SchematicDesignTutorial

DuringthetutorialwewillcreateaSchematicdesignthisishowitwilllookwhenfinished.

Duringthedesignprocess,wewillwalkyouthroughalltheaspectsofdrawingthisandaddingthedetail
togiveitintelligence.
Thedesignconsistsoftwopartsthefirstisthepowerregulatorcircuitatthetopwhichconvertsa12V
supplyto5V.Thebottomhalfisthemain555timercircuititself.

StartingaNewSchematic
TostartanewSchematicdesignoraPCBdesign
FromtheFilemenu,clickNew(shortcutkey<CtrlN>)

ChecktheSchematicDesignbuttonandtheUseTechnologyFilebutton.TheDefault.stftemplate
willhelpyougetstartedquicker,selectthisfile.MoredetailaboutTechnologyfilesisavailableinthe
OnlineHelp.

ClicktheOKbuttontostartanewSchematicdesign.
Note:IfyouintendcreatingaPCBwithoutaSchematicdesign(whichyoucando),justclickthePCB
DesignbuttonandOK,followtheNewPCBWizard.Thenskiptothechapterheaded,StartingaNew
PCBDesign.

YourDesignSparkwindowwilllooklikethisreadytostart:

Fornow,wewillprogressontoaddingcomponentstothedesign.

AddingComponents
TOADDACOMPONENT
TherearetwomethodsforaddingcomponentswewillusetheInteractionbartostartwith,youcan
alsousetheAddComponentoptionaswell.
TheInteractionbarhasautomaticallybeenstartedwhencreatinganewSchematicdesign.Ifithasnt,
clickthe<F9>shortcutkeytodisplayit.
SelecttheAddComponentbrowsertabatthebottomoftheInteractionbar.

Fromthelistofavailablelibraries,selecttheDiscretelibrary.Clickonthesmalldownarrowtoreveal
thedropdownlistandthenmaketheselection.

TheComponentlistwillbepopulatedwithcomponents.Selectingthislibrarywillautomaticallyselect
thefirstcomponentinthelistaswell.

Scrolldownthelistofcomponentsusingtheverticalscrollbar.ThefirstinthelististhegenericC
component.Youcanalsoclickinthislistandtypethefirstandsubsequentlettersandnumbersofthe
itemrequired.
ScrolldownandselectthecomponentR.ThisisagenericresistorthatwewillchangetheValuefor
lateron.Youcanalsoworkwithspecificnamedpartsifyouprefer,bothmethodsareacceptablein
DesignSpark.

ApreviewofboththeSchematicandPCBsymbolswillbedisplayed(thePCBsymbolistopmostinthe
preview).
Onceyouhavethecorrectcomponent,youcanadditbyselectingthesymbolpreviewanddraggingit
intothedesign.Youcanalsoaddthecomponentbyselectinganddraggingitsname.

Thisisaoneshotprocess.Ifyouwishtoaddmoreofthesametype,draganotherfromthebin.
Thecomponentiscurrentlyontheendofyourcursor.Toplaceitinthedesign,clicktheleftmouse
buttononce.
Youneed7resistorsintotalforthefinalcircuit.Oncethefirstonehasbeenplaced,pickanddrag6
morefromtheAddComponentwindow.Positiontheminastacklikethepicturebelow.Fornow,their
positionisntimportantanyway.

TOPAN&ZOOMINTHEDESIGN
Toviewtheresistorscloser,rollthemousewheelbuttonforwardtozoomin.Ifyouzoomintoofast
(andtoofar),rollthemousewheelbuttonbackwards(slowly).Ifyouzoomtoofareitherway,press
<A>onthekeyboardtoViewAllandthenzoominoroutagain.Shortcutkeysarealsoavailablefor
Zoomin<Z>andZoomout<U>.
Youcanzoomwhilethecomponentisactiveontheendofyourcursor.

TOADDTHECAPACITORS
Weneed7normalcapacitorsforthiscircuitplus4electrolyticcapacitors.FromtheAdd
ComponentbrowseroptionagaintypeCinthecomponentlist.Thecomponentnamewilljumpbackto

theCcomponentinthelist.

