diff --git a/public/schmatic_rant/boxes_to_check.png b/public/schmatic_rant/boxes_to_check.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..18ff80c Binary files /dev/null and b/public/schmatic_rant/boxes_to_check.png differ diff --git a/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_best_implemention.png b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_best_implemention.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..95822a4 Binary files /dev/null and b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_best_implemention.png differ diff --git a/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design.png b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5006310 Binary files /dev/null and b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design.png differ diff --git a/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design_with_label.png b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design_with_label.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4e746f6 Binary files /dev/null and b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design_with_label.png differ diff --git a/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design_with_label_and_box.png b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design_with_label_and_box.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9052ee1 Binary files /dev/null and b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design_with_label_and_box.png differ diff --git a/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_poor_design.png b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_poor_design.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..51b4982 Binary files /dev/null and b/public/schmatic_rant/example_of_poor_design.png differ diff --git a/src/content/blog/schematics-should-show-intent-rather-than-reailty.md b/src/content/blog/schematics-should-show-intent-rather-than-reailty.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3362384 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/content/blog/schematics-should-show-intent-rather-than-reailty.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +--- +title: 'schematics should show intent rather than reailty' +description: | + when people send me schematics for review, I occasionally see seemingly random connectors with no description or notes for what they are used for. Therefor this article covers how to change your schematic to be more readable at a glance. +pubDate: '23 May 2026' +heroImage: '../../assets/article_hero_images/ray_tracer.png' +--- + +When reviewing schematics I will tend to find that people have designed their schematics to directly reflect the reality of what they are building. +This is not a *bad* thing per say, however this can and does cause information about the circuit to be lost. +This in turn means when reviewing the schematic the reviewer can not tell if what you are planning to implement and can not therefor give adequate feedback. +So to solve this problem the schematic that you create should show your intent of what goes there rather than what is actually there. +For example a common act that causes confusion is something like this: + +![alt text](/schmatic_rant/example_of_poor_design.png) + +Here the user has connected a connector with a current limiting resistor to a pin of their microcontroller. +When looking at this the first thing I ask is "*what is going on that connector*", most of the time it will just be a button. +And if it is just a button then I may suggest to the user to add a capacitor for debouching so they don't have to implement it in code. +However, this could also be a switch and then that suggestion would be useless. +Furthermore, this could even be a connector to an LED that they are sinking through the microcontroller. +So as you can see that just having a single connector to say something is going to go here does not give the reviewer enough information to make an informed decision. +Therefor my suggestion is to make the schematic reflect your intention instead. +So if you are planning on using a switch then just replace the connector symbol with a switch instead as shown: +![alt text](/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design.png) + +Or if its a button then use a button symbol or an led symbol if its an LED. +Then just keep the footprint the same as the connector before. +However i would add that this still isnt clear enough as this now implies that this switch is on the PCB itself. +This now contrast with the pervious symbol as it showed there was something going off board. +You could fix this by adding a note next to the switch as can be seen below or even moving the wires and adding a box around it to show it's off the PCB. +![alt text](/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design_with_label.png) +![alt text](/schmatic_rant/example_of_better_design_with_label_and_box.png) + +Although these fixes now reflect your intent on the PCB they don't truly reflect the reality of your PCB. +I know ive just been going on about how your schematic show should the intent of what your doing not the reality. +However, the best way to show your intent is to show the exact reality of how It's going to be implemented. +Therefor, you can instead implement the switch like what is seen below, with both the connector on the board the connector off the board and the switch itself. +![alt text](/schmatic_rant/example_of_best_implemention.png) +This now show both your intention behind the design and the exact reality of the design itself. +Additionally, this implemention also give the extra benefit of automatically including these items in the BOM of your PCB. +Lastly make sure to give these parts the attributes of `exclude from board` and `exclude from position files`. +These attributes make it, so these parts don't need footprints as well as do not need to be routed on the PCB. +![alt text](/schmatic_rant/boxes_to_check.png) + +To conclude you should attempt to show the whole reality of your design rather than just the parts that sit on the PCB. \ No newline at end of file