What is the Ratsnest and how do I access/use it? I see all the light blue lines connecting points, and I use it when I am connecting a line. Are there other functions I am missing?
Yes, the thin blue lines are the ratsnest and it’s incredibly helpful because it shows all traces from your netlist “real-time” and will follow your parts when moving them. You can rotate or move a part, and thus see if the ratsnest lines become untangled. Eg, if a lot of ratsnest lines cross each other at a certain part, try rotating it. You might also see that swapping gates within a part (or between identical parts) will simplify layout.
Compare price of 8 0Rs and difference in price of 4 layer and 2 layer board.
OK…I am officially a 0R advocate! Thanks!
I have some errors in the Design Rule Checker I don’t understand.
Error: Track width (netclass ‘Default’ min width 0.2032 mm; actual 0.2000 mm)
Track [Net-(D3-A)] on F.Cu, length 3.5355 mm
I took a screen shot of the location. The thick track coming from the top is 4 mm to the anode of the diode. The thin track to the transistor is 0.2032 mm, as it should be (black error points to it). The little bit that actually connects to the transistor’s pad is also 0.2032, as reported bu the properties when the track is selected. What am I doing wrong?
Update on my last post…
I noticed I am getting the same error on another part of the trace.
I have attached a better screen shot that shows the whole trace
I have also attached a screenshot of this part of the schematic. The pins to the left R35 are the top of the fuse holder.
Dunno, but why bother about it? Just make the track 0.3 mm or whatever. Problem solved.
Why on earth use such anaemic tracks at the limit of what’s reasonably possible? Are you testing reliability or manufacturer capabilities?
And 0.2032 mm, what kind of size is that?
Are we being AI trolled here?
0.2032 mm is 8 mils, which is what the manufacturer says is the design rule for their process, so that is what I put into KiCad as the min trace and min trace width. I thought that was what I am supposed to do.
screenshot from PCBWay web site:
Screenshot from KiCad board properties
I tried increasing the trace to 16 mils, and I get exactly the same error, with the same measurements.
All fine, but why do your tracks go to the absolute limit? There’s no reason to use minimum track width as default. You must have activated a tick box somewhere.
What is a reasonable track width to use as a default? I manually set the high current ones.
I use 0603 0Rs.
In distributor I use the price for 100 pcs is less then $0.01 per piece. The more probably costs assemble of it but not lot more.
For a through-hole design like this one, 0.3…0.8 mm for small signals (logic, opamps etc.). Try with 0.5 mm.
Why some traces you have so wide and other so thin. With small SMD elements I use typically 0.25mm tracks, but when i connect to any THT pad I use at least 0.5mm track.
The gargantuan tracks are 5 mm for 6 amp circuit. The other tracks are default, which I seem to have set to the min track size from the PCB manufacturer. Looking for where I can set a larger default size.
Please read the full thread. The fat tracks partially carry 5 A. OK?
What is R35 current?
Here is 2:54. Last time to bed.
I found this screen to set what I think is the Default value for the top copper layer trace width. I set it to 5 mm, saved it, but none of my traces changed width. Is there an “apply default” button somewhere?
The current through R35 is only 150 mA. The rest is through D3. I could have made the tracks to R35 smaller, but I didn’t. I should probably swap D3 and R35 and adjust the track size down for R35. Thanks for catching that!
No, wrong place.
You need to go to “Net Classes”. Either edit the defaults (not so good) or add a new class.
If I set the Default track width to 5 mm, what do I set the other values to?