This paper introduces an automated placement framework to optimize component positioning on modern printed circuit boards (PCBs), addressing challenges posed by heterogeneous components, irregular geometries, and complex design rules. The framework employs three key techniques to enhance placement quality and efficiency: (1) a global placement approach integrating collision detection via the Separating Axis Theorem to handle exact component contours and board shapes, (2) a multi-stage force-directed method that dynamically adjusts attractive and repulsive forces to meet clearance and routability constraints, and (3) a scanline-based legalization technique to resolve overlaps and enforce spacing requirements. Our methodology effectively adapts to diverse design limitations and accelerates the process while preserving placement quality. Experimental results demonstrate that our placer significantly improves routability over state-of-the-art solutions, demonstrating robust performance on industrial PCB designs with complex and irregular constraints.

Existing printed circuit board (PCB) placement often fails to address complex constraints (e.g., diverse wire widths and intricate spacing rules) arising from heterogeneous components in modern designs. Manual placement requires expertise and is time-consuming. Thus, automated PCB placement is desired for large-scale, complex designs considering irregular component shapes, clearance conditions, wire areas, power circuit flow, and routability. This paper proposes an efficient force-directed global placement followed by legalization to handle these constraints. We derive power circuit anchor points to guide global placement when considering the power circuit flow and present a simulated annealing-based pad alignment method to handle complex spacing constraints. After global placement, we perform window-based legalization to remove component overlaps considering various constraints. Experimental results show our placer's superior routability and efficiency with complex constraints.