Yes. Perhaps we should be careful to not make light of the real condition because it does ruin lives.
I solder SMD by hand and have been known to resolder a resistor or capacitor because it was out of alignment when compared to its neighbours. It's not that I must have rows, but if I have a row then I want it to be as even as possible. I get pleasure out of looking at something and seeing all the edges line up or that across several rows the gaps between the rows are completely even. Or that parallel traces bend or branch in a regular fashion.
For component layout I don't mind 'all over the place' but what really grates is 'almost symmetrical' while a symmetrical layout just floats my boat aesthetically. So I persevere with this sort of thing not out of OCD, but because when I look at the result and it's neat, tidy, and everything lines up, I get a frisson of pleasure from looking at it.
Yes and no. If you do this for not critical circuitry then it is ok and fine. Just like putting polarised components all pointing the same way. It aids visual checking if a board is correctly stuffed and can aid troubleshooting.
But if you start to lay out a 400MHz DDR board with a 1096 ball BGA that way you have a problem. Not only with yourself but very likely with the pcb as well 😉
I try to get it orderly, decoupling caps at the same place relative to the ic they are supposed to decouple, resistors and ic's aligned etc. But at a certain point function overtakes form. So a feedback loop is as short as possible whatever the component placement even if it is a 35.8°. A decoupling capacitor has priority over a pull-down. All i's have pin 1 pointing the same way but again, if I can get a signal shorter, with less via's and less under other components, then it goes the other way round. If I use polystyrene wound caps in an RIAA I take care to get the outside foil connected to the lowest impedance point when soldering. But I do not care about what way the labeling of the resistors is.
But if you start to lay out a 400MHz DDR board with a 1096 ball BGA that way you have a problem. Not only with yourself but very likely with the pcb as well 😉
I try to get it orderly, decoupling caps at the same place relative to the ic they are supposed to decouple, resistors and ic's aligned etc. But at a certain point function overtakes form. So a feedback loop is as short as possible whatever the component placement even if it is a 35.8°. A decoupling capacitor has priority over a pull-down. All i's have pin 1 pointing the same way but again, if I can get a signal shorter, with less via's and less under other components, then it goes the other way round. If I use polystyrene wound caps in an RIAA I take care to get the outside foil connected to the lowest impedance point when soldering. But I do not care about what way the labeling of the resistors is.
Sorry but that looks like the definition of OCD to me.Steven said:
For me, resistors have tolerance band on right (horizontal mount) or bottom (vertical mount). Why?. Easier to read and I read from Left to Right, top to bottom and more importantly that's how I was taught.
Semi conductors you have no choice but to follow the PCB.
As to alignment its not critical. Components do look neater and more "professional" in alignment but as long as it's all good electrically the alignment is essentially a moot point for me. In any case the boards are usually hidden inside a case 😉
For others it might be significant in the layout depending on the device. I have a set of plastic lead bending tools but rarely get the components centered between the bent leads, I find a pair bird beak / needle nose pliers works better than the lead bending tool.
Semi conductors you have no choice but to follow the PCB.
As to alignment its not critical. Components do look neater and more "professional" in alignment but as long as it's all good electrically the alignment is essentially a moot point for me. In any case the boards are usually hidden inside a case 😉
For others it might be significant in the layout depending on the device. I have a set of plastic lead bending tools but rarely get the components centered between the bent leads, I find a pair bird beak / needle nose pliers works better than the lead bending tool.
I stand corrected, everyone on this board is obsessed, not OCD. Sorry. Ok not everyone either. Well at least a few. Never mind. Sorry.
I don't think it's right to joke about mental illness. There's enough stigma there already. I see no need to add to it. I wouldn't joke about having brain cancer either. But that's me and my values.
Tom
Seeing such a design in an analog audio board tells me to keep away from it.
In no way you can get a "tidy" board when realising all the guides and rules of decoupling and feedback and isolation and groundings and .... But you get a tidy layout - and that's what counts. I want to listen to the layout, not look at it.
For your usecase - it's probably fine and building savety is an important thing here.
In no way you can get a "tidy" board when realising all the guides and rules of decoupling and feedback and isolation and groundings and .... But you get a tidy layout - and that's what counts. I want to listen to the layout, not look at it.
