As noted, I chose the EasyEDA Pro web app, and I used Google Chrome. EasyEDA Pro recommends Chrome or Firefox with hardware acceleration. Incognito mode should not be used.
The downloadable version works on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Do not use EasyEDA Standard version. Only the Pro version has the needed capabilities for color at present.
Enable Silkscreen Printing
To begin, activate the "Use JLCPCB Color Silkscreen Process" option in the PCB settings:
Settings icon – PCB / Footprint – General – Using JLC color silkscreen technology
Import Your Design
EasyEDA Pro supports importing color images via the Top Menu: Place – Image. PNG and SVG vector image files are supported. In the Import dialog, tick the option to place the image in its original quality.
The image will automatically be placed on the top silkscreen layer, but you can move it to the document layer or the bottom silkscreen layer if needed.
For my design, I imported the image into both the top and bottom silkscreen as they were identical.
If your design is single sided, place it on the top silkscreen.
Create Your Board Outline
You can make the circuit board/PCB outline one of two ways:
- Use the image you imported to guide the board outline shape.
- Make a board outline using your image file dimensions and move the graphics to fit that board outline.
While I used option two, the board outline was simple for the earrings. For a complex shape like a pet, you might do better to trace the outline.
Design Rules: Each PCB house has "board rules" which define what types of work they can do. This includes how board cuts may be used. Avoid tiny slivers of board less than 2mm or sharp points less than 45 degrees to stay safe.
A circular logo is fine. A dog's tail may be too much of a sliver/point to fabricate, as examples. Reading the guidelines, 2mm appears to be the smallest milled size so all PCB features should be at least 2mm.
Why is a board outline needed?
For artwork, there likely is not an associated schematic, so there is no way for the software to estimate the board size.
Also, likely you want the outline to match your image design and size desired.
Drawing the Board Outline
Select the Board Outline Layer (11) on the right. If you don't see it, select View (V) - Right Side Panel. You can quickly switch between layers at the bottom also.
Use the Board Outline Tool to draw your outline. The options aren't numerous: Rectangle, Circle, and Polygon. Polygon would be used for a complex shape like tracing a picture.
My design is a rounded rectangle. A rectangle can be changed in the Property tab shown above.
The corner radius for my design turned out to be 2 millimeters for a nice rounded rectangle. I highly recommend rounded corners for art PCBs so the user doesn't get a stick/poke from a sharp corner.
Make sure the height and width match your image height and width from your drawing program, unless you plan to have a border around the image, in which case the size would be larger. My design has no border, though the previous NASA logo project required a circular border to cover the points exposed on the NASA "Meatball" logo.
Previewing The Design
In the Top Menu: View – 2D/3D Preview, you can preview the color silkscreen and images. I suggest previewing to ensure you are getting the design you want.
You must set Silkscreen Technology to Colorful Silkscreen in the right-side Attributes panel to see the effect of color printing (below).
Page last edited July 31, 2024
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