Thepreviewwindowsconfirmthisisthecorrectcomponent.Aswiththeresistors,thisisageneric
componentandwewillchangeitsvaluelateron.
Asbefore,draggingacomponentfromthebrowserwilladdanothertothedesign.Thistimeonlydrag
outonecapacitortoaddC1andthenpause.Thedesignwilllooklikethis:

Wewilluseadifferenttechniquetoaddmorecapacitors.
SelectthecapacitorC1inthedesign.Pressthe<CtrlC>keysonyourkeyboardatthesametime
toCopythecapacitor.Nowpress<CtrlV>toPasteacopyofthecapacitorintothedesign.Youwillsee
thatanidenticalcopyofC1hasbeenmadeandisnamedC2.ThesearestandardWindows
commands.

MoveC2intopositionandjustunderneathC1bymovingthemouse.Singleclicktorelease.Nowuse
<CtrlV>again,toaddanothercapacitorC3andthenagaintoaddC7.
Yourdesignnowlookslikethis:

Obviouslyinadesignassimpleasthis,itwouldhavebeenquickertodragoutall7capacitorsbutthe
Copy/Pasteprincipleisworthdemonstratingasyouwillseeitsvaluelaterone.

TOSWITCHOFFTHEDISPLAYEDGRID
Atthisstagewedontreallyneedtoseethedisplayedgriddotssoletsswitchthemoff.Click<G>to
togglethegridoff.Pressthiskeyagainwillswitchitbackonatanytime.

TOADDTHEOPAMP
Ourdesignrequiresan555TimerandaTL072.Wewilluseanothertechniquetoaddthese
components.Therewillbeothercomponentstoaddalsobutwecanaddtheselaterasyouwouldina
realdesignbuildingthedesignupasyouprogress.
ClicktheAddComponentbuttononthetoolbar,shortcutkey<F3>.

TheAddComponentdialogwilldisplay[AllLibraries]inthelibrarypath.WewillustheFindoptionto
locatebothofthesecomponentsinthelibrary.

TOFINDCOMPONENTSINTHELIBRARY
FromtheAddComponentdialog,clicktheFindbutton.

WewillfindtheNE555timerfirst.FortheNameselection,chooseContainsfromthedropdownlist.In
thetextentry,typene555.Thiswillbeenoughtogetnearanametothenmatchwhatweneed.

ClicktheFindbutton.Thecontentslistwillbepopulatedwithallmatchingitemsfromallthelibraries.

SelectNE555PatthebottomofthelistfromtheHybridlibrary.
Youcaneithersendthiscomponenttothedesignbyusingadoubleclickoryoucanpreviewitin
theAddcomponentdialogcontentslistbyselectingtheClosebutton.WewillusetheAddComponent
methodonthefirstdeviceandthedoubleclickmethodonthesecond.
Afterselecting,youllnoticethatthiscomponentisnowpreselectedintheAddComponentdialog
behindthis.

UsetheClosebuttonontheFinddialog.

TOADDCOMPONENTS
WiththeNE555PselectedfromtheHybridlibrary,presstheAddbuttonandaddittothedesign.
Dependingonyourcurrentzoomlevel,youmayneedtorollthemousewheeltozoomoutalittle.You
willneedtogiveyourselfsomespaceonthedesigninwhichtoplacethisnewcomponent.
TheNE555(U1)isshowninthedesignontheendofyourcursor.Positionitnexttothecapacitorsbutit
doesntmatterwhereitgoesfornow.
GobacktotheAddComponentdialog<F3>andclicktheFindbuttonagain.
Typeintl072notethecasetypedisntimportant.
ClicktheFindbutton.

Thistime,doubleclickonthenameinthefoundlist.BoththeFinddialogandAddComponentdialog
willcloseandthecomponentwillbeontheendofyourcursorreadytoplaceinthedesign.
Thisisatwogateddevice.Clickthemouseoncetoplacethefirstgate.Thesecondgatewillnowbe
dynamicontheendofyourcursorreadyforplacing.Wedonotneedthisgatesoitcanbediscarded
(intotheComponentBinoffthedesignsheet).
Clickthe<Esc>buttontodiscardit.
Thedesignnowlookslikethis:

Beforewemaketheconnectionsweshouldchangethecomponentvaluestobetheonesrequired.This
iseasytodobecauseweveusedgenericcomponents.IfyouprefertousespecificPartnamed
components(auniqueComponentforeachdeviceyouorderandbuyin),youcanalsoworkthisway
withDesignSpark.
Alltheresistorsandcapacitorswehaveusedinthisexamplecircuitaregeneric.Theyallhavethe
samevaluesatthemoment.Inthenextexercise,wewillchangetheirvaluestobeuniqueandas
required.

