Need help for the Schematic of my Project!

Schematic
1

I’m currently working on a ESP32-MP3-Player, but I really don’t know how to do the schematic.

By the way I’m done with the PCB design but don’t known before yet how to set the Resistor, Capacitor, etc. values, and forgott which Resistor or Capacitor has planned to have which value.
Here is a try to update the schematic from the PCB:

Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "HL2" und "HL2" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "HL1" und "HL1" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Footprints "REF**" und "REF**" sind mit dem selben Symbol verknüpft.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "C1" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "C2" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "C3" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "C4" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "DA1" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "HL1" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "HL2" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R1" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R10" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R2" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R3" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R4" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R5" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R6" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R7" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R8" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "R9" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "REF**" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "RK1" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "SW_BACK" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "SW_DOWN" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "SW_LEFT" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "SW_MENU" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "SW_PAUSE" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "SW_RIGHT" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "SW_UP" nicht finden.
Fehler: Kann das Symbol für den Footprint "XT1" nicht finden.

A big thing is also if the PCB is right, its my first REAL Project (Im by the way @Noel_Tech_addict, and for those of you who remember me, i’ve changed a little bit!)

heres a pic of the PCB:

image
image291×547 13.7 KB

Yep this is Chunky for a MP3-Player, i know, but it’s fun and if it works also Open-Source!

I hope anyone can help me!

2

So…what are you starting with?

I thought maybe you have a pcb design and are trying to produce a schematic diagram from that?

Are you a bot?

2 Likes
3

If you are able to draw that PCB, you won’t have trouble mastering a Schematic. This link, https://docs.kicad.org/ explains all. Start with the “Beginners Guide”.

You can’t make a Schematic with that tool, all you can do is update (make changes to values etc). Component values, along with footprints, are usually set in the Schematic first. When you remember which parts have which value, place them on the schematic you draw, update the PCB from the Schematic, and replace your existing footprints with the new ones. If you wish to label your existing footprints do it through their properties.

4

These REF** reference designators only appear if you put footprints directly on the PCB from a library, and not via the Update PCB from Schematic [F8] method. This also explains why footprints for C1 and DA1 and such are not found. This is a very basic part learing to work with KiCad. Did you go though tutorials such as Getting Started in KiCad | 8.0 | English | Documentation | KiCad ?

5

Why you questioning that? This question I got also in my old account! I really don’t get it.

6

I asked several questions and I am not certain which one you are referring to.

The vast majority of us on this website are engineers, or closely associated with engineers or are engineering oriented. At least we are trying to think like engineers.

Your post does not make much sense to me, and I suspect that many others on this forum agree with me.

Most of us want to design something. We start with a schematic and take that to a pcb design. That is the normal workflow for KiCad and most other EDA software.

Sometimes a person starts with an existing pcb which they obtained and is trying to reverse engineer it. This is not the most common but it is understandable.

But you have no schematic and you have an incomplete pcb layout. So I do not know what you have or what is your goal?

I guess if you want good responses to your questions, you ought to try to pose your questions in ways that we can understand.

I do know that many participants on this forum deal with ESL considerations, but those are also understandable. I don’t think that ESL affects a person’s objectives in using KiCad.

2 Likes
7

Sort of:

  1. Put the symbols in the schematic.
  2. Do the annotation in the schematic.
  3. Fill in the Refdes field of all PCB part so there are no more `REF1** and all RefDes values match the corresponding parts in the schematic.
  4. Schematic Editor / Tools / Update PCB form Schematic [F8], and make sure the Re-link footprints to schematic symbols based on their reference designators is on to create connections between the symbols and the footprints.
  5. Draw some wires in the schematic, change values etc, and do the Update PCB from Schematic [F8], but now make sure the Re-Link footprints … option is off.
  6. Repeat this until there are no more ratsnest lines in the **PCB Editor, and DRC is also happy.
8

Do you have normal vias here that your PCB fabricator can actually make ? they look a little strange . . .

image

9

The bot question, i got this question on a bunch of my forum accounts

10

image

low Graphic screenshot, sorry!

11

So what size are those vias ? via diameter and via hole ?

For example:

image
image700×320 36.4 KB

12

Oh that’s what you meant! They are Micro Vias

image
image874×480 34.8 KB

13

Who are you getting to make that PCB for you ? not JLCPCB or PCB Way . . .

14

Ok? should i change them to normal vias?

