Choosing a CAD Package
There are a variety of CAD packages avialable to design Printed Circuit Boards, some of which are freely available to students. All packages will produce the Gerber and Excellion files needed to create a PCB.

Students of the PCB post-diploma program will use Mentor Graphics in their courses.
Design Rules
When you are laying out your PCB, remember to follow these restrictions:

  • Our ProtoMat 60 can produce two-layer (top and bottom) boards, not multilayer boards.
  • Our ProtoMat 60 can not trace leads closer than 0.010 inches, so ensure your traces are separated by at least this much. Most CAD programs include a design rule check feature that will verify this for you.
  • The ProtoMat 60 does not plate Vias (small plated holes from the top solder layer to the bottom solder layer). If you use Vias, you will need to solder them yourself manually, so it's a good idea to limit their number.
  • Remember to only use component-side traces for components that can be soldered from the component side of the board. For example, resistors and capacitorys are okay, DIP sockets probably are not.
  • When laying out your board, remember to use drill sizes our ProtoMat 60 supports.
Drill Sizes
When designing your PCB, you should only use these drill sizes:
Purpose Size (mm)
Drill Bits 0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.3
1.5
2.0
2.95
3.0
Universal Mill 0.2
End Mill 0.25
0.4
0.8
1.0
Router 1
2