TOEDITCOMPONENTVALUES
DoubleclickontheValuefield(1K)onR1,theComponenttabofthePropertiesdialogisdisplayed.

WeneedtousetheValuestabletochangethevaluessoclickonthe(Component)Valuestab.
TheValuefieldshowsthecurrent1Kvalueandisalreadyhighlighted.SimplyclicktheEditbuttonor
doubleclickthebluehighlightedfieldtoeditthevaluerequired.

Typein100K.

Whendone,clicktheOKbuttontoexitthisdialogandOKagaintoexitPropertiesdialog.Whenthe
valueofR1ischangedto100Kthedesignisupdated.
Usingthesameprocess(doubleclickingontheValuename),edittheValuefieldsforallRsandCsin
thedesignasshownbelow:
R1100KR2100KR32KR4100KR52KR61KR7787K
C1100nFC2100nFC3100nFC4100nFC5100nFC6220nFC710nF
Aquicktiphereisthatifthereareacoupleofcomponentswiththesamevalue,editthefirstonethen
copyitasmanytimesasyouneedratherthaneditingeachone.
Ourdesignnowlookslikethis:

Ifyouselectthewholecomponentbymistake,youcanstilledittheValuefieldbyclicking
theComponentValuestabonthePropertiesdialog.
YoucanalsousetheValuesoptionontheshortcutmenuinsteadofProperties.Thisjusttakesyou
directlytotheValuespageofPropertiestosavetime.

UTOADDADRAWINGBORDERTOTHEDESIGN
Atanytimeyoucanaddadrawingbordertothedesign.Wewilladdonenow.
UsingtheAddComponentBrowseragain(<F9>),selecttheSchemalibraryfromthedropdownlist.
Forreference,thisisaschematiconlycomponentlibraryandwillnothaveanyPCBsymbolsassociated
withthem.
ScrolldownthelistandselecttheA4drawingborder.ThishasbeenpreviouslycreatedtofitanA4
pagesize.

NotethereisnoPCBfootprintforthiscomponent,itisSchematicsonly.
Likeothercomponents,selectA4fromthelistorfromthepreview.Dragitintothedesignandpositionit
ontopoftheexistingcomponents.Youmayneedtozoomoutabittoseeitalltoplaceitsomewhere
near.Usethe<Z>keytozoomoutor<A>toviewallofthedesign.Forspeedyoucanalsorollthe
mousewheel.

Aswithothercomponents,thiscanbemovedandeditedlaterifyouneedto,extradetailcanbeadded
toit.Clickoncetoreleaseit.

TOSAVETHEDESIGN
Atthisstageitmightbeagoodideatosaveyourdesign.GototheFilemenuandselectSaveAs.Save
ittotheExamplesfolderandcallitsomethingsensible,likeTutorial.sch.

PlacingComponents
Thepositionofthecomponentscurrentlyisastheywereplacedafteraddingthemtothedesign.We
needtoplacethemaroundU1sotheycanbeusedinourcircuit.Onarealdesign,thiswouldbehow
youwouldworkinpractice.Toremindyou,thefullcircuitlookslikethis:

Movethecomponentsintopositionbypickinganddraggingtheminonemoveusingthemouse.This
methodologyisusedthroughouttosavetimeandeffort.Itmeans,acontinuousselectanddragofthe
mousewithoutreleasingonacomponent(orotheritems,thisworksformovinganyitem).Whenyou
releasethemouse,thecomponentplacedanddeselectedinitscurrentposition.Ifyoumakeamistake,
useUndo<CtrlZ>torestoreitsposition.
Componentscanberotatedduringmovebyclickingthe<R>key.Asingleclickofthe<R>keywill
rotatethecomponentby90degrees.Click<R>morethanoncetorotateitbyanother90degreesand
soon.Thereareotherrotatemodesandrotationincrementsavailableontheshortcutmenuwhen
movingthecomponent.
Note:Youcanalsochangetheplacementtofinetuneitafteraddingtheconnectionsaswell.
Thedesignwillnowlooklikethis(withpartofthecircuitplaced):

Placetheothercomponents.Theorderinwhichyouplacethemdoesntmakeanydifference.Inareal

design,youwouldaddandplacethemlogicallyasyoubuildupthecircuit.

Twocapacitorsareleftunplaced(C6andC7),thesewillbeplacedatthealatertimewhenwecreate
thevoltageregulator.
Youarenowreadytoaddsomeconnections.

