Perf+ Layout/Build Procedure

[last updated: 2025-10-21]
Perf+ main page
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• General tips (some of these are from (link to:) Papp )
  • Use good lighting and magnification. Solder bridges and cuts to the buses are very small.
  • Solder wick is indispensable. Use good soldering techniques, with minimum heat, and use the minimum amount of solder needed to make a good connection.
  • Perf+ is not forgiving like a conventional proto board that uses jumper wires to make connections.
    Therefore it's essential to have a complete & detailed layout and routing plan before actually soldering things to the board.
    Your plan must include all the components, and all the bus bridge connections and cuts.
  • Consider designating specific buses as dedicated for gnd and V+.
  • When doing your layout, follow standard pcb layout guidelines:
    Orient similar parts in the same direction
    Place components so as to minimize trace lengths
    Be mindful of components that generate heat and allow more space around them
    (Lots more pcb layout guidelines are available online or in published books)
  • When placing components side-by-side on the board, if they are not actually connected,
    consider placing them with their terminations diagonal to each other rather than rectilinear side-by-side.
  • For parts that have inline rows of pins (DIP parts, plug sockets, etc.) which prevent making bridges on the component side of the board, the rows of pins on the component must be parallel to the buses on the component side of the board.

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• Make a drawing/diagram:
  The end result of this process will be a written diagram showing placement of all components, and location of all circuit traces, bridges, and cuts:

  • Here's the template I use for layouts:
    
    

    
    Here is the process:

  • Decide orientation of the board.
    The goal here is to come up with a row & column naming convention that allows you to "name" a given hole with a "column/row" designation.
    This is necessary because later you'll be planning your circuit layout, and you'll be making a list of where bus cuts and bridges are to be placed.
    So you need to be able to identify those locations unambiguously.
    You do that by deciding a board orientation, then defining rows and columns of holes, and naming/numbering those rows and columns.
    My protocol is to name columns with letters, A through whatever, and rows with numbers, 1 through whatever.
    So you refer to a specific hole as "col-row", or eg. "A-5"
  • JWID:
    Hold the board such that the bus traces on the side of the board that is facing you are horizontal.
    Further, you want the board to be rotated so that the bus pads in the horizontal row are just slightly above the rows of holes.
    If you have a whole board, or at least a cut piece that still includes the board borders with the row/column numbers and rows,
    then flip and/or rotate the board so that the letters are naming the columns, and ascend from left to right,
    and the numbers identify the rows, and ascend from top to bottom.
    If you have a piece of board that does not include any borders, then orient it as described above,
    and designate the columns as starting at A for the left-most column,
    and the rows with #1 as the top-most row.

    .............

    .............

    That is, decide which side will have the "vertical bus" traces and which will have "horizontal bus" traces, and which side will have components.
    You can do this however you want, but here's how I do it:

    • Notice that the bus pads that define the busses are perpendicular to each other on opposite sides of the board.
      That is, if they're horizontal on the side facing you, they'll be vertical on the back side.
      Also notice that the pads, which are nominally in between two holes, are in fact closer to one of the holes than the other,
      and this is the pad they're "connected" to. I express that as the pad "belonging to" the hole that it's closest to.
    • Hold/orient the board like this:
      Hold the board such that the bus pads on the side facing you are running horizontally.
      Rotate it so that those horizontal rows of bus pads are "above" and slightly touching the horizontal rows of holes that they belong to.

      
      More edits needed below here...

      if you have a piece of a full board, where you don't have the letter and number labels visible...
      if you have a board with an original edge intact, such that number or letter labels are still visible...

      Hold the board with letters across the top, ascending from left to rigfht,
      and numbers down the sides, ascending from top to bottom.

    • If you have a complete, un-cut board, this will put A-01 in the top left corner.
      See diagram above.
    • The letters across the top now denote columns of holes, and the numbers on the sides denote rows of holes.
    • A specific hole will be designated with "column-row," eg. A-05 or D-02.
    • Define this as the nominal/default "front" or "component" side of the board.
    • Notice in this configuration,
      Horizontal buses are on this component side, and
      Vertical buses are on the back/opposite side.

