After successfully constructing our IR sensor circuit on the breadboard it was time for us to begin designing a version that could be printed on a PCB. For this we were introduced to the PCB design software Proteus. Initially I had some difficulty operating the software as I have limited experience with cad software in general. I spent the first session learning the basics of how the software worked and began attempting to design a PCB. I found the designing the PCB highly challenging as if you do not carefully think ahead it is easy to develop a situation where you cannot place a component without interfering with what you have already designed. Additionally there were some issues with the software forcing me to restart my design, it is because of this that I now save my design after placing every one or two components. Furthermore when designing the IR sensor circuit we could not fill the entire chassis as we needed to leave room for other components which further increased the complexity of the task. Overall I found this month challenging however It was highly beneficial as I was exposed the concept of PCB design using CAD software for the first time.
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