Sketch to PCB Online: Hand-Drawn Circuit to Gerber or Etch Mask
Draw your tracks and pads with a marker, photograph or scan the sheet, and get a hand-drawn PCB as a Gerber layer or a mirrored 1:1 mask for toner transfer and etching at home.
How it works
Add the picture
Draw tracks and pads in black on white, then scan or photograph the sheet straight on.
Set the real size
Type the board width in millimetres. The narrowest line is measured and checked against what etching and board houses can make.
Download
A Gerber layer for a board house, a 1:1 etch mask to print, or SVG and DXF.
Sketch to PCB online: a hand-drawn PCB, made properly
Sketch to PCB online: draw the tracks and pads with a black marker on white paper, scan or photograph it, set how wide the board is, and download a hand-drawn PCB as a Gerber layer or a mirrored 1:1 etch mask for toner transfer. The lines keep their hand-drawn character; the specks and paper grain do not.
Drawing first is the quickest way to a simple board, an effects pedal, an LED badge, a one-off adapter, and the way many people learn. When the circuit grows past a handful of parts, PCB drawing software such as KiCad (free, open source) or EasyEDA (free, in the browser) is the better tool: it checks connections and clearances for you.
Schematic to PCB is a different job: a schematic to PCB converter is the "Update PCB from schematic" step inside KiCad (Tools > Update PCB from Schematic, F8) or EasyEDA (Design > Convert to PCB). It places footprints with their connections as ratsnest lines; you then place parts and route tracks. A schematic to PCB converter AI (Quilter, DeepPCB, Flux) automates placement and routing from a finished schematic, and still needs checking by hand. This page starts from a picture or a Gerber instead; for the whole route from schematic to board, see schematic to PCB in KiCad and EasyEDA.
How to draw a PCB by hand that etches cleanly
Use a black marker or pen at least 1 mm wide on plain white paper, and draw at 1:1 or exactly 2:1 so you know the scale. Pads for through-hole parts: 2 mm circles at 2.54 mm (0.1 inch) spacing for chips. Leave at least 1 mm between tracks. Mark the board corners so the width is easy to measure.
Mirror or not?
Draw it as seen from the component side and the etch mask is mirrored for you. If you drew the copper side as you will see it, untick mirror.
From sketch to etched board
- Draw the tracks and pads in black on white, corners marked.
- Scan it, or photograph it straight on in even light.
- Drop it here and type the board width in millimetres.
- Check the narrowest line; thicken anything under 0.4 mm for toner transfer.
- Download the etch mask PDF and print it at 100%, or the Gerber for a board house.
People also search for
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Why it matters
Nothing uploaded
Unreleased boards and client work stay on your computer. Everything runs in this tab.
Real size, always
Every output is in millimetres at 1:1. Printed masks carry a 50 mm bar so you can check the printer.
Checked for etching
The narrowest line is measured and compared with toner transfer (0.4 mm), photoresist and board-house limits (0.15 mm).
Questions
What is the best free PCB drawing software?
KiCad (free, open source, Windows, macOS, Linux) for anything serious; EasyEDA (free, in the browser, tied to JLCPCB) for quick boards. Both export Gerbers this site can view. For a two-chip board, a sketch and this page is quicker than learning either.
Can I convert my sketch into a KiCad board?
Not into a routed design with nets: a sketch has no schematic. You can bring the artwork in: download the SVG or DXF and use File > Import > Graphics in KiCad's PCB editor, on a copper or silkscreen layer.
Which files can I open?
Gerber RS-274X (with or without X2 attributes) from KiCad, EasyEDA, Eagle, Altium, OrCAD, DipTrace and gEDA, and Excellon drill files. A zip of all of them works.
Is my board uploaded?
No. The files are read in this browser tab.