AddingConnections
ConnectionsareaddedtotheSchematicdesigntomakeconnectivitybetweenelectricalpins.When
translatedtothePCBdesign,theseconnectionsgiveyouyournetlist.
Youcanaddconnectionsinanumberofways:
UsingtheAddConnectionoptionfromtheAddmenuorfromtheSchematicToolbar,clickonthe
pintostartaddingaconnection,or
Doubleclickingonacomponentpintostartanewconnection,or
'Dragging'offanunconnectedcomponentpintostartanewconnection.
Forthistutorialwewillusethedraggingoffpinsmethodasthisistheeasiesttostartwith.

TOADDCONNECTIONSBYDRAGGINGOFFPINS
Toaidtheadditionofconnectionstoaschematic,youcansimplydragoffanelectricalpin,eachclick
ofthemousewillthenaddacorner.Movingoveranotherelectricalpinwillallowyoutofinishthe
connection.
Usingthedesignthatyouhavecreatedsofar,zoominontheareaaroundC5likethepicturebelow.

Clickanddrag(keepingthemousebuttonpresseddown)offpin2ofC5,thiswillstartanew
connection.MovethemouseoverU2apin3andsingleclicktofinish.

Youdonothavetobeexactlyoverapintofinishaconnectionaslongasthecursoriswithinrange
thenitwillsnapontotheterminal.Clickthemousebuttononcetofinish.Youllnoticethatthe
componentpinterminalsXdisappearwhenyouconnecttoitthisindicatesthatitisconnected.

TOJOINCONNECTIONSTOGETHER
Thereareacoupleofconnectionswhichmustbeconnectedtogether.Letsassumethatyouvemadea
connectionandnowyouneedtoconnectanothertoitusingajunctiondot.Whenyouattempttofinisha
connectiononanexistingconnection,whenyoureleasethemouse,theconnectionwillautomaticallybe
added(asifitwereanelectricalterminal)andajunctiondotdisplayedtoindicateitisconnected.

Followingtheexampledesignabove,completethedesignaddingtheconnectionsrequired.

AddingPower&GroundSymbols
PowerandgroundsymbolsareusedintheSchematictoindicateaconnectiontoapowersource.

ThesesymbolsarerequiredforaestheticpurposesandarenottranslatedtothePCB(becausetheydo
nothavePCBfootprintsassociatedwiththem).Thesignalstheyrepresentareconnectedtogetherat
thetranslatestagebyimpliedconnectivity.Thepower&groundsymbolsthemselvescancontain
inherentnetnamepropertiesthatareautomaticallyusedwhenthesymbolisattachedtothenet.

TOADDPOWERSYMBOLS
UsingtheAddComponentbrowserontheInteractionbar<F9>.

TheSchemalibrarywillstillbeselectedafterusingitpreviouslywhenaddingthe
Lettercomponent.Ifforsomereasonitisnt,selectitnowfromthelibrarylist.
IntheComponentlistselect0V.Youwillseethesymbolselectedinthepreview
box.Remember,allofthesesymbolshavenoPCBSymbolassociatedwiththem,
theyareSchematiconlysymbols.

Dragthe0Vsymbolintothedesignfromthebrowser.MoveitbetweenR3andR6,clickthemouseto
releaseit.

Usingourworkingdesign,addmore0Vsymbolstothedesignasshown.Connectthesebydraggingoff

thesymboltotheexistingconnection.Aconfirmationdialogwillbedisplayedtoindicateanonnamed
netisbeingconnectedtoanamednet.Thisensureyouarentjoiningnetswhichyoudontknowabout.

ClickOKtoconfirmthis.
FromtheAddComponentbrowser,addone+5VsymbolthistimeandplacenearR4andC4.Now
addone5Vsymbol,placeitnearC3.
Dragaconnectionofftheendofthesymbolterminalandconnectasshownbelow.
Yourdesignwilllooksomethinglikethis:

Remembertosavethedesign.UseSavefromtheFilemenu.
Youwillneedtoaddadiodetothedesign.
FromtheInteractionbar<F9>,useAddComponent.SelecttheDiscrete.cmllibraryand

chooseDfromthelist.Thiswillgiveyouagenericdiode.
Ifyouprefer,andnowthatyouknowhowtodoaFindintheAddComponentdialog,searchfora
specificdiode.Youactuallyneeda1N4148,butifyouchoosethegenericdialogfromthelibrary,editthe
valuesothatyoumakeita1N4148.
Addthediodebydraggingitfromthebrowserintothedesign.Placeitnext
toR2androtateitby270degrees(click<R>3xtimes.

