Design Rule Checking (DRC)

Design Rule Checking (DRC)

Design Rule Checking (DRC) allows you to automatically check your PCB design for connectivity, clearance, and other manufacturing errors.

With the large and complex PCBs being designed today, it is impractical to manually check a PCB design. This is where the DRC comes into its own, it is an absolutely essential step in professional PCB design.

Examples of what you can check with a DRC are:  

• Circuit connectivity. It checks that every track on your board matches the connectivity of your schematic.
• Electrical clearance. You can check the clearance between tracks, pads, and components.  
• Manufacturing tolerances like min/max hole sizes, track widths, via widths, annulus sizes, and short circuits.

A complete DRC is usually performed after you have finished your PCB. Some packages however have the ability to do “real time” (or “online”) DRC checking as you create your board. For instance, it wont let you connect a track to a pad it shouldn’t go to, or violate a clearance between track and pad. If you have realtime DRC capability, use it, it’s an invaluable tool.