EAGLE Tutorial

Introduction
Eagle is a PCB CAD program for designing and laying out printed circuit board (PCB) designs. A freeware
version is available as a download, which is what we will use in this Step-by-step tutorial.

http://www.cadsoftusa.com/download-eagle/

EAGLE works in two stages: Schematic capture and PCB design. In the first, the circuit connectivity is
designed using the standard component symbols with which we are all familiar. In the second stage, the
components are positioned on the printed circuit board and then traces between connected
components are laid out. EAGLE makes this easier by preserving the connections between components
and also applying various electrical and design rule checks in order to make sure the board will function
as expected!

In this tutorial we are going to begin by designing a PCB board for the active low pass filter below, and
then in groups of two you will design a PCB for the potentiostat circuit provided in this document. The
low pass filter will have the following component values, and will run off of a supply.

This gives an approximate cut-off frequency of 7.95 Hz and a passband gain of -10.

Figure 1: Active Low P ass Filter Circuit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_pass_filter)

Part 1: Low Pass Filter
Getting Started
1. Start Cadsoft EAGLE from the windows start menu (Start Programs EAGLE Layout Editor
5.x.x EAGLE 5.x.x)
2. The first time that you run EAGLE, it will ask whether you would like to create a directory, click
yes.
3. Expand the Projects node of the tree on the left of the EAGLE menu.
4. Right click on the eagle folder and select New Project. Name it LPF (for low pass filter).
5. Right click on the LPF project folder (coloured in red) and select New Schematic.

Creating the Schematic

1. Select File Save and save the schematic as LPF Schematic.sch.
2. First of all, add all of the parts we will need, in this case that is two resistors, a capacitor, and an
opamp. We are going to use 0603 sized resistors and capacitors, and a through-hold DIP (Dual
Inline Package) opamp.
a. Click on the Add icon on the left-side toolbox .
b. Start by adding the opamp, type *LM*741* into the search box and press Enter.
c. Select the DIL08 version of the component and click OK. Click on the schematic to
place the part. Press the right mouse button twice to rotate the part and then click the
center mouse button once to mirror the part. This will orient the positive and negative
terminals of the gate properly.
d. Press ESC to return to the ADD dialog.
e. In the ADD dialog, change the search term to be blank and press Enter.
f. Scroll down until rcl appears in the list of parts. Expand rcl and then expand the R-
US_. Scroll down to R-US_R0603, select it, and
press OK. Place to resistors
g. Press ESC again to return to the ADD dialog.
h. Go back up to the root of the rcl library and expand
the C-EU node.
i. Find the C-EUC0603 part and press OK. Place the
part as per the schematic.
j. Press ESC and then ESC again to exit ADD mode.
3. At this point the schematic should look like Figure 2.
4. Now for the connectivity! Select the NET tool from the Figure 2: Basic part pl acement.

toolbox .
 5. Draw wires between all of the relevant terminals as per the original schematic. Note: Double
click to terminate the current NET. Select the Junction tool ( ) and click to place junctions
between wires (Automatic Junctions will appear on NETs that overlap).
6. Now we need to add the power and data ports:
a. In the ADD dialog again, place supply2 GND for the positive pin and also in an open
area to connect to the power
supply.
b. Place supply2 +15V and
supply2 -15V both onto the
op-amp and also near the
previously placed ground.
c. Finally, we will add input/output
plugs for the various signals
needed by the board (+15V,
ground, -15V, signal input, and
signal output).
d. Place a con-lstb MA05-1 on Figure 3: Complete wired schematic.
the schematic near the three
floating power symbols.
7. Complete the wiring as per Figure 3.
8. Finally, we will assign component values. Click on the Value icon .
9. Click on each of the resistors R1 and R2, and the capacitor C1 and assign them the values of 1k,
10k, and 2uF respectively.
10. It is a good idea to run an electrical rules check (ERC) to make sure you havent made any
mistakes! Click the Electrical Rule Check button ( ) and make sure there are no errors or
warnings that you are not expecting.
11. Make sure to save the schematic, and then choose File Switch to board to begin creating the
associated PCB.

