Is there a way to specify a default/minimum distance between tracks and then a corresponding minimum width to be used as FIll Zones? I’ll be CNCing single sided boards so want to set distances compatible with tool widths.
The only option I can find is Board Setup > Design Rules > Constraints > Copper > Minimum Clearance, and that looks to apply to pins as well as tacks including (eg) DIP packages.
Normally you use netclasses to set both track width and clearance for nets. Maybe it’s possible to use custom rules to use a different clearance for tracks then for nets, but I’m not even sure if that is what you want.
And you want to use different tool to cut track edge then zone edge then pad edge?
What tool between track and zone, track and pad, zone and pad?
Board Setup is something like manufacture limits to be used to guarantee to get working PCB.
Minimum clearance depends on precision in manufacturing of track, zone and pad edges. I think the precision of manufacturing all these edges is the same so single parameter specifies minimum clearance for PCB.
I am just now experimenting with my first pcb milling job. In kicad I just set the copper clearance to 0.7mm (the size of the endmill I want to use) and ensured that I had at least 0.7mm between pads in the footprints I am using. No need for any other clearance than that. I was going to try using freecad/path but that is kinda complicated, I looked at coppercam but that is not free, and now I am looking at Flatcam:
What cam are you planning to use?
@paulvdh Thanks. I’ll read up on netclasses.
@Piotr I hadn’t thought about pad spaces as such, so thats a good point. I’m expecting to use something like a 1mm endmill (that seems to be in the usual range of recommended sizes) so I’m primarily looking for a way to limit trace to trace clearance to about that size, so routing can be a bit quicker.
@teletypeguy Is there a single setting for copper clearance? If so, ive failed to find or so far.
If in Board Setup - Design Rules - Constraints you will set Minimum clearance to 1mm than it will affect also trace to trace clearance. If you will not for anything else use smaller endmill this will give you what you want. But if you want to have general clearance 1mm, but in some places smaller than I remember such discussions from KiCad V4 times and it is possible that from some time (V7, V8) you are able to specify regions with smaller clearance, but I’m not sure if such features were added, and I never searched for them.
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