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Summary
Tutorial TU0110 (v1.4) October 18, 2007
This tutorial shows how to define the board shape, configure the drawing sheet, setup the layers, and define any keepout requirements, in preparation for transferring the design from the schematic editor.
In this tutorial, we will look at what is needed to get started with a PCB design, such as creating and modifying the board shape and the sheet template, and defining any keepout requirements. We will also take a quick look at other PCB workspace setups that are required before you start placing components and routing, such as grids, layer stacks and design rules.
Preparing the Board for Design Transfer To import a DXF/DWG file into a newly created PCB: 1. Select File New PCB. 2. The new blank PCB will open. The black region on the sheet represents the board shape. We will now redefine the boards shape based on data in a mechanical file created as a .DXF (or .DWG) file in AutoCAD. All versions of AutoCAD from 2.5 to 14 are supported. Please note that the shape to be imported must be a closed shape and internal cutouts are not supported. 3. Select File Import. The Import File dialog appears. 4. Select the file format by changing the Files of type option to AutoCAD (*.DXF,*DWG). 5. Navigate to and select the file to be imported and click on Open. 6. The Import from AutoCAD dialog displays to allow you to specify how you would like the AutoCAD layers imported to Altium Designer layers. For example, you could map the AutoCAD 0 layer (left side) to Mechanical layer 4 in Altium Designer (selected from the drop-down list).
7. Check that the other import options are set correctly and click on OK. Track segments forming a board outline will appear on the nominated layer, e.g. Mechanical Layer 4. The imported data will automatically be scaled if it is larger than the current PCB workspace. Now that you have a closed boundary defined on a mechanical layer, you can use these objects to define the board shape.
Preparing the Board for Design Transfer To define a board shape from selected objects: 1. Create an enclosed boundary on a mechanical layer that will define the board shape you require. Use the placement commands such as Place Line or Place Arc to create your new board shape. 2. Select the new board shape boundary only. Use the Edit Select All on Layer command to quickly select all objects on the current layer [shortcut S, Y]. 3. Select Design Board Shape Define from selected objects and the board shape will be redisplayed to fit the selected boundary objects.
3. When you have defined the board shape, right-click or press ESC to finish. There is no need to fully close the polygon, as Altium Designer will automatically complete the shape by joining the first point to the last point placed. The visible grid will be drawn to fill the area defined by the new board outline.
TU0110 (v1.4) October 18, 2007
Preparing the Board for Design Transfer 2. Click directly on a selected object and the cursor changes to a large arrow. Drag the selection bounding box to the new location on the sheet. Alternatively, select the objects required and select Edit Move Move Selection. Click within the selection to define a reference point, move the selection and click to place.
The sheet size and location of the sheet can be defined manually by the Size and Location settings in the Board Options dialog. The sheet can be also be resized automatically to fit the objects on linked mechanical layer(s) when you select View Fit Sheet or you can use the Design Board Shape Auto-Position Sheet command to recalculate it when the contents of the linked mechanical layers change.
Preparing the Board for Design Transfer The sheet can be hidden at any time by disabling the Display Sheet checkbox. All linked mechanical layers will also be hidden. Click OK.
2. Select View Fit Sheet to display the sheet [shortcut V, H (View Sheet) or Z, S (Zoom Sheet)]. A white space appears around the board shape with the default size of 10000 x 8000 mil.
3. You can change the color of the sheet by selecting Design Board Layers & Colors [shortcut L] and selecting a new color for the Sheet Area Color and Sheet Line Color in the System Colors section of the View Configurations dialog. You can save any custom views you create as view configurations, which you can re-use time and again. 4. If you have drawing template information such as a title block and border grid that you have drawn or imported onto a mechanical layer, link these layers to the sheet in the View Configurations dialog. Then select Design Board Shape Auto-Position Sheet to automatically match size sheet to just enclose the objects on the chosen mechanical layers.
Navigate to the PCB templates folder (C:\Program Files\Altium Designer 6\Templates), select A2.pcbdoc (for example), and click Open. The template is opened as a new PCB design document in the design window, named PCB1.PcbDoc. 3. Select all the contents of the template file (CTRL + A) and copy (CTRL + C) the contents to the clipboard. Click once to set a copy reference point. Close Pcb1.pcbdoc without saving. 4. Switch to your PCB document by clicking on its tab at the top of the design window. Paste the new sheet into the existing PCB using CTRL + V. The contents of the template are pasted onto Mechanical16 layer. 5. Now we need to show the Mechanical16 layer and link it to the sheet. Select Design Board Layers & Colors to display the View Configurations dialog. Click on Show, Enable and Linked to Sheet.
