Board layout cut outs

I have a requirement of having a square cut out in the middle of my board. I cannot figure out how to accomplish this. I will greatly appreciate any help you can give me on getting this done.

Thanks, Jim

You need to check with your board manufacturer how they want cut outs specified.

However, a common way is to mark the cut out on the Edge Cuts layer.

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Like this

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So it’s as easy as drawing a square on the edge cut layer?

From the pcbnew point of view, it’s that easy, as you say. But as @bobc pointed out, you must ensure the manufacturer will all accept it this way and/or if there are limitations (minimum width, etc.).

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Most manufacturers would likely appreciate it if at a basic level you put the text “Internal Cut Out” in the middle of that edge cut square, but yeah, send them an email for best results.

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Thanks much for your help! I am a novice at this and was expecting to see some indication of a cut out in the 3D viewer or the gerber files. I will converse with the board vender to best understand their requirements. Thanks again!

Gerber describes photoplotter output. A cut out is routed out, there are limitations on size and corner radius that are manufacturer dependent. Cut outs are often an extra cost

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The 3D viewer in pcbnew will show cutouts (with sharp corners).

I must be doing something wrong, I don’t see the cut out in the 3D viewer.

I just checked, my panelizing cutouts still work in the present version.

Make sure the lines intersect exactly at the corners.

It is often easier to use a coarse grid to ensure that your edge cuts precisely intersect. If you check the line properties (press e over the lines) you can make sure that the coordinates are coincident. If they don’t intersect exactly you wil get an error in the 3d viewer.

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I have checked my edge cut lines and they all intersect properly but I am getting an error when running the 3D viewer. It is “Unable to find segment with endpoint (143.123mm, 121.343mm)”. It does render the board correctly (other than the cut out) correctly.

Thanks to everyone. I realized I should run the design rules checker and found an error in the edge cut lines. The 3D viewer is now rendering properly. Thanks!!

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