Creating the PCB

1. When asked if you would like to create the LPF Schematic.brd file, click Yes.
2. You will now see a blank PCB board, along with the parts from your schematic in the lower left.
a. The parts dont look the same! These are the footprints associated with the components
from the schematic. A footprint is the physical set of pin holes and copper areas that
components of a particular side need to be soldered/clipped/connected to.
3. We will begin by positioning the footprints on the board through a combination of rotation and
movement. Mirroring a footprint is NOT allowed unless you are putting it on the opposite side
of the board. There are more guidelines below (in the tips section) but the important factors to
consider here are:
a. Make the design compact.
b. Keep in mind that parts exist in 3 dimensions, and just because the footprints fit near
each other, does not mean the parts will.
 c. Lay the design out logically to minimize errors now and later on.
d. Try to minimize the number of times that the dark yellow connection guidelines cross.
Crossing traces means putting vias through the board which is expensive and takes up
space.
4. Component footprints can be positioned using Move ( ) and Rotate ( ).
5. Using the Delete command ( ), delete the existing board outline. Once the traces are laid
down a new outline can be created to minimize the necessary surface area of the board. PCBs
are priced proportionally to the number of holes in them and
their total surface area, so saving space saves money!
6. With your layout completed (Figure 4), it is time to add the
traces. Select the Route tool .
7. Make sure you are working on the side of the board you
want. Layers (top or bottom normally) can be selected in the
layer dropdown: .
8. To add traces to the board, first click on a connected pad,
then click to lay the trace and finally click on the ending pad
indicated by the dark yellow line. Remember: Figure 4: Component
a. Keep the traces as short as possible! Longer traces positioning.

add resistance, thermal noise, and can also act as

antennae.
b. Avoid 90 degree corners, 45 degrees is preferred
c. Avoid running two traces in parallel on top of each other on opposite sides of the board.
This can cause capacitive coupling between the traces.
d. Make sure traces are wide enough, especially power traces.
9. In order to actually know what goes where after the board is manufactured, it is important to
make sure that the component labels (e.g. R1, C1, IC1, etc.) are visible on the silkscreen and
wont be on top of pads or drill holes or anything like that. In order to move the label of a part
around, you have to first Smash the part ( ) and then select and Move the label ( ).
10. The final step is to arrive at the final board outline, which in this case will be a simple square.
Select the Line tool ( ) and make sure to select the Dimension layer. Finally, draw the
outline of the PCB board. Make sure to leave a bit of space around the edge of the board.
11. Use the Design Rules Check ( ) to ensure there are no overlapping traces or other
mechanical problems.
Figure 5: Final board design
Appendix: PCB Design Tips
Component Layout
Try to lay out the components in a logical way, grouping components and sometimes making the
PCB topography reflect the topography of the schematic
Try to minimize the total surface area required
Try to minimize the number of crosses in the ratsnest (dark-yellow lines indicating unrouted
connections)
Make sure that not only do the footprints fit around each other, but the 3D structures of the
components will not intersect.
DO NOT mirror a component unless you are putting it on the other side of the board.

Trace Routing
Try to minimize trace lengths. Long traces add more resistive losses, more thermal noise, and
can act as an antenna.
Do not run two parallel traces on opposing sides of the board on top of each other, they can
become capacitive coupled.
Avoid 90 angles and T-intersection. Instead always go around corners and merge traces at 45
degree angles
Ensure that traces are wide enough to carry their current. Trace width calculators are widely
available on the internet. This is especially important for power traces.
Make sure traces are sufficiently spaced, generally at least one trace-width apart.
Try to balance traces on differential-type devices as much as possible.
If you have room on your circuit, use a ground plane for the ground instead of a trace.