Need Help getting started - tutorials / learning.

[muhammadrish]

I just downloaded the Eagle PCB application and I'm confused about where to start, any suggestions for good and free study places?

[bidrohini · Accepted solution]

Here are some links that may help. You will find many other similar tutorials.

Basic PCB layout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1GL7WXK9dI

Gerber generation: https://www.pcbway.com/blog/Engineering_Technical/Generate_Gerber_files_in_Eagle.html

[muhammadrish]

thanks a lot

[theguru_999]

You can never have too much information 😉

Search youtube for "eagle pcb tutorial for beginners"

I suggest start with this tutorial series.....

Schematic Design

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AXwjZoyNno

Printed Circuit Board Layout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCTs0mNXY24

Cam Output and Design for Manufacturability

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oId-h6AeXXE

These are using an earlier version of Eagle but most of it is relevant so watch these anyway. Afterwards, look for tutorials using newer version 9.x Eagle for something that will be like the version you are using.

[bidrohini]

Here is another link that I thought I'd better share.

https://www.pcbway.com/blog/help_center/How_to_Generate_BOM_and_Centroid_File_in_Eagle_f0fa4189.html

This shows how to Generate BOM and Centroid File in Eagle.

[scottH36AU]

Probably worth knowing that Eagle has been abandoned by Autodesk now (actually it's been abandoned for a couple of years with no bug fixes), and is being completely removed in the near future so you might be better off learning another PCB design tool.

[theguru_999]

It doesn't matter. It's a very common *INCORRECT* assumption that people need the latest thing. This is so wrong on so many levels it's hilarious. If Eagle was killed tomorrow I will still be using it to create my PCB designs. I know people who still use old software from 20 years ago. If it does what you need and works just continue to use it. That goes for hardware too. Most of my work is done on an offline Toshiba Tecra A8 laptop from 2009. Eagle works fine. My Samsung Galaxy S4 phone still works fine. I have 6 EPROM programmers from 5-20 years old, all work fine on various older PCs (some PCs are 20 years old). My TV is from 2000, still works fine. I was given a 2017 55" 4K LG TV a few years ago, fixed it and now it works fine. My car is from 2009, still works fine. My collection of around fifty 80's home computers still work fine. There's a theme here....

[scottH36AU]

I've been using Eagle for over 10 years. It's literally being removed from their subscription plan, and as it's now a partially cloud-based app it means there will be no way to log into it, so it will have reduced functionality at best - but likely won't even launch. It's not just that it's not the newest thing - if I worked that way I wouldn't still be using it. You're making a silly assumption. It already has numerous bugs that will never be fixed now (I've complained about the high DPI display bug for over 2 years, and no fix). As time goes on, it will face even more compatibility issues - even if it launches. It's not open source, so nobody else can work on it. So it literally makes no sense at all for someone to start learning how to use a tool that is EOL'd when there are plenty of alternatives that match or exceed the functionality now. Again, I'm speaking as someone who uses Eagle almost every day currently.

As for your car analogy - would your car still "work fine" if the company that built it, and the only company that could work on it, no longer serviced it, or allowed anyone else to service it?

[amelia1smith1999]

Hi,

You have taken the best step for your learning. I suggest you understand the user interface first. after that, you must learn the tutorials about your needs and design. Try to search more on the internet. clear your idea in mind and then start the new project. Eagle has a simple and straightforward way to design your project. Go to Eagle> start new project> design schematic>assign footprints>switch to PC layout>route traces>generate manufacturing files. For all this, you have to make up your mind first.