I want to create an area completely voided of copper within a copper plane.

[WPrather]

I want to create an area completely voided of copper within a copper plane.

W/hen I create a copper area and then select fill 'none' there is always a small ring of copper around the perimeter which I cannot remove regardless of what settings I use.

[Sil.VI]

Hi WPrather

The behavior that you are getting is the expected, since what you are initially placing is a copper layer, just that you are filling it with nothing. For example if you are placing a polygone and then going to the properties you can select the patterns and how you would like that copper section to be but it will be a copper layer.

How are you setting up the layer? 

[WPrather]

For example:  If I have a two layer board and the bottom layer is setup as the ground plane.  How would I create a polygon section that was completely void of copper.  It would make total sense to me if you just simply selected a fill pattern of none which would produce no copper being filled in this area.  The problem is that almost no copper is filled, in that it is mostly void but there is still a small 'ring' of copper along the outer perimeter of the polygon inset slightly from the edge.  How do I get an area completely void of copper within a copper plane?

[stressed_user · Accepted solution]

Hi,

There's two ways to do that:

1) After placing your copper plane, go to the layer 'keepin-keepout area'

the go to 'Place' 'Keepin-keepout Area' and draw the shape that you want.

Then the area within will be cut out from your plane.

you might get DRC errors with parts and tracks in another layer.

this can be avoided but takes a lot of settings...so I never do that

2) Instead of having a copper plane, use copper areas to build up your plane.

You might need to put two or more  overlapping area's,

so just don't put any copper where you don't want any.

This solution is slighly more difficult, but you won't get any DRC errors on other layers/parts

Succes!

[Buechsenschuetz]

I have done this with other circuit design software. It is no problem to create "voids" inside a copper plane. The system I used had a "keep out layer" (bottom or top), just like Ultiboard. Draw your polygon in this layer and it will be kept free from copper (and tracks if you do autorouiting). 

Building the copper area from several "blocks" is also possible but you have to re-shape the blocks if you want to re-shape the "void" area. 

There is also a much more complicated solution by drawing a complex polygon which is "connected" to an inner polygon via perimeter lines which cover each other. In this case only the space between the inner and the outer polygon is filled with cover. A colleague of mine once used this solution, I always wondered why he did not find the much simpler solution using the "keep out layer".