[SOLVED] Can't connect trace to pad

[awardblvr]

The pad on Q1 Pin2 is on the same net as the partial trace to the left. But, it will not let me make the connection. What am I missing?

Thank You!

[pedro]

The thin yellow circular lines are the culprit as they set the clearance. Overlapping clearances make the forbidden connection

Clearance can be set in 3 levels: board, footprint and pin.
Seeing those big clearances for all pins makes me guess you have a large general clearance set for all the board

[jmk]

Hi @awardblvr
Not the problem you mention, but you have an extremely large Pad Clearance.
This can be changed in Pad properties > Clearance Overrides and Settings > Pad Clearance.

[jmk]

@awardblvr

I don’t know of a way to alter the pad clearance in bulk. Maybe others may help.

What is your Kicad version?

[awardblvr]

Kicad 7

Application: KiCad PCB Editor x86_64 on x86_64
Version: 7.0.6-0, release build
Libraries:
wxWidgets 3.2.2
FreeType 2.13.0
HarfBuzz 7.3.0
FontConfig 2.14.2
libcurl/7.88.1 (SecureTransport) LibreSSL/3.3.6 zlib/1.2.11 nghttp2/1.51.0
Platform: macOS Ventura Version 13.4.1 (c) (Build 22F770820d), 64 bit, Little endian, wxMac
Build Info:
Date: Jul 6 2023 22:01:07
wxWidgets: 3.2.2 (wchar_t,wx containers)
Boost: 1.82.0
OCC: 7.7.0
Curl: 7.77.0
ngspice: 38
Compiler: Clang 13.0.0 with C++ ABI 1002
Build settings:
KICAD_SPICE=ON

[mf_ibfeew]

@awardblvr : Do you have followed pedros advice and checked all the clearance-settings:

• board: File–>board setup–>design rules–>Constraints–>minimum clearance
• netclass: File–>board setup–>design rules–>netclasses–>clearance values for all netclasses
• footprint: double-clicking one of the footprints with the big circles -->get footprint properties dialog–>clearance overrides pane–>pad clearance (note the remark regarding value==0)
• pad: double-clicking one of the pads with the big circles -->get pad properties dialog–>clearance overrides pane–>pad clearance (note the remark regarding value==0)

[awardblvr]

Thanks … was just gonna ask… Now walking through each of those… MANY thanks… I’ll reply shortly.

[awardblvr]

(Bulls’eye!) It was the first one, first value, “minimum clearance” was 3, now .1

TANK YOU THANK YOU!

[BobZ]

Unrelated to the question, but I would make those narrow tracks wider unless you have a specific reason not to do so. I am guessing that you have 0.2 or 0.25 mm. I would use at least 0.5 mm unless clearance or other issues dictate otherwise. Actually I use 1 mm as sort of a default, but yes I often need to make them narrower in order to squeeze through a gap or crowd a bunch of tracks into a small space. Or to avoid being larger than the pad to which I am connecting.

[awardblvr]

Ha… Funny… I just had this intuitive feeling, so I began widening them this morning … Started with power and ground → .4 mm… (only a few signals here, all low speed, all under 5mA each.)… I guess I’ll beef them all up to > .5mm based on your suggestion since I’m going to etch this SS board myself. Thanks! (What a great community!)

[ML9104]

If you’re etching PCBs yourself, don’t go below 0.5 mm as a general rule. Tight squeezes (eg, between pins) 0.3 mm is possible, but critical. Just speaking from experience.

[paulvdh]

@ML9104

If you’re etching yourself, don’t …

No, please do not etch yourself.
It’s bad for your skin texture.
Etching PCB’s is much safer and productive.

Edit:
Quote from original retroactively added.

[ML9104]

Ha! A quick edit just killed your silly remark