6. Turn on Single Layer Mode to always show the sheet regardless of the status of Single Layer Mode as enabled in the View Options tab of the View Configurations dialog. Click OK to close the dialog. 7. Finally, we can size the sheet to include the sheet border. Press V, H (to view sheet) or Z, S (to zoom sheet). The sheet fits to the extents of the objects on the layer linked to the sheet, i.e. it fits to include the sheet border defined on the Mechanical16 layer. 8. You can now modify the title block, for example, by switching to Mechanical16 layer and adding or deleting objects. The sheet will resize to include all objects when you press V, H (view sheet) or Z, S (zoom sheet) again. You can save any custom views you create as view configurations, which you can re-use time and again.
When you are working with layer-specific objects, such as defining the keepout requirements on the Keepout layer, switch to Single Layer mode to hide the contents of all other layers. Press SHIFT + S to switch to single layer mode. Press SHIFT + S again to restore the display of all layers.
Keepouts
As well as the board shape, you should also define a placement and routing boundary around the edge of the board. This is done by placing objects on the keepout layer. Objects placed on this layer define 'no-go' zones for components and routing. Typically, you would define a shape just in from the edge of the board to restrict components and routing from being placed to close to the edge of the board. You can also define other routing and component keepouts areas for mechanical objects such as screw heads, or other mounting requirements. Keepout boundaries can be defined using any standard objects, such as lines, arcs, fills and regions.
A board keepout is also automatically included when using a PCB manufacturers template to create a new PCB, e.g. AT or Eurocard. The sheet size templates, e.g. A2.pcbdoc, do not include keepouts.
Only a default board shape is created by these commands, so the keepout has to be added once the board shape has been defined. To define a keepout that applies on all copper layers: 1. Click on the Keep-Out layer tab so you will be placing the tracks on this layer only. 2. Select Place Line. Click to define the vertex points of the keepout and create the closed shape.
3. When you have finished placing keepout tracks, right-click or press ESC to exit line placement mode.
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Grids
You need to ensure that the placement grid is set correctly before you start positioning any components on the board. Other than the components, all the objects placed in the PCB workspace are aligned on a grid called the Snap Grid. This grid needs to be set to suit the routing technology that you intend to use. To set the grids: 1. Select Design Board Options [shortcut D, O] to open the Board Options dialog.
2. Set the values of the Snap Grid and the Component Grid using the drop-down lists or typing in the value. The Snap Grid is usually set to a either a multiple or a fraction of the component pin pitch, e.g., to route a track between the pins of a component with a pin pitch of 100 mil, a Snap Grid of 25 mil could be used. The Component Grid controls the placement of components only. 3. Note that this dialog is also used to define the Electrical Grid. The Electrical Grid operates when you place an electrical object; it overrides the snap grid and snaps electrical objects together as soon as they come within the defined grid range. 4. You could also set two different Visible Grids as well. These are for visual alignment only. Click OK to close the dialog. 5. When you wish to change or override the grids, you can use the shortcut keys, e.g. G to pop up the Snap Grid menu, or SHIFT + E to toggle the Electrical Grid on or off.
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Defining the Layer Stack and Other Non-electrical Layers in a View Configuration
The PCB Editor can display the PCB model in 2D or 3D modes with definitions for layers, surfaces, colors, visibility and other items, known as view configurations, available from the View Configurations dialog. You can save any 2D or 3D view configurations for use time and again. Select Design Board Layers & Colors [shortcut L] to display the View Configurations dialog. 2D mode is a multi-layered environment that is ideal for normal PCB design routines such as placing components, routing and connecting. 3D mode is useful for examining your design both inside and out as a full 3D model (3D mode does not provide the full range of functionality available in 2D mode). You can switch between 2D and 3D modes through File Switch To 3D or File Switch To 2D [shortcut 2 (2D), 3 (3D)]. If you look at the bottom of the PCB workspace, you will notice a series of layer tabs, most of the editing actions you perform will be on a particular layer.
