Ultiboard copper area and tracks

[Buechsenschuetz]

I am using Ultiboard 10.0.1 for a while now. I have a lot of experience with other layout systems.

Currently I am trying to route a board manually. I try to connect the pad of an SMD part to a copper area. The copper area has some heat-transfer vias. The net the SMD pad is connected to and the copper area have the same name.

When I try to route the track from the pad to the copper area I see a ratsnet line from the end of the track to the next via of the copper area. I can connect the pad to this via. However, there is always a void around the track.

When I set the track clearance to zero the void disappears. But since the shape of the copper area uses a polygon and the end of the track is round (or much better "rounded" than the shape of the copper area) there are always small voids visible on the screen.

Is there any way to avoid the voids between a copper track and a copper area with same name WITHOUT setting the clearance to zero? Also, what will happen with the small voids around the rounded end of the track when the board is actually manufactured?

BTW when I rename the copper area to a random name and set it back to its original name sometimes the voids around the track disappear completely, even if the clearance is set to the default of 10 mils. I am not sure whether this a reliable method.

[NinaM]

Hi,

could you please attach a picture or Ultiboard programm, so that I can see what you mean?

Thank you,

Regards,

Nina

[stressed_user]

Hi,

I don't know if this was solved allready?

What you could try: instead of using the follow routing (Ctrl-T), try drawing a line in copper (CTRL-SHIFT-L)

The you draw a copper line as you would want your track.

If after this you get a design rule fault, try to analyse it (eg showing the clearances)

Never use the trick you said, setting the clearance at zero can give odd faults in your copper.

In the PCB production, these may appear as small interuptions in your copper.

This is because of tolerances and conversions, they should alwas overlap.

Succes!

[Buechsenschuetz]

The problem is not solved yet. As suggested, I will try to post screen shots of the problem area.

I just posted this question since I thought that the work-around I found would not work properly. Even on the screen, there are minor gaps visible, since the (still persistent) cut out in the copper area is rounded in a different way (polygon) than the end of the track (half-circle).

[Buechsenschuetz]

I just remember that I did a similar thing some months before, and there had been no problems connecting a track to a copper area.

So I re-visited this design and checked the properties of both the track and the copper area. Both were set to "Use net settings" (I use the german version and had to re-translate it). Going back to my recent design, I changed the properties of the track and the copper area (which were set to a numeric value as default) to "use net settings", and now it works (copper track is connected to copper area without any gaps).

[Buechsenschuetz]

After some more tries, I found that the solution I thought I had found does not work. Sometimes the copper track and the copper area are properly connected, sometimes I see the gap.

I asked one of my colleagues and he remembered that he had had the same problem. More or less by chance, he had found out that the copper tracks are properly connected after doing a "Netlist and DRC check" (retranslated from the german version).

When you change the properties of the copper track (i.e. width) after this netlist check, the gap may occur again but can be fixed by doing another netlist check.

[stressed_user]

Hi,

It seems this is just a graphical issue that is solved after you dit a Netlist and DRC check.

Anyway,

it is advisable to do a netlist and DRC check just before you export to gerbers.

it sometimes happens that one of these gaps gets in your gerberdata.

succes

stressed user

[Buechsenschuetz]

Not sure if this is just a graphical/display issue. However, my colleage has done this (connecting a trace to a copper area) and has done a netlist check.

Our board manufacturer just uses the Ultiboard file and makes his own conversion to Gerber (or whatever) data. The designs my colleague made as described above turned out properly. However, if possible, I will try to process Gerber data and have a look at them with a Gerber viewer.