Hi Nathan - I know you have specifically asked about layout and have received some feed= back but I have one comment about the schematic. I would avoid using VDD as= the power net name. It will cause problems eventually when you have VDD = =3D 5 V and VDD =3D 3.3 V and VDD =3D ??? V. Sometime, you will have both o= r all on one board... My preference is to name them by the value, so +5V, += 3V3 etc. This also helps you to know what value to look for when you are pr= obing nets on the board with a meter. In a similar vein, I would name RAW w= ith the value of the supply (+9V, +12V, etc.) so I know precisely how to fe= ed the board. The schematic would also be tidied a bit but turning off the GND name for t= he ground symbols. It is tautological, at least in this case. This is a gr= eat opportunity to learn about Altium's object selection tools - they are p= owerful and reward patience. Regarding the PCB, you have two large ground planes on the bottom layer tha= t seem to be joined by only one via on each side and that is through the th= ermal relief connection to the reset switch on the top layer. (The other vi= as appear to be to island pours.) You will be able to blink LEDs and read s= witches with this but once you try anything faster or with heavier currents= you may get problems that are hard to trace. It will also act as a pretty = good antenna so could cause or be susceptible to interference. My recommend= ation here would be to find a route for those bottom layer traces crossing = the board so they run down the board. Aim for a continuous, uninterrupted g= round plane. (hint - you don't really need the ground pour between header p= ins... ;o) ) Others have made comments of value so with a little tweaking, you are well= on the way to a great little board that looks like it will a useful platfo= rm for exploration and fun. Good work! Best regards Stephen -----Original Message----- From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf Of= Nathan House Sent: Friday, 20 March 2015 12:56 AM To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. Subject: [EE] How does my PCB design look? Good morning! I'm a student working on a directed research project involving a PCB design= for a PIC18 microcontroller. None of my professors have much PCB design experience, so I don't have anyo= ne I can go to for feedback on the schematic or layout. I know you're all p= rofessionals and are busy with your own work, but if anyone has a few free = minutes and would like to critique my board layout I would really appreciat= e your advice. Schematic: https://www.foxytronics.com/misc/engr495/ENGR495.PDF Screenshots: https://www.foxytronics.com/misc/engr495/screenshots/1%20top%20poly.png https://www.foxytronics.com/misc/engr495/screenshots/2%20bottom%20poly.png https://www.foxytronics.com/misc/engr495/screenshots/3%20poly%20shelved.png https://www.foxytronics.com/misc/engr495/screenshots/4%203d.png https://www.foxytronics.com/misc/engr495/screenshots/5%203d2.png Altium project: https://www.foxytronics.com/misc/engr495/ENGR495.zip I'm planning on inverting the headers on the sides of the board (which can = be seen in the last two images) so that it can be plugged into a breadboard= .. I'm trying to learn, so any feedback (I can accept negative feedback!) woul= d be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time, Nate --- I'm a college student, take it easy on me ;-) Check out my small hobby electronics business! www.foxytronics.com -- http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/chang= e your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclis= t --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .