Circuit Diagram - Artwork

Artwork

Once the schematic has been made, it is converted into a layout that can be fabricated onto a printed circuit board (PCB). The layout is usually started by the process of schematic capture. The result is what is known as a rat's nest. The rat's nest is a jumble of wires (lines) criss-crossing each other to their destination nodes. These wires are routed either manually or by the use of electronics design automation (EDA) tools. The EDA tools arrange and rearrange the placement of components and find paths for tracks to connect various nodes. This results in the final layout artwork for the integrated circuit or printed circuit board.

A generalized design flow would be as follows:

Schematic → Schematic capture → Rat's nest → Routing → Artwork → PCB development & etching → Component mounting → Testing