Make Your Own PCBs with EAGLE: From Schematic Designs to Finished Boards

by Simon Monk

Design custom printed circuit boards with EAGLE

Learn how to make double-sided professional-quality PCBs from the ground up using EAGLE--the powerful, flexible design software. In this step-by-step guide, electronics guru Simon Monk leads you through the process of designing a schematic, transforming it into a PCB layout, and submitting standard Gerber files to a manufacturing service to create your finished board. Filled with detailed illustrations, photos, and screenshots, Make Your Own PCBs with EAGLE features downloadable example projects so you can get started right away.

Install EAGLE Light Edition and discover the views and screens that make up an EAGLE project
Create the schematic and board files for a simple LED project
Find the right components and libraries for your projects
Work with the Schematic Editor
Lay out PCBs with through-hole components and with surface mount technology
Build a sound level meter with a small amplifier and ten LEDs
Generate Gerber design files to submit for fabrication
Solder through-hole PCBs and SMD boards
Design a plug-in Arduino shield
Build a Raspberry Pi expansion board
Automate repetitive tasks using scripts and User Language Programs
Create your own libraries and parts and modify existing components

366 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2013

Reviews

[John Wargo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s good, but the authors could have done better. The books for an older version of Eagle, so a lot was wrong in the instructions (not the authors’s fault). My problem with it was that the instructions were incomplete. If they showed you how to use the UI in some way, and later referred to that UI element. They didn’t repeat the info - so, you only get the info once, not once in intro and later when you actually use it for the first time. I also noticed that the authors fell into the same trap many authors of technical content do. They provide information in the wrong order. Don’t tell me what I’m looking for, the how to find it, give me the instructions in the exact order I need them in. Look here, then here, then click on that rather than click on that, looking first here, the here to find it. Makes sense?

[Dan Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this might be the best book on using Eagle to create PCBs (I've tried 3, and there aren't many other books on the topic), it has a few problems:
1) Eagle has changed its interface quite a lot since this book was released, and its not always obvious how to accomplish things that the book describes
2) There are a number of copy editing errors, most commonly cases where a figure doesn't match the book's description
3) Although the book is meant to be a step-by-step tutorial, it often skips steps, leaving the reader to figure out what they missed

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any other resources that would provide a better introduction to Eagle. This book covers all of the important stuff, and the downloadable example files are a big help.

[Kaitlynn Theurkauf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice introduction to EAGLE. This text is easy to follow despite being for an earlier version of EAGLE. There seemed to be a lot of overlap with my 9.6.2 version of EAGLE and there are numerous online forums that helped where there were major discrepancies between versions. I especially appreciated the detail the author included on the PCB manufacturing progress and the tips for avoiding common pitfalls when sending boards to be printed.

[Frederic Philips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very comprehensive. The tips for better PCB design was quite helpful. Would definitely recommend it.

[Nikita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to both the subject of PCB design and manufacturing and using EAGLE to aid that process. As someone else mentioned, the software takes a little bit of getting used to and the book does make this process smoother by offering guidance around using EAGLE it as a complete newbie.

[Bruce Lowther]

Eh. Ok, but not great. May not be the book that is the problem, it's eagle is such a usability train wreck. This software cash chow needs to be slayed by a better working program for PCB Layout.

[David Arrustico · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great as an introductory book! Although it doesn't really deepen much into the board/schematic design tools offered by Eagle.

[BBFlyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding tutorial on using Autodesk Eagle to design and build circuit boards. Includes designing the schematic, designing
the circuit boards, designing custome compoments for the parts library, and generating the CAM (Gerber) files needed to get a PC Board house to make them.