  • Place components in your diagram where you think you want them.
    • For DIPs and any other components that will block making bus bridges on the component side of the board,
      be sure to orient the components with their rows of pins parallel to the bus lines on that side of the board.
    • If you're using my default orientation,
      the component side has horizontal bus lines,
      so DIPs and other components with inline pins must be placed such that
      their rows of pins are horizontal.

  • Define component bridges:
    These are Only those bridges needed for component terminations.
    • Since many components CANNOT have bridges on the component side of the board,
      for those components, you must first define the vertical bus bridges on the opposite side of the board.
      You must do this first, because those bridge locations are fixed by the position of the components, and cannot be moved,
      while the position of other bridges and traces are usually flexible and can be moved.
    • Through-hole resistors and similar components don't require this,
      as long as there is room to do a bridge on the horizontal bus, component side of the board.
    • But you must do this for connectors, DIP parts, electrolytic capacitors, and any other component
      that blocks access to making a bridge on the component side of the board.

  • Lay out circuit traces to create your circuit.
    • It may happen that you need to start over and re-position components in order to get all your traces laid out nicely.

  • Mark all bus bridges on your layout:
    • Remember that any "corners", where a circuit trace changes from horizontal to vertical,
      will require bridges on both sides of the board.

  • Mark cuts:
    • Minimum:
      • If any bus line has more than one trace on it, put cuts between any two traces on the same bus.
    • Recommended:
      • If you've followed recommended practice for DIPs and other parts that have rows of inline pins,
        then those parts will be oriented with their inline rows of pins parallel to the buses on the component side of the board.
        In such a case, it can happen that soldering the part into place can inadvertently connect it to the horrizontal bus.
        Therefore, put cuts on the bus in between each two pins in a row.
      • In addition, since mistakes happen, it's a good idea to put cuts at ends of any circuit trace
        that has through-hole connections anywhere along that bus.

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• Review each component:
  • Make sure that all components have bus bridges at their pin terminations.
  • Trace your circuit through all your components and compare to your schematic.
  • Revise component placement and/or trace and bridge positions as necessary.
  • Repeat until everything is correct.

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• Prepare 2 build lists from your finished layout:
  Here are the template spreadsheets that I use to make the lists:
  
  
  • Cut list:
    Make a list of all cuts required.

    Syntax/format:

    Note: syntax listed here assumes my default layout orientation:
    "A-01 in top left, facing component side with horizontal bus"

    Syntax for Cut list:
    for cuts in vertical bus: will be eg: G-01-02 or C-06-07,
    and for cuts in horizontal bus: eg: 02-D-E or 05-F-G.

  • Bridge list:
    This is a list of all bridges on your board. Be sure to flag them on your list if they are component bridges, that is, bridges at holes where components are placed.
    Syntax/format will be eg: A-05-H or C-07-V.

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• Build the board:
  • When you do anything, working from your lists, whether making a cut or a bridge, check off the item on your list so you always know where you left off in the process.

  • Make bus cuts first, working from your Cut List.
    It's much easier to make the bus cuts first, without the solder bridge blobs in the way.
    It's highly recommended to use a Dremel with a tiny burr tip to make the cuts.
    You can do it with an exacto knife, but if you do, be sure to check continuity with an ohmmeter to verify the cuts are complete.

  • Make bridges to non-Component holes, working from your Bridge List.
    Remember these holes need bridges on both sides of the board.
    After you do the second side, be sure to go back and inspect the first side, to be sure the bridge there has not separated.

  • Check circuit traces:
    Before inserting components, use an ohmmeter to verify all your circuit traces are intact and correct (minus those needing component bridges of course).
    Check for shorts between buses that should not be connected.
    Do Not Skip This Step. If you do have an error in cuts or bridges, finding and fixing them now will be Hugely easier and quicker than correcting them after components are inserted.

  • Insert components:
    Working from your bridge list, insert components and solder whatever bus bridges they require.

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