AddtwoconnectionstoconnectittobothsidesofR2asshown.
Generallyspeakingyouwouldnowneedtoaddsomeconnectorpinstoconnectthecircuittothe
outsideworld.

AddingConnectors
Forthisexample,wewilluseaconnectorcomponentfromthelibrary.Connectorsaresimplyadditional
libraryitemsandnotspecialdevicesassuch.

TOADDCONNECTORPINS
UsingtheAddComponentbrowserfromtheInteractionbar<F9>.Select
theConnector.cmlcomponentlibrary.
SelecttheD9Fconnectorcomponentfromthelist.ThePCBSymbolandSchematicSymbolpreviews
willbedisplayed.
Dragitintothedesignandplaceitshownbelow.YouwillneedtoFlipitbyusingthe<F>key.Thiswill
displayitthewayweneedit.

ConnectintheconnectortothedesignusingAddConnectionorbydraggingoffapin.

ADDMORECOMPONENTS
Youwillalsoneedtoaddfourmorecapacitors,butthistime,addtheComponentCPusing
theAddComponentbrowserordialogandusetheDiscrete.cmllibrary.AddC8,C9,C10andC11.
WewilluseC8andC9abitlateron.
PlaceC10andC11neartheconnectorCONN1.Connecttheseasshownbelow:

ClicktheSavebuttonontheFilemenutosavethedesign.
Usingthepicturebelow,completethecircuitbyaddingthevoltageregulatorcircuit.

WealreadyaddedthecapacitorsC6,C7,C10andC11butyouwillnowneedtoaddU3whichis
a7805.
Changethecomponentvaluesfortheremainingcapacitorstothesevalues:
C847uFC9470uFC10100uFC11100uF
AddSignalreferencesfor+12V,+5Vand0VfromtheSchema.cmllibraryasyoudidbefore.Ifthe
symbolalreadyexistsinthedesign,simplycopyandpasteitforfastaddition.
TheinputsideofU3onpin1is+12V.Thiswillbeconnectedtopin1ofConn1,theconnector.

AddingNetReferences
Asanexercise,weveaddedaNetReferencetothedesign.Thisistwopinsonoppositesidesofthe
designperhapswhichneedtobeconnectedtogetherbutforwhichyoudonotneedtoaddafull
connection.
Wewilladdashortconnectionforeachpin,addaschematiconlycomponentasthesignalreference
andnamethenetonbothends.Thiswillactasanimpliedconnection.ThenwhentheSchematicis
translatedtoPCB,thesetwopointswillbeconnectedtogether.

FromtheAddComponentbrowser,fromtheSchema.cmllibrary,addtwoTocomponentstothedesign.
AddaconnectionbetweenCONN1pin8andtheTosymbol.
Remember,theintelligenceintheimpliednetisthenetname,sonowwemustnametheconnection.

USINGCHANGENET

SelectthepinontheTosymbol.Fromtheshortcutmenu,selectChangeNet.
Fromthedialog,typetheNetName:SINE_OUT
LeavetheNetClassasSignal.ClickOKtoexit.

TheNetisnownamed(SINE_OUT),nowyouneedtodisplayit.

DISPLAYINGNETNAMES
SelecttheconnectiontotheTosymbol.
Rightclickandfromtheshortcutmenu,selectDisplayNetName.
Nowthatitisdisplayed,youcanselectitandmoveitintotherequiredposition.

Thatisonehalfoftheimpliednetcompleted.Youmustnowdothisprocedureagainfortheotherpin.

MAKINGTHEOTHERHALFOFTHEIMPLIEDNET
WewillmovethesecondTosymboltotherightsideofU2(theTL072component).
Addasmallconnectionbetweentheoutputpin7ofU2andtheTosymbol.
Nowusingthesametechniqueasweusedjustabove,changetheNetNametoSINE_OUTanddisplay
itusingtheDisplayNetNameoptionfromtheshortcutmenu.

YourSchematicisFinished
Theschematicdesigniscomplete,remembertosaveitnow.Youmaywishtoprintittocheckit,use
thePrintoptionfromtheFilemenu.

ThenextstageistoconvertthedesignintothePCBdesignenvironment.Todothis,moveontothe
nextchapterConvertingYourSchematicToPCB