Ground Plane

[Bob Roberts]

In utiliboard, how do I electrically connect my ground hole (it will come from a transformer center tap) to my ground plane?

[_user32 · Accepted solution]

Bob Roberts ,

There may be a couple things here.

1. The most common case is that you can have a net 'GND' and a net '0'.  0 typically references the analog gnd and 'GND' typically references a digital ground.  Electrically they are not tied together unless you specifically call this out in Multisim (Options -> Sheet Properties -> PCB tab -> Ground option (checkbox).   Do a forward annotate at this point.

2. You may not have tied together the plane that you created (is this a Copper Area or a Powerplane...?) with the correct net.  Typically this will be due to the Copper Area as it does not prompt you for a net name before generating the plane.  To check activate the 'Copper Areas' selection filter and double click on the plane area - go to the 'Copper Area' properties tab and ensure the correct connection is made.

3. There are times (especially with SMT pins to VIAs), when the through hole connection does not appear until you do a connectivity check (although it is made).   For TH pins this should not be the case, but its easy enough to hit the 'Connectivity Check' once to verify (Design -> Connectivity Check) - the thermal relief connection style will now appear if this is the case.   This is a known issue and R&D is working on this for the next update.

4. Finally verify that the net (GND or '0') is tied to the transformer 'GND' pin.  To verify go to Tools -> Netlist Editor and browse to the 'GND' or '0' net and verify the connection is made to the correct refdes/pin.

5. If all else fails, contact our support team and they will be able to walk you through additional steps:

http://sine.ni.com/apps/utf8/nicc.call_me

Let the group know if one of these solved your issue. 

Regards,

Pat Noonan

National Instrumetns

[Bob Roberts]

OK, I figured out the connection issue. Thanks. Now, Despite the fact I routed traces to components the ERC check says they are not connected. How do I connect them?

[_user32]

Bob Roberts ,

From the picture it appears that the two parts and their pins are labeled 'unconnected'.  This usually means the netlist is not correctly setup.  Are you using Ultiboard only - or Multisim and Ultiboard?

From the Multisim schematic the netlist will be created (so you may need to forward annotate).  If just using Ultiboard you will need to go to the Netlist Editor and add a new net and manually attach the net to the appropriate refdes/ pins..

Regards,

Patrick Noonan

National Instruments