Import of Eagle board and copper pours

Making PCB Layouts, Manual routing, Auto-routing, Copper pouring, Updating from Schematic, Manufacturing Output
Post Reply
Message
Author
infinitemach
Posts: 65
Joined: 03 Sep 2021, 07:42

Import of Eagle board and copper pours

#1 Post by infinitemach » 08 Sep 2021, 15:35

I'm converting over from Fusion 360 (Eagle) to DipTrace.

I imported one of my Eagle boards into the PCB Layout program and all seemed to go well except that my copper pours are the same as they are in Eagle. There seems to be some design constraint in DipTrace that is causing parts of the pours to not be continuous. For example, they are separating at narrow spaces between a signal trace and a pad. I have attached two images that illustrate the issue. One image shows a section of the board in DipTrace where the pour is disconnected. The separated area is circled. The other image is from Eagle showing the contiguous pour. I'm thinking there is some constraint that needs to be change to allow the pour to join. What do I need to adjust in DipTrace?
Pour in Eagle
Pour in Eagle
EagleCopperPour.jpg (46.49 KiB) Viewed 210 times
Same area in DipTrace
Same area in DipTrace
DTCopperPour.jpg (24.86 KiB) Viewed 210 times

Tomg
Expert
Posts: 2028
Joined: 20 Jun 2015, 07:39

Re: Import of Eagle board and copper pours

#2 Post by Tomg » 09 Sep 2021, 02:54

It looks like the clearance settings need to be adjusted. Have the necessary design rules and copper pour properties been set up?

* Design Rules
Main menu > Verification > Design Rules... > select the [Clearances] tab.

* Copper Pour Properties
1) Right-click on the border/outline of the copper pour in question and select "Properties..." in the context menu to bring up the "Copper Pour Properties" dialog window.
2) In the "Copper Pour Properties" dialog window select the [Pouring] tab, enable the [x]Use Net Clearance option, adjust the "Line Width:" setting to something that works for you (smaller values might fill more of those gaps if your design rules settings allow) and click on "OK". Please note that, depending on the complexity of the design, a smaller "Line Width:" value may take longer to pour.
3) Make sure to update all copper pours after making any changes: main menu > Objects > Update All Copper Pours (you can assign a hotkey for this function).

p.s. I wish DipTrace had the ability to show the net name inside the traces.
Tom

infinitemach
Posts: 65
Joined: 03 Sep 2021, 07:42

Re: Import of Eagle board and copper pours

#3 Post by infinitemach » 09 Sep 2021, 04:32

Thanks for the reply. I'm getting a handle on this now. Another issue that added to the problem is that the import placed some vias in slightly different position from the original, causing the pour to not connect in some areas.

Yes, having the nets labeled would be a nice feature.

Post Reply