Help designing PCB with 110AC switching

Hardware
1

Hey guys, how are you doing?

I’m thinking of designing a triac voltage dimmer that is Spark-enabled.

But since everytime I ask (or someone asks) about high voltage there is a crazy disclaimer about it, this time I’ve come for guidance on how to design a PCB that has high voltage on it.

Good practices, books, online classes, if I could have any help at all on this it would be awesome! Didn’t know what to look for, please enlighten me

Thanks,

gcats

2

@gcats There is a lot of information on the web about designing mains circuits using triacs. Just search for -reflow oven controllers, triac dimmers, if you add arduino you can usually filter your search to circuits that are micro controller controlled.

A few topics that immediately come to mind (there are more for sure - disclaimer :slight_smile: )

  1. Make sure any interconnectivity between your microcontroller and the mains are opto-isolated.
  2. Keep your mains and digital circuits on your PCB as far apart as possible
  3. Pay attention to PCB trace thickness as well as copper pour for high current applications.
  4. Reserach and understand the difference between zero-crossing and phase control of A/C

Best of luck!

3

Here’s a link you might want to read for your research:

I think a lot of the professional engineers here are worried about writing something that might be construed as giving professional design advice and therefore causing them to have some liability in the event of a problem. At least I know I am worried about that.

I think hobbyist can build stuff like this safely but it requires a lot of real-world knowledge and discipline to keep things safe, so do a lot of research before you decide to try to build anything.

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