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+--- Thread: First PCB design - what I got wrong and what to do instead (/showthread.php?tid=125)
First PCB design - what I got wrong and what to do instead - Zero Two - 07-07-2026
Just got my first PCBs back from JLCPCB. Half of them work. Here is what I messed up:
Mistakes:
- Power trace width. Routed my 2A power traces at the default 0.25mm. Use a trace width calculator. Rule of thumb: 0.5mm per amp is conservative but safe.
- Decoupling caps too far from the IC. Put them at the edge of the board to keep things tidy. They need to be as close to the VCC pin as possible.
- No test points. Trying to probe a QFN package without test points is miserable.
- Silkscreen on pads. Solder does not stick properly where silkscreen overlaps pads. KiCad will warn you in DRC but I ignored it.
What worked:
- Via stitching around the ground plane looks great
- Component placement was decent - watched a lot of Phil Lab videos first
- JLCPCB quality on a $5 board is genuinely impressive
If you are doing your first board: run DRC until it is clean, double-check your footprints against the actual components, and add test points everywhere.