- Objective
The objective of this stage is to finalize the PCB board definition, enhance electrical reliability through teardrop connections, and perform a complete design rule verification. These tasks aim to ensure that the PCB layout is both mechanically optimized and electrically robust before fabrication.
- Summary of Learning
Under our teacher’s guidance, the team first redefined the PCB board outline to ensure a compact, manufacturable shape that fits the project’s enclosure precisely. We adjusted the board boundaries to include sufficient space for connectors and mounting holes while maintaining efficient component placement.
Next, we configured teardrops at trace–pad and via–trace junctions. This technique strengthens the copper connections, preventing potential cracking or open circuits during the fabrication and soldering process. Using Altium Designer’s teardrop feature, we applied smooth transitions between traces and pads across the entire design.
Finally, the Design Rule Check (DRC) process was conducted to automatically detect clearance, short-circuit, and width violations. All detected issues were reviewed and corrected to guarantee full compliance with electrical and mechanical design constraints.
- Application to the Water Purifier Project
In the Water Purifier Project, this stage was applied to the final control board design. The board shape was redefined to fit perfectly inside the purifier housing, allowing convenient access to connectors and stable mounting. Teardrops were added to reinforce solder joints around the microcontroller, sensor inputs, and power traces — all of which are critical for long-term operation in a humid environment.
The DRC process helped us identify and fix several minor spacing violations, ensuring that high-current traces and sensitive analog signals were properly isolated. This improved both electrical safety and signal accuracy within the purifier system.
- Conclusion
Through this stage, our team gained deeper insight into PCB mechanical optimization, teardrop strengthening, and automated design verification. We learned that careful attention to manufacturing details such as pad transitions and clearance checks significantly increases the board’s durability and professional quality. This experience enhanced our confidence in producing reliable PCBs ready for industrial-level fabrication.
- Next Step
In the next stage, our group will generate Gerber and drill files, perform final 3D verification, and prepare documentation for PCB manufacturing. We also plan to simulate signal integrity and thermal effects to ensure that the final PCB operates safely and efficiently under real-world
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