SparkFun Forums

[uncle4]

Hi all.

I'm a noob with Eagle/Cadsoft, but am finding my way slowly.

I've finished up/routed a 2 layer board, and wanted Eagle/RATSNEST
to make my copper pour. It looks good, except for one poly that's
isolated, yet close too close to an adjacent RATSNEST poly.



My DRC is all jiggy with the layout, but BatchPCB's DRC complains
about the proximity of the polygons.

I can't seem to edit the RATSNEST polys (I think they're just a visual
tool for the user and not included in the .BRD files), nor can I add a poly
to the board and bridge the two.

Here're the polys with all layers on:



Is there a straightforward way of fixing this?

Thanks!

[trialex]

Just to confirm: the two polys are the same net (i.e. both GND)?

Considering your isolation looks good around the other traces, there must be something else going on. If you turn on the other relevant layers (top, holes, vias, tkeepout, bkeepout, trestrict, brestrict at least) and post another picture there might be something to explain it.

[NleahciM]

Do you mean for there to be that many traces that go nowhere? (AKA net antennas)

As for your problem - there should be a setting for deleting isolated sections of copper. Further, there may be a setting for controlling the width of the tracks used for your pour. I'm not familiar with your software so I can't comment on where these settings are.

[bveenema]

Right click on the edge of the polygon and select 'properties' make sure the 'orphans' box is checked. This is supposed to remove isolated copper but I've had problems with it myself. If that doesn't work I see two possibilities for your case. Redefine your polygon to exclude this area (use 2 if neccesary) but this is probably not as easy as simply changing the width of the tracks for the copper pour as NleahciM mentions. The width of the line you use to define the polygon is the width used in the pour.

Hopefully this helps. I'm new to Eagle and PCB design myself so maybe someone else can shed more light on this.

[leon_heller]

You have a couple of isolated copper pour areas, including that one. The software I use won't create them in the first place. If you can't do that with Eagle, just delete them.

That acute angle where a track joins a pad looks nasty, I'd fix that as well.

[uncle4]

Right.

I had already tried selecting the orphaned polygon by right
clicking (doesn't work).

I couldn't get the syntax right to turn off orphans for the ratsnest
pour.

Similarly, since I can't right click and 'select' the polygons, I
couldn't 'name' the pour.

I did try the advice to add a small restricted area between the
polygons, and that _did_ work (thanks!).

If anyone figures out how to select and manipulate (name, erase,
add, etc) the polygons generated by the ratsnest/auto function,
I'd still love to know.

Also, if anyone figures out how to keep the ratsnest/autorouter
from making these too-close polygons in the first place (or
_why_ it's happening), _that'd_ be very valuable!

Thanks again!

-U4-

[FartingMonkey92]

When you first load your board, you'll notice the dashed outline for the polygon pour before you ratsnest it.
That line is what you need to use the "Info" tool on and make sure "Orphans" is unchecked.

Why the pours haven't connect in your example is probably due to minimum trace width and minimum isolation conflicts.

[Rolf]

You need to name the polygon, otherwise there will be orphans because none of the fill is tied to any net. Use the Name tool and give it the same name as your ground net. Don't try this with the orphans themselves because they are all part of the same polygon, even though they don't appear to be. Do it on the main outline. Another way of avoiding orphans is to move things a little bit to leave enough room for them to connect. The reason they aren't connecting is because your polygon line thickness is too high for the space between the other copper to make it through and pass the DRC.

I'd also encourage you to refrain from using the autorouter at all, because it really leaves a lot of bad stuff behind. Your traces could stand to be quite a bit thicker and better organized. You'll also find that hand routing can save you a lot of board space.

Hope this helps.