questions about the Align tool

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Tomg
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questions about the Align tool

#1 Post by Tomg » 18 Feb 2022, 05:55

In the example below, the two basic line figures on the left follow the specified 0.4" alignment spacing, but the two rotated components on the right do not appear to do the same...
align1.png
align1.png (34.79 KiB) Viewed 4929 times
1) What does the Align tool reference in the components when the "Distribute Equally" and "Spacing:" options are enabled with a specified distance?
2) Shouldn't the spacing reference the centers of the components as defined by the Component Editor?
3) If the spacing references the extremes of the components, why isn't there a 0.4" space between them?
4) Would it be possible to add a "Spacing:" sub-option that allows the user to specify "center-to-center" referencing?
Tom

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KevinA
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Re: questions about the Align tool

#2 Post by KevinA » 18 Feb 2022, 07:45

I was trying to figure out how tomg version of Diptrace Schematics can 'Measure' anything!
I see what you mean, .5181 is not .25+.4
R1 0,0 R2 .25,0

Tomg
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Re: questions about the Align tool

#3 Post by Tomg » 18 Feb 2022, 08:25

I was trying to figure out how tomg version of Diptrace Schematics can 'Measure' anything!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. Since there is no Dimension tool in the Schematic Editor I had to zoom in, carefully use the Measure tool and then manually draw in my own dimensions to show the results the Measure tool produced.
Tom

Serg
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Re: questions about the Align tool

#4 Post by Serg » 21 Feb 2022, 23:12

Tomg wrote: 18 Feb 2022, 05:55 1) What does the Align tool reference in the components when the "Distribute Equally" and "Spacing:" options are enabled with a specified distance?
In the Schematic, this is a spacing between edges of components (center of line for line objects and edge for filled shapes).
Tomg wrote: 18 Feb 2022, 05:55 2) Shouldn't the spacing reference the centers of the components as defined by the Component Editor?
In the Component Editor, a component contains a bunch of objects. Therefore this is a spacing between edges of objects.
Tomg wrote: 18 Feb 2022, 05:55 3) If the spacing references the extremes of the components, why isn't there a 0.4" space between them?
I have an experiment and found that in some cases the alignment works unstable. We will test it and find a way to fix it.
Tomg wrote: 18 Feb 2022, 05:55 4) Would it be possible to add a "Spacing:" sub-option that allows the user to specify "center-to-center" referencing?
I agree the "center-to-center" is a useful option. Thank you for the offer. We will consider it.

Tomg
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Re: questions about the Align tool

#5 Post by Tomg » 22 Feb 2022, 02:09

Thanks for the answers, Serg.
Tom

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ReverseEMF
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Re: questions about the Align tool

#6 Post by ReverseEMF » 09 Apr 2022, 05:00

So, in the Align Objects tool, when it says "Spacing", that's intended to be spacing between objects, right?

If so, it's apparently not working correctly. I selected 6 LED components, in my schematic, and entered "200mil" and expected there to be 200mils between each LED object. The actual distance was: 353mil.
So, I tried 100mil, and got 253mil.

Is there some weird logic I'm unaware of, or is this just not functioning correctly?

I'm using version: 4.2.0.1 (November 18, 2021)

BTW: If I have the correct idea about how this feature is supposed to work, a workaround is to subtract 153mil from the target spacing value. So, if you want a spacing of 300, then enter:

300 - 153, or 147

This even works if the result is negative. For instance, to get a 100mil spacing:

100 - 153 = -53

enter -53 to get 100mil spacing.
If left to evolution, would this PCB ever design itself, and what would the lead time be on that?

MikeCase
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Re: questions about the Align tool

#7 Post by MikeCase » 24 Oct 2023, 05:14

Another vote for a 'center to center' option. It would be really handy.

mike_s
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Re: questions about the Align tool

#8 Post by mike_s » 26 Oct 2023, 09:21

Re Align Tool - 'center to center' is More than handy; design engineering standard practice.

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Re: questions about the Align tool

#9 Post by mike_s » 26 Oct 2023, 09:23

Re Align Tool - 'center to center' is More than handy; design engineering standard practice.
mike_s

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