The first step in the project, besides downloading and installing software, was to download the schematic for the Hello Echo board and import it into the EAGLE software.

EAGLE, which stands for Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor, is software which allows you to download libraries of manufactured electronics parts and arrange them in a schematic like pieces of a puzzle. The program will connect all the components to one another according to your specifications, and then with a little manipulation it can generate the layout of the milled out connections.

Basically you arrange all of your components on a virtual board, then establish the connections between them, and because the program already has the specifications of all the parts you’re using, it will generate the correct shapes in the correct sizes to define mounting points for all of the components on the board. Then you move the mounting points around to your liking, and draw all of the connections between them. At this point you can generate an image file which can be output to a CNC milling machine to carve out the copper plates which make your board.