablysimple.Clickonthe'Copy'button,then
click on the thing you want to copy and that thing (component, wire, net name) will be
duplicatedandfloatingunderyourcursor.Dropitwhereveryouwantit.
To copy a group of stuff within a schematic is completely wacky. First click on the group
command:

Youaregoingtocreateaframearoundthestuffyouwanttogrouptogether.Leftclickand
holdononecorner.Dragtotheoppositecorner.Nowreleasethemousebutton.Theitems
thatarepartofthegroupshouldnowbehighlightedlikethis:

NowclickontheCutbutton.Iknowyoudon'twanttodeletetheseitemsthisisjusthowit
works. Click on cut, move your mouse cursor to the middle of the group, and left click.
Nothing happened right? That's okay. The group of items has been copied to the buffer.
Nowclickonthepastebutton:

You should now have a copy of the group of items floating around. Drop these items
whereveryouneedthemintheschematic,orhitescapetoreturntotheschematicwindow.
Iknow,veryoddbutthistypeofgroup/modifystepscomesinveryhandyovertime.