Merging zones with same NET not working (6.0.1)

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Hi all,

I have two zones on same layer, both with the same NET. I have selected both, right clicked and selected MERGE. The screen flickers for a second as if something had happened, however, the two zones are not merged, the remain as the were.

They are filled prior, and I have tried overlapping them first and also butting one up against the other but no luck.

Am new to KiCad (and loving it, donated twice…:slight_smile: …), and Ideas?

V6.0.1

Ian.

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For a helpful answer we need the board (or a cut-down-version of the board)…

On my system (v6.0.1 and v6.99) the merging of zones works well. Requirement:

  • both zones overlap (also possible: both zones exactly share 1 side)
  • try at first with an easy geometry (two rectangles)

Additional findings:

  • there is a problem if the zones touch at only one point → avoid this
  • there is no warning/error-message if no merging is possible
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Here’s a screenshot…I’m looking to join them where the arrow is.

Ian.

image
image949×577 17.5 KB

4

I’ve experimented a bit with this (new to me) feature, and it does appear to work for me, but the zones have to be overlapping.

If the zones are not overlapping, then they are not merged into one.

5

Added a little screen recording.
The menu selection of the “merge zones” is out of the captured area, but you can see the results.

6

Interesting that it fails for me. Here’s more detail.

Here’s the overlap, but there are objects there, so it’s not ‘clean’…I wonder if thats the issue.

Unfilled.

image
image733×774 38.8 KB

And filled.

image
image829×803 42.6 KB

7

This feature is new to me.
I had not seen it earlier in KiCad V5, but that may have been because I have not looked for it.

A boring fix / worakound is to just add about 10 corners to one of the zones, and then delete the other, but the merge thing would be a much more sophisitacted option if it works. properly.

What happens if you make a copy of your project, then delete tracks and via’s and then do the merge?
At least this can exclude if the pads and via’s in the overlap could be an issue.

If you can’t get it to work, then I can have a look at it if you upload the (zipped) project.
You can delete any proprietary stuff from the schematic & pcb if there are parts you don’t want to share.

8

Removing all objects didn’t fix the problem.

However, if I create a couple of new zones the same shape then the merge just fine.
I think the issue is with the zone’s having been created as this PCB is an import from Altium CircuitStudio.
Funny how they both fill just fine…just won’t merge…so I guess there is an issue with them somewhere.

Ian.

9

Fixed…one of the zones had a “Zone Priority Level” set to 1.
Once I changed it to zero (so both are zero) then they merged just fine.

Looks like the Altium import had somehow set that.

Ian.

1 Like
10

just as info:
To prevent such confusion in the future the developers added an info-screen with error-message if merging was not succesful. Currently only available at the v7-nightly builds but could possibly cherry-picked back to v6.
look at gitlab-issue:

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