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PCB trace width calculator

Sizes a PCB trace with the IPC-2221 formula for a current and temperature rise, and reports resistance, voltage drop, and heat.

Enter a current and a rise to size the trace.

IPC-2221 is a curve fit to measurements from 1954-era charts, not first-principles physics: it assumes a single DC current in a long straight trace with copper at room temperature plus your rise, and it carries no derating for vias, parallel traces, component pads, or enclosed boards. IPC-2152 replaced it in 2009 and is the standard to reach for when the run matters, but IPC-2221 with a margin remains common practice for sizing. Resistance here uses the width the run actually carries, the minimum when you have not planned one, at copper's resistivity evaluated at 20 C plus your rise.
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