Hierarchical Labels with Repilcate Layout

Hi,

I was able to get a set of identical hierarchical sheets to layout identically to my initial layout with the replicate layout plugin. Fantastic, MitjaNemec! Really spectacular time saver. Thank you!

As a bit of help for those that haven’t tried this it was pretty straight forward:

  1. draw in a single hierarchical sheet and then layout one replica of the circuit to be replicated.

  2. Make a sheet for each replicant, use the same file name but different sheet name. It will kindly offer to link the sheets rather than destructively overwrite the file named.

  3. Make a netlist, annotate, import the new netlist.

  4. Git the downloads: https://github.com/MitjaNemec/Kicad_action_plugins

  5. put them in the Program Files\KiCad\share\kicad\scripting\plugins\replicate_layout directory if you’re using windoze

  6. From the already laid out section, select an anchor point, pivot, whatever you want to call that spot around which the layout will replicate. go to tools > External Plugings > replicate layout (refresh if it’s not there, else check the directory you put the plugins into. Kick off the plugin and select the revelant sheet and viola!

anyway, back to the main question, which will surely betray me as a noob:

After I was able to make my replicants in both schematic and layout I wanted to pull a net from each replicant sheet and send them individually into another unrelaed sheet. You have to be really careful here, anything that goes into one sheet goes to all the replicants. So I named a pin “Phase” in each replicant hierarchical sheet, and then was expecting to be able just connect those with out too much difficulty, I tried two different ways and each time the replicants were forced to the same net name on the pins and strangley they didn’t connect to the replicant location:

I don’t get how you’re supposed to get individual nets out of replicated layout, it seems to force the pins of the replicants (Hierarchical sheets sharing the same file) to the same .

What am I missing here?

This is all in Kicad 5.1.2

Thanks,

Bill

in try 1 check with the highlight tool. I am sure the pads marked ‘phase’ are not really connected (there is no ratsnest line)
The real name of the net is “/Rectifier3/Phase” but pcb_new only displays the last part. See https://bugs.launchpad.net/kicad/+bug/1842906

Ah, fantastic! Thanks, I get why that’s on the wishlist, its totally functional, just annoying.

Some how in my futching around to get this to work I managed to push the label inside the spreadsheet off the net, it’s fixed now and all is well with the world.

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