There are three types of layers in the PCB Editor: Electrical layers these include the 32 signal layers and 16 plane layers. Electrical layers are added to and removed from the design in the Layer Stack Manager dialog (Design Layer Stack Manager). See Using the Layer Stack Manager below for more information. Mechanical layers. There are 16 general purpose mechanical layers for defining the board outline, placing dimensions on, including fabrication details on, or any other mechanical details the design
TU0110 (v1.4) October 18, 2007
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Preparing the Board for Design Transfer requires. These layers can be selectively included in print and Gerber output generation. You can add, remove and name mechanical layers in the View Configurations dialog. You can save any custom views you create as view configurations, which you can re-use time and again. Enable the Only show enabled mechanical layers checkbox to limit the list to only enabled layers. Before a Mechanical layer can be used, it must be enabled. Toggle the checkboxes in the Enable column to specifically make that mechanical layer part of the PCB file's database. Only enabled mechanical layers can be part of the database. You cannot disable mechanical layers that have design objects on them. To edit a mechanical layer name, click to select the name and press F2 to edit it. The Show checkbox allows you to control the visibility of a mechanical layer. The Display In Single Layer Mode checkbox causes that layer to be displayed when Single Layer Mode is used (SHIFT + S). Enable the Linked To Sheet checkbox to relate a mechanical layer to the PCB sheet object. Related linked mechanical layers are hidden when the Display Sheet option is disabled (Board Options dialog). They are also used to determine the extents of the sheet when the Auto-position sheet option is chosen in the Board Shape sub-menu. Special layers. These include the top and bottom silkscreen layers, the solder and paste mask layers, drill layers, the Keep-Out layer (used to define the electrical boundaries), the multilayer (used for multilayer pads and vias), the connection layer, DRC error layer, grid layers and hole layers.
2.
New signal and plane layers can be added to the design as required, by selecting an existing layer and clicking the Add Layer or Add Plane buttons respectively. New layers and planes are added
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Preparing the Board for Design Transfer below the currently selected layer. Once the required layers have been added, use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to configure the layer stack. 3. Double-click on a layer name to edit the properties of that layer (alternatively, select the layer and press the Properties button). Layer properties, such as copper thickness and dielectric properties are used for signal integrity analysis. 4. The stack-up style refers to the order of the insulation layers through the layer stack. Three default stack-up styles are supported Layer Pairs, Internal Layer Pairs and Build-Up. Changing the layer stack-up style changes the way that the core and prepreg layers are distributed through the layer stack. Select the preferred stack-up style from the drop-down list located at the top-right of the dialog. Defining the stack-up style is important if you plan to use blind and buried vias, or perform a detailed signal integrity analysis of the design. If you require blind and buried vias, you must define the allowed drill pairs by clicking on the Configure Drill Pairs button. 5. Click OK to close the dialog. For more information about the Layer Stack Manager, press F1 when the dialog is open.
Alternatively, you can use the Design Rule Wizard (Design Rule Wizard) to get started. By creating a complete set of design rules at this stage, not only will the online DRC (Design Rules Check) flag you immediately when violations occur, but you will actually be prevented from creating violations in the first place. The autorouter, when running, will look to the design rules you have set up as well. Once you have created a set of rules that can be reused in similar projects, such as preferred track widths or a minimum clearance between components, you can import and export individual design rules by right-clicking in the Design Rule tree in the PCB Rules and Constraints Editor dialog. For more information, refer to Specifying the PCB Design Rules and Resolving Violations article.
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Revision History
Date 9-Dec-2003 18-Jul-2005 12-Dec-2005 8-Jan-2007 18-Oct-2007 Version No. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Revision New product release Expanded and updated for Altium Designer, and document name changed Path references updated for Altium Designer 6 Incorrect menu reference fixed Updates for Altium Designer 6.8
Software, hardware, documentation and related materials: Copyright 2007 Altium Limited. All rights reserved. You are permitted to print this document provided that (1) the use of such is for personal use only and will not be copied or posted on any network computer or broadcast in any media, and (2) no modifications of the document is made. Unauthorized duplication, in whole or part, of this document by any means, mechanical or electronic, including translation into another language, except for brief excerpts in published reviews, is prohibited without the express written permission of Altium Limited. Unauthorized duplication of this work may also be prohibited by local statute. Violators may be subject to both criminal and civil penalties, including fines and/or imprisonment. Altium, Altium Designer, Board Insight, CAMtastic, CircuitStudio, Design Explorer, DXP, LiveDesign, NanoBoard, NanoTalk, Nexar, nVisage, P-CAD, Protel, SimCode, Situs, TASKING, and Topological Autorouting and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Altium Limited or its subsidiaries. All other registered or unregistered trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners and no trademark rights to the same are claimed.
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