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Finding a mains (VAC) pad
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aledrus 3 years ago
Hi everyone. I'm new here. This is going to be my first PCB. I have almost finished a design, but I want to connect AC mains to the board. Here I don't know what to do. I searched the forums and people suggest adding pads instead of connectors with barriers. To be honest I don't know what is the industry standard, I'm just a hobbyist. So I want to add a pad/connection for Live and another for Neutral, they will go to my 240->3V3 buck converter. What do I need to search for in the library to find AC pads? I've searched the library but the ones I've found seemed small or maybe that's enough. Secondly, how do I determine the distance/clearance between the pads? Do I need to keep the same clearance for the AC lines as well? Thanks in advance.
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andyfierman 3 years ago
Although a more expensive option, particularly on a first project as a beginner, you should use shrouded connectors for mains connections. For 240V mains search for a 2 or 3 pin (depending on your earthing requirement) Screw Terminal connector with a 5mm or 5.08mm (0.2 inch) pin spacing or pitch. Search LCSC.com for Screw Terminal then sort by Number of Positions and Pitch then select the one you like and then copy and paste the LCSC Cxxxx Part number into the Library search in EasyEDA. Check availability under JLCPCB in the library if you want to have it assembled by JLCPCB. Add your chosen part into your schematic and the pads and clearances will be dealt with by the Footprint that gets pulled into the PCB when you do Convert to PCB... or Update PCB... For your track creepage and clearances, search the forum for "creepage and clearance" to find recommendations for online track width and spacing calculators. Also bear in mind that you may need to also consider track width vs. current and allowable temperature rise. See: [https://easyeda.com/forum/topic/Copper-Trail-fot-mains-240-V-supply-b07aff1d678f432890b795875aa5b028](https://easyeda.com/forum/topic/Copper-Trail-fot-mains-240-V-supply-b07aff1d678f432890b795875aa5b028)<br> <br>
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aledrus 3 years ago
@andyfierman thank you for your reply. I just found it, sorry I am late. Thank you for suggesting the screw terminal. But suppose I want to prepare and estimate a final PCB size limit and use a pad instead of a screw terminal, how do I search for one? For testing purposes I will go with your suggestion, i.e. using screw terminals.
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andyfierman 3 years ago
Depending on whether you want a through hole pad to solder a wire into or a surface mount pad to solder a wire onto the PCB all you have to do is place a symbol for a single pin connector into the schematic and assign the correct footprint for a through hole or surface mount connector to that symbol. That's it: done. Since there is no physical connector you can use any single pin connector symbol. All you then have to do is find a suitable through hole or surface mount connector footprint and assign that you you symbol's Footprint Attribute using the Footprint Manager tool. If you cannot find one then it is easy enough to make your own as a single Multi-layer pad with a suitable diameter hole for your choice of wire or a Top Layer pad for a surface mount pad. For wire-direct-to-pad connections you should choose through hole since the leverage on a soldered wire can easily rip a surface mount pad off the board. The way to deal with the fact that there is no physical connector to fit to the board and hence include in the BOM is to set the **Add into BOM** symbol attribute to **No**. For more, see Appendix A in (2.2) in (2) in: [https://easyeda.com/forum/topic/How-to-ask-for-help-and-get-an-answer-71b17a40d15442349eaecbfae083e46a](https://easyeda.com/forum/topic/How-to-ask-for-help-and-get-an-answer-71b17a40d15442349eaecbfae083e46a)
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aledrus 3 years ago
@andyfierman Thanks for your reply. So from that answer I think what you are saying is I can determine the footprint size myself and find a suitable one from the library? If I have a through hole, do I have to set the N/C to the pins that connect to the (absent) physical connector that is a through hole?
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andyfierman 3 years ago
"...from that answer I think what you are saying is I can determine the footprint size myself and find a suitable one from the library?" And if you can't find one with the right diameter through hole and/or pads size then build your own. <br> "...do I have to set the N/C to the pins that connect to the (absent) physical connector that is a through hole?" No. Why? You have just put a symbol for a single pin into the schematic which pulls the footprint for a single pad into the PCB. What is this "N/C" for?
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andyfierman 3 years ago
If you want to simplify things then you can put a symbol for a 2 pin connector in the schematic and then find or build a 2 pad footprint to assign to the symbol. That will deal with your L and N connections at the same time.
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