Basic concepts PCB building PIC/dsPIC

[Electron_23]

Hello,

I am studying electronics engineering and this year I have been asked to develop a Micromouse/maze solver. For that I will use a dsPIC33E controller, two voltage regulators to 5V and 3V3, a dual motor driver, two magnetic encoders, and some sensors. My question is pretty simple, because my problem is that I have never built a PCB so I do not really know the process. The questions are:
- Do I have to design it in Eagle, make the PCB manufactured without the components, and solder they by myself? Or when you order it to the manufacturer you also give them the components and they solder it?
- For the dsPIC33, what do I have to connect in the schematic apart from the components I mentioned above? I mean, I guess there has to be some pins for programming or communication with the computer when programming, right?

Sorry for these basic questions but I am not familiar at all with this kind of things.

Thank you very much in advance.

-Electron_23.

 

[phalanx]

When you order circuit boards, the less expensive option is for blank boards ready to solder. Some board houses will populate boards for you but it is considerably more money.

With the dsPIC (and all other PICs), there are a number of pins used for programming which Microchip collectively calls ICSP (In Circuit Serial Programming). These pins include MCLR, Vdd, Vss, PGD, and PGC and are part of a 5-pin header which can easily be connected to with a PICkit style programmer. In addition, there is usually a section in Microchip datasheets that show you the minimum recommended connections to make a 16-bit PIC work. This will include the MCLR circuit, bypass caps, VREG enable, and Vcap connection.

 

[NorthGuy]

The best way is to order a PCB and the solder the components inc. Instead of soldering the PIC right in, I would suggest to use a socket, so that you can replace it. The PIC requires some capacitors and resistors, and you may also need a crystal. When you design the board, make sure that ICSP connector is such that your programmer will fit in even when the board is put inside your mouse.

I would suggest building the whole circuit on a breadboard and test what you can, becauase it's expensive to re-order the PCB if your layout is incorrect