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Member postings for Martin Whittle

Here is a list of all the postings Martin Whittle has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

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Thread: Problem with Eagle PCB design software.
30/12/2010 22:41:52
Hi Neil
 
Components have a physical keepout on layer 39 tKeepout and layer 40 bKeepout for top or bottom side respectively - if these are overlapped it will indicate an error on the design rule check.  This does not affect routing though.
 
Autorouting using the program will not permit track placement which breaks the design rules; manual tracking however can break the design rules (this is not exactly what I said on my earlier message - my apologies!)
 
If you click on the DRC button (or type 'drc' followed by 'enter' on the keyboard), you will bring up the DRC checker window.  This has a number of tabs along the top, including tabs for various clearances, distances, sizes etc.  These can be edited to suit individual requirements, so if you can accept smaller geometries than the default, you can squeeze tracks into smaller gaps.  The modified settings can be saved as the new default, or as a new design rule .dru file.  One could then have more than one .dru file, e.g. one for tight geometry surface mount boards, and another for larger geometry through-hole boards. 
 
Most PCB CAD software does indeed have a steep learning curve, as you say.  I believe EAGLE to be more friendly than some other programs of comparable capability I have (briefly) tried.  It is worth persevering with.  The 'help' files could be more helpful - the manual and tutorial supplied with the registered version are useful.  I do not have the latest version of the program; I am still on v4.16.
 
I occasionally use this for other general-purpose drawing/CAD purposes.  For example I have started to plan a workshop as a pre-retirement project, therefore I have created a library containing cells for some likely sizes of benches and machines, so I can then add such 'components' to my 'PCB' and move them around to see what fits.  One could equally well make a kitchen planner library, etc.  The components then only have content on the library 'package' page, and not the 'device' or 'symbol'  pages; the 'component' is then added directly to the 'board' and there is no schematic; dimensions are scaled 10:1 as a 16 foot PCB is too large (!); user interface for the board window is switched to a white background.  I think that since the components in this case do not include 'pads', the basic allowable size of the 'board' <might> then be much greater - possibly the same 64 inch square as for the professional version of the program?
 
Hope your PCB projects go well.
 
Martin
 
30/12/2010 12:26:49
Hi Neil
 
I believe the Eagle light version will not route outside the square defined by the diagonal points (0,0) and (50,50), metric.  You will be able to load larger boards with more layers, created by the 'standard' or 'professional' versions, but not to work on them much. You can probably draw tracks outside the 50mm square using the WIRE command or button, but not ROUTE.  I suspect it may be possible therefore to generate a larger PCB than 50 x 50mm, but only as a completely manual exercise, without the schematic integration and design rule checking that the program offers.
 
You also cannot ROUTE over an object in the Dimension layer 20, on any tracking layer.  You could WIRE over an object and then connect this track to the relevant net by using the NAME function.  A DRC will then show an error, but this may not matter?  Similarly, you cannot ROUTE over an object in the restriction layers 41 tRestrict and 42 bRestrict, for top or bottom side tracking respectively.
 
On the schematic, I take it that all the wires are correctly drawn on the Nets layer 91, and not drawn on another layer, in which case they would not be electrical connections!  If you MOVE the component on the schematic, you should see all the wiring 'rubber-band' and stay connected to the component.
 
There is a helpful message board system on the CadSoft website which you could try.  I have found CadSoft to be responsive to technical queries, but possibly only on the registered (not 'Light') versions of the product.
 
Hope this helps
 
Martin
(Occasional user of EAGLE, which I prefer over other PCB design programs I have tried)
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