PCB Trace Resistance Calculator

When it comes to calculating the resistance of a material, Ohm's Law should be the first thing that comes to mind. However, its basic form (R=IV​R=IV​) is not always very useful. For example, if, during the design phase, we wanted to calculate the resistance of a wire that forms a PCB trace, it is not always possible to measure the voltage drop in the trace or the amperage that goes through it.

💡 If you can't measure the voltage drop, you may be able to find it anyway! Visit our voltage drop calculator to see how.

Those are the instances where we should use the PCB trace resistance calculator. Internally, this calculator solves the resistance equation for traces in a PCB substrate:

where:

• RR is the resistance;
• LL is the length of the trace;
• TT is the thickness of the trace;
• WW is the width of the trace; and
• Tamb​Tamb​ is the ambient temperature.

There are two constants in this equation, namely ρρ and αα, which are the resistivity and the resistivity temperature coefficient, respectively. By default, they are set to the values for copper, making this a PCB copper trace calculator.

If this equation seems intimidating, don't worry, the PCB trace resistance calculator will do all the work for you if you use it correctly.

The PCB trace resistance calculator works in a straightforward way: fill in the Inputs, and you will get the Output. The main fields of the calculator are:

• Trace width, which you can obtain using our PCB trace width calculator;
• Trace length, or the distance from the beginning to the end of the trace;
• Trace thickness — it can be thought of as the "height" of the trace; and
• Ambient temperature, which is the temperature of the environment in which the PCB traces operate.

There are two more fields in the resistivity properties section: the resistivity and the resistivity temperature coefficient. By default, they are set to the values of copper, but you can change them, turning this PCB copper trace calculator into a PCB trace calculator for any metal. More power to you!

The PCB trace calculator also works in reverse, so as long as you input enough parameters, it will calculate the missing ones for you.

Once you have the resistance of your PCB traces, it is very simple to use Ohm's Law to calculate the voltage and current that would flow through it. We want to make your life as easy as possible, so we have included a PCB trace voltage calculator of sorts that lets you do just that in the voltage drop calculation section.

Expanding the section shows two more fields, including the voltage drop of the PCB trace and the current. Fill in one of them, and you will get the other one instantly. Just remember to use our PCB trace current calculator to make sure you are within the specifications of your PCB substrate traces.