I designed my own board over a year ago. It is a 4 layer design (38 mm x 100 mm) that works OK. Components are on both sides. But I had some ideas to make some changes. The new design is maybe 60% the same. As I work on the pcb revision I get a thought…it is not the first time that I have thought this:
While revising the schematic was an enjoyable and satisfying process, revising the pcb is something of a pain as compared to doing the original layout. While elimination of deleted components is easy enough, there are a lot of tracks, vias, and zones which lead me to say “Why is that over there?” Then I go back to the original design and say “Oh!”. I feel like it is a lot more difficult to work around the held-over portions of what I had then it would be to clear almost everything and start over. I think I have thought this previously when I was making major revisions to a design. Even though the layout appears to be 90% done, the last bit is coming along with difficulty and I am sort of thinking to clear the layout and start over.
I’ve always found parts placement extremely difficult if trying to work around annoyingly colourful connecting lines. Having to move tracks, or wondering why they were placed somewhere in the first place completely wrecks my concentration.
If it is a major revision, I tend to flush everything down the toilet except original footprint placement and board outline unless, of course, I remember some section as inspirational or genius. Unfortunately these last thoughts don’t usually happen with a major revision.
Thanks. It is good to know that I am not the only one who has encountered this sort of issue. I have decided to not to give up on this layout just yet.
But another puzzle hit me just now. (BONK! Oooowww!) Everything in the pcb view somehow became dimmed except for one or two footprints or tracks that had been selected. I could select different tracks or footprints and those would brighten but all else remained dim. I poked around layer display options and all of the menus that I could find, but had no success to restore normal brightness to any layer. I resorted to closing the file and re-opening. The brightness came back to normal, but this is clearly not the correct method.
