PIC Microcontrollers: Know It All
Featuring a presentation of theory, hard fact, and project-based direction, this reference will help average embedded engineers working with PIC microcontrollers solve a variety of real-life problems in this area.
TABLE OF CONTENTS PIC Microcontrollers: Know It All
Chapter 7: Prototype Hardware
We now come to the stage where we need to look at the techniques available for designing and building our PIC circuits. Circuit design, simulation and layout software has developed to the point where powerful packages are now available at a reasonable cost. Current software allows the circuit to be drawn, tested by simulation, and the circuit netlist (list of components and connections) produced. This is then imported into a PCB design package where the circuit is laid out on screen; this can be printed onto a masking sheet, or a file generated which can be used to automatically produce a PCB.
7.1 Hardware Design
Traditionally, circuits have been designed as sketches on paper and a final version produced by a draftsman. This relied heavily on the experience of the electronics engineer to be able to predict the circuit performance from theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Numerous prototypes would typically be needed to arrive at a working solution.
This process has, since the development of increasingly powerful desktop computers, been radically improved. The designer still has to come up with the original ideas, but the proposed circuits can now be quickly drawn and tested on-screen, and a working design produced without a pencil touching paper or any component being inserted in a prototype board. The design cycle is much faster and the time taken from design concept to market is a major competitive factor in a rapidly changing industry. Therefore, electronic computer aided design (ECAD) is now a vital tool...
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