Product Description
How to Understand and Repurpose an Existing Design is a Kirsch Mackey course that will help you work more efficiently and productively by utilizing existing reference designs. Many component manufacturers provide reference designs, and this course will help you get the most benefit out of them.
Lesson 1: Understanding the Schematic
To understand the PCB layout, you need to understand the design plan first. In this lesson, you will learn how to decipher any schematic.
Lesson 2: PCB Part Placement
Part placement sets the stage for every step in any PCB design. In this lesson you will understand where the parts were placed in the PCB layout and why.
Lesson 3: Outer Signal Layers
Outer signal layers have low-speed signals routed with intent. In this lesson, you will understand design decisions for routing the signals on the outer layers.
Lesson 4: Ground Plane
The most helpful net on most PCBs is the ground. In this lesson you will understand what design decisions the engineers made to optimize the ground net.
Lesson 5: Inner Signal Layers
Inner layer signals are treated differently in the design than the outer layer signals. In this lesson you will learn what factors cause engineers to put certain signals on the inner layers instead of the outer ones and why you might consider doing so as well.
Lesson 6: Power Plane
The power plane is no different from the ground plane in terms of usability. In this lesson you will understand how any voltage reference plane can act as a return path for signal traces and why it should be treated with care.
Lesson 7: Adapting a Reference Design to Future Designs
When reusing portions of a design, it’s not enough to know how engineers made certain design decisions. In this lesson, you will learn what factors to consider and why when repurposing reference designs to suit your needs.