For your usecase - it's probably fine and building savety is an important thing here.
I think it's right to joke about anything as long as the intentions are well.
I actually have a couple of friends with similar mental problems. They make nonstop jokes about these things.
They all want to be treated normally, incl funny and silly jokes. The least thing they want is that other people have to walk on eggshells for it.
I don't like the word illness at all btw.
It's not always an illness, but a property of a certain person.
Especially when it's about certain mental or psychological aspects.
Only in some cases this can become an illness, with like a traumatic experience.
I only don't see why getting so serious about it? When something is meant as a light joke.
I read nonstop things and "jokes" that I find borderline disrespectful or offensive.
In some cases I find that a lot more ugly than this. Especially when it becomes on a personal level.
In a world where we have freedom of speech and therefor the right to say, that is something that goes hand-in-hand.
I'd speak up for your right to say these things while disapproving of what you say. Of course I also have the right to criticise you and tell you you shouldn't say those things. Free speech is complex 🙂
But. Having seen people with real OCD and the havoc it causes in their lives and those of their relatives, I do worry about the seriousness of the problem being unappreciated because people think that OCD is someone who lines up the pencils on their desk...
If you've seen someone unable to leave their house until they've checked the gas is off 10 or more times, then leave the house and have to go back to check again and again, or can spend an eternity repeatedly washing their hands, it's not something you can forget.
Getting back to audio and the art of PCB layout: I too populate resistors so the tolerance band faces right. I do this because it makes the resistor value easier to read. Same for SMD resistors. They're mounted so the numbers face the same way.
For layouts intended for hand-assembly I do my best to get all polarized components facing in the same direction. Same for ICs. That said, I will never sacrifice performance to make the board look pretty. If a component really needs to be rotated or placed contrary to all the other components on the board to get the best performance, I will place it for the best performance. I'll then add a note in the documentation, "ensure correct polarity of C3 during assembly" or something to that effect.
It's different when the boards are assembled by machine. Then the machine takes a placement file and stuffs the board accordingly. If the file says a resistor is mounted at 0º rotation it will be. If it says the resistor should be rotated 180º, it will be. So you can end up with a row of resistors where some face opposite of others even though it makes no difference electrically. To make them all face the same way would require that the resistor symbols in the schematic are rotated 180º. That is a lot of work for absolutely zero gain so I don't go that far.
Tom
For layouts intended for hand-assembly I do my best to get all polarized components facing in the same direction. Same for ICs. That said, I will never sacrifice performance to make the board look pretty. If a component really needs to be rotated or placed contrary to all the other components on the board to get the best performance, I will place it for the best performance. I'll then add a note in the documentation, "ensure correct polarity of C3 during assembly" or something to that effect.
It's different when the boards are assembled by machine. Then the machine takes a placement file and stuffs the board accordingly. If the file says a resistor is mounted at 0º rotation it will be. If it says the resistor should be rotated 180º, it will be. So you can end up with a row of resistors where some face opposite of others even though it makes no difference electrically. To make them all face the same way would require that the resistor symbols in the schematic are rotated 180º. That is a lot of work for absolutely zero gain so I don't go that far.
Tom
I think nobody is making fun of anybody, we are just using the "OCD" term in a very unscientific, "everyday/casual language" way, nothing beyond.
I wouldn´t obsess on that.
Nothing else to add on the matter.
As of PCB layout, I try to fit all parts orthogonal, i.e. vertical or horizontal if possible, and during assembly try to orient resistors which are bidirectional, left to right or top to bottom to ease reading and orientation can be chosen.
On polarized elements such as diodes or electrolytics?
Functionality, as in minimizing track length, overcomes "aesthetics" any day of the week.
On Op Amps, in general, orienting them the same way makes for easier +/-15V tracks layout.
I wouldn´t obsess on that.
Nothing else to add on the matter.
As of PCB layout, I try to fit all parts orthogonal, i.e. vertical or horizontal if possible, and during assembly try to orient resistors which are bidirectional, left to right or top to bottom to ease reading and orientation can be chosen.
On polarized elements such as diodes or electrolytics?
Functionality, as in minimizing track length, overcomes "aesthetics" any day of the week.
On Op Amps, in general, orienting them the same way makes for easier +/-15V tracks layout.
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