Moving parts with traces - Eagle user needs help

[teletypeguy]

@jmk, yes, I found ages ago how to set the drill and grid origins to where I want them at the lower-left corner of the board, and set y-axis-up. Else this would have driven me crazy

I still don’t see why I would want to use net classes, as I just have my lists of widths and vias I like and change them as I work.

However, I have now found an oddity related to net class. I generally use 0.2mm as a min clearance, but in a current board I am using a sot563 and clearance between pads is 0.18mm. In my Board-Setup/Design-Rules/Constraints/Copper-Min-Clearance I set it to 0.18mm (or even smaller) but still get DRC errors:

Then I find that the error is related to net class, which I did not think I was using:

Well sheesh, ALL of my traces are default net class and there is now ANOTHER setting I need to set for copper clearance:

I presumed that Board-Setup/Design-Rules/Constraints/Copper-Min-Clearance was THE master value, but this net class setup, which I never touched since I never used them, needs to be changed also so I can pass drc. Am I missing something?

I don’t use erc much, since power errors just get silly (I know I can turn them off in violation severity). I don’t want to clutter the schematic with flags every time I go through a connector, or switch, or ferrite bead (and I use a lot of ferrite beads). Yes, it is great to find connected outputs or a floating cmos input now and then, but I don’t expect much from erc.

DRC on the other hand is really vital to catch oddities, so I want to explore and fix drc errors. I don’t mean to hijack this thread too far beyond the OP’s question, though sometimes these topics just meander in related directions.

[Piotr]

@teletypeguy

though it is odd that some things don’t seem to be in menus, like erc and drc checks

I am at the moment at Win7 PC so I don’t have V6 here to check what you are writing. You can always write your suggestion (wish) as bug-report. I have done it few times during V4 was current and during first year of V5. I see some effects of my reports in V6.

@teletypeguy

The symbol-properties and footprint-properties should be giant buttons imho

I don’t remember I looked into symbol or footprint properties (except may be hole positioning by entering the coordinates). I don’t need it. So there are different user needs and KiCad have to be between them.

@teletypeguy

I don’t know when it would be useful to ever insert something from within the footprint editor

You would be surprised how many times there are discussions of people who design a board without a schematic and how difficult it is to convince them to change their approach. “The PCB manufacturer does not accept my design that I made with InkScap, GIMP or any other and I need only to get gerbers”

@teletypeguy

As for using U to change a net: I have somehow a couple of times now found that a net has changed names,

I divide nets into:

• I want to know their name and I name it at schematic,
• I don’t care what is its name and I never even read its name at PCB.

[mf_ibfeew]

… erc and drc checks – … Seems like those would be in the tools menu.

Not in Tools, but in Inspect-submenu.

Same thing in symbol and footprint editor: The symbol-properties and footprint-properties should be giant buttons imho but I need to squint and hover to find them. And the “footprint-properties” icon looks like the “insert footprint into board” (I don’t know when it would be useful to ever insert something from within the footprint editor).

Just doubleclick into empty space of the footprint or symbol → opens up the footprint/symbol-properties dialog. No need to search for the properties-icon.

I presumed that Board-Setup/Design-Rules/Constraints/Copper-Min-Clearance was THE master value, but this net class setup, which I never touched since I never used them, needs to be changed also so I can pass drc.

Board-Setup/Design-Rules/Constraints is the master, nothing is allowed to violate that constrains. And the netclasses are additional. If you really don’t use the netclass, you could for instance set the default-netclass to clearance==0. As this value is smaller than the constrain-value (your 0.18mm) the constrain-value is used.

[Piotr]

@teletypeguy

I still don’t see why I would want to use net classes, as I just have my lists of widths and vias I like and change them as I work.

I used classes in Protel for example to specify the isolation distance between isolated circuits. It was not possible in V5 but is possible in V6 but not so simple as I had it in Protel (in KiCad you have to define some rules, I have never tried yet). I have used classes also to specify larger clearance for tracks with PoE (48V) on them.

[teletypeguy]

@mf_ibfeew

Not in Tools, but in Inspect-submenu.
…
Just doubleclick into empty space of the footprint or symbol

Got it – both handy. thx

[teletypeguy]

@Piotr

I have used classes also to specify larger clearance for tracks with PoE (48V) on them.

That is interesting – I can see some use cases now.

[jmk]

Hi @teletypeguy

The default net class is the boot-up default. The comment of mine was in reply to your question:

@teletypeguy

is there a way to set boot-up defaults (eg: 0.2 trk and 0.6/0.3 via) so I don’t need to set those every time I start?

Change the track width in the default net class to your .2, and also your via size, and anything else you wish, then you will have a new boot-up default… got it?

Of course, provided the default net class does not violate:

@mf_ibfeew

Board-Setup/Design-Rules/Constraints is the master,

If something in your new default net class violates the Constraints, change the appropriate value in the constraints.