15

Yes, change them to normal via’s. “Micro Via’s” are not just small via’s, they have a specific meaning, and in general they are not even manufactureable in a 2 sided PCB. Apart from that, they are also too small. There is no space constraint on your PCB, and using via’s with a 0.6mm drill and an annular ring of 0.2mm is a more common proportion. The outside diameter would then be: 0.6 + 2*0.2 = 1.0mm.

The missing GND plane and the bad routing should also be fixed.

16

Oh, didn’t knowed this, sorry, and i changed it! thanks for telling me this

1 Like
17

I once put a microvia on a board by mistake and the factory contacted me asking if they could increase the size to be above their limit or I would accept being charged more. I corrected the mistake and resubmitted.

18

BobZ, your help is not terribly helpful. Instead of replying as you have, you could always choose to not reply at all. Others who are genuinely inclined to help can do so without all this noise.

I for one have not forgotten what it is like to learn a new skill on your own, and one symptom is not knowing where to start.

MSC615, you’ve clearly put a lot of effort into your PCB, and I get where you’re coming from. Building prototypes on breadboards or protoboard often starts with gathering the modules and stringing them together. Electronics is essentially advanced legos, so it makes sense. However when you transition to making proper PCBs with a fabricator, there are a lot of steps you shouldn’t sprint past or skip. One of those steps is starting with the schematic. Until now the schematic is most likely something you built in your head as you went along, or perhaps it was a fuzzy schematic from the beginning that helps you choose the modules you think you’ll need. You always have room to add things at any step along the way, but when building a PCB with an EDA like KiCAD, you need to basically get the schematic perfect or you’ll have to build a lot of different versions of boards. It’s not a bad way to learn, but it can be wasteful and might hurt your wallet.

In my opinion, you can still build with modules and solder them to your PCB, and that’s a good way to get going. What you need to do is find 2 things for each module you want to use. The “symbol” which is the representation of the module for the schematic, and the “footprint” which is the physical shape of the parts that solder to the PCB. The footprints get associated with the symbols, so after you build the schematic, the footprints will automatically appear in the PCB designer. Then you’ll see little blue lines that are called the ratsnest, which show you which parts are connected. Once you draw the traces (the copper lines) they’ll be connected and the ratsnest lines will disappear. You should use different thicknesses of traces depending on how much electrical current they will be handling, but that takes a bit of experience and study, so start with something in the middle like .5mm or .75mm. I find that a good rule of thumb is that a 1mm trace can carry about 1A of current. If we consider that, .5mm is about 500mA of current, which is enough for most things you’ll build early on. That should be able to handle the current needed for an ESP32. Make all your traces that big and you’ll also have no trouble getting it built. Try not to use anything fancy like microvias or anything. Try to keep everything separated. Until you get a better idea of what is ok and what isn’t, try to keep all your components on one side of the board, and only have copper traces on the back side. If you can stick to throughhole components at first, you’ll find life easier when assembling. You’ll have to do boring stuff like actually figure out the size, shape, and value of every component you want to use from the very beginning when making your schematic or you’ll probably regret it later when working on the PCB.

There are lots of good resources on how to do this stuff on YouTube. It helps to see it happen. I recommend watching a bunch of videos before getting started because familiarity with it, even if you don’t quite understand it all, will help you learn faster.

I hope this is useful advice. Good luck!

1 Like
19

I don’t agree with this one.
You need to bend the legs of each resistor accordingly. To solder each element you have to turn the PCB over. To prevent the standing legs from getting in your way, you need to cut them off after (or before) each soldering of the element. When little higher element happens to be soldered then lower likes to fall out when you try to solder it. If you hold them with your finger, you may get burned.
With SMD you just put element after element and solder it not having to turn the PCB (you only rotate it to get better access to next pads). During 1990-1995 we moved to SMD (even those time we soldered manually our products).

1 Like
20

My responses have helped many participants in this forum. And at least two other participants liked my response to your post. Please try to maintain a positive attitude. I am doing that, believe it or not…

I am not a KiCad expert and in many cases I do not have the full answer. But this forum’s effort is a group effort. Even when I do not have the full answer, asking questions can help the rest of us get there. Presumably all “original poster” questions on this forum originate with someone trying to get from A to B in their design. But mainly your point A was unclear to me.

If I am not the first person to think that your post was from a bot, then perhaps you ought to figure out why that is.

1 Like