PCB design software for everyone Included with a Fusion 360 for personal use subscription, EAGLE free download is a limited version for hobbyists including two schematic sheets, two signal layers and an 80 cm2 (12.4in2) board area. 1.From the EAGLE control panel click on File/Open/Board and select the board you are interested in. 2.Click on the CAM processor ICON. 3.Now click File/Open/JOB and select the file called GERBER. CAM from the CAM directory. If EAGLE prompts you to save the current process. 4.Notice on the CAM processor screen a field called SECTION.

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Previously on Using EAGLE

EAGLE's board designer is where a good portion of the magic happens. It's here where the dimensions of the board come together, parts are arranged, and connected by copper traces. In the board editor, the conceptual, idealized schematic you've designed becomes a precisely dimensioned and routed PCB.

In this tutorial we'll cover every step in EAGLE PCB design: from placing parts, to routing them, to generating gerber files to send to a fab house. We'll also go over the basics of EAGLE's board editor, beginning with explaining how the layers in EAGLE match up to the layers of a PCB.

How To Open Pcb File In Eagle Point

Create a Board From Schematic

Before starting this tutorial, read through and follow along with the Using EAGLE: Schematic tutorial (not to mention the Setting Up EAGLE tutorial before that). The schematic designed in that tutorial will be used as the foundation for the PCB designed here.

The schematic from previous tutorial, complete with an ATmega328P, barrel jack connector, LEDs, resistors, capacitors, and connectors.

To switch from the schematic editor to the related board, simply click the Generate/Switch to Board command -- (on the top toolbar, or under the File menu) -- which should prompt a new, board editor window to open. All of the parts you added from the schematic should be there, stacked on top of eachother, ready to be placed and routed.

The board and schematic editors share a few similarities, but, for the most part, they're completely different animals. On the next page, we'll look at the colored layers of the board editor, and see how they compare to the actual layers of a PCB.

Layers Overview

PCB composition is all about layering one material over another. The thickest, middle part of the board is a insulating substrate (usually FR4). On either side of that is a thin layer of copper, where our electric signals pass through. To insulate and protect the copper layers, we cover them with a thin layer of lacquer-like soldermask, which is what gives the PCB color (green, red, blue, etc.). Finally, to top it all off, we add a layer of ink-like silkscreen, which can add text and logos to the PCB.

The layers of a double-sided PCB (image from the PCB Basics tutorial).

EAGLE's Layers

The EAGLE board designer has layers just like an actual PCB, and they overlap too. We use a palette of colors to represent the different layers. Here are the layers you'll be working with in the board designer:

Color	Layer Name	Layer Number	Layer Purpose
Top	1	Top layer of copper
Bottom	16	Bottom layer of copper
Pads	17	Through-hole pads. Any part of the green circle is exposed copper on both top and bottom sides of the board.
Vias	18	Vias. Smaller copper-filled drill holes used to route a signal from top to bottom side. These are usually covered over by soldermask. Also indicates copper on both layers.
Unrouted	19	Airwires. Rubber-band-like lines that show which pads need to be connected.
Dimension	20	Outline of the board.
tPlace	21	Silkscreen printed on the top side of the board.
bPlace	22	Silkscreen printed on the bottom side of the board.
tOrigins	23	Top origins, which you click to move and manipulate an individual part.
bOrigins	24	Origins for parts on the bottom side of the board.
/ / Hatch	tStop	29	Top stopmask. These define where soldermask should not be applied.
Hatch	bStop	30	Absent soldermask on the bottom side of the board.
Holes	45	Non-conducting (not a via or pad) holes. These are usually drill holes for stand-offs or for special part requirements.
tDocu	51	Top documentation layer. Just for reference. This might show the outline of a part, or other useful information.

To turn any layer off or on, click the 'Layer Settings...' button -- -- and then click a layer's number to select or de-select it. Before you start routing, make sure the layers above (aside from tStop and bStop) are visible.

Selecting From Overlapping Objects

Here's one last tip before we get to laying our board out. This is an interface trick that trips a lot of people up. Since the board view is entirely two-dimensional, and different layers are bound to overlap, sometimes you have to do some finagling to select an object when there are others on top of it.

Normally, you use the mouse's left-click to select an object (whether it's a trace, via, part, etc.), but when there are two parts overlapping exactly where you're clicking, EAGLE doesn't know which one you want to pick up. In cases like that, EAGLE will pick one of the two overlapping objects, and ask if that's the one you want. If it is, you have to left-click again to confirm. If you were trying to grab one of the other overlapping objects, right-click to cycle to the next part. EAGLE's status box, in the very bottom-left of the window, provides some helpful information when you're trying to select a part.

For example: In the GIF above, a VCC net overlaps another named Reset. We left-click once directly where they overlap, and EAGLE asks us if we meant to select VCC. We right-click to cycle, and it asks us instead if we'd like to select Reset. Right-clicking again cycles back to VCC, and a final left-click selects that as the net we want to move.

Whew! Enough pointers, let's lay out a PCB!

Arranging the Board

Create a Board From Schematic

If you haven't already, click the Generate/Switch to Board icon -- -- in the schematic editor to create a new PCB design based on your schematic:

The new board file should show all of the parts from your schematic. The gold lines, called airwires, connect between pins and reflect the net connections you made on the schematic. There should also be a faint, light-gray outline of a board dimension to the right of all of the parts.

Our first job in this PCB layout will be arranging the parts, and then minimizing the area of our PCB dimension outline. PCB costs are usually related to the board size, so a smaller board is a cheaper board.

Understanding the Grid

In the schematic editor we never even looked at the grid, but in the board editor it becomes much more important. The grid should be visible in the board editor. You can adjust the granularity of the grid, by clicking on the GRID icon -- . A 0.05' grid, and 0.005' alternate grid is a good size for this kind of board.

EAGLE forces your parts, traces, and other objects to 'snap' to the grid defined in the Size box. If you need finer control, hold down A