Quick Eagle question

Hi all.

I'm designing a PCB at the moment which will have a space for a Arduino Nano to plug in. On the main board I have got the outline of the Arduino drawn on the 'dimension' layer. I have nearly finished so I added a polygon for a ground plane, but the plain avoids the dimension layer? Is there a way to over ride this?

Can you attach your brd file?

Never mind. I see the problem:


The top line of the inner rectangle was changed to layer 21 (top place). The other lines are dimension. I have used the dimension layer to get a "cuts to" border and never gave much thought to whether the pour included it or not. The little unfilled space up to it was an advantage for me.

For a quick fix, show the dimension layer, highlight it, then change it to something else (like top place) and re-run the ratsnest. You can change layers easily with the information icon or just use the change (wrench icon) dialog.

John

Thanks John, that has sorted it

Hmmm I also get the issue of ground plains not running up to the edges of my boards (again drawn on the dimension layer). I'm not sure what I could do about that because I need to keep it on a layer that I print out (I'm going to etch my own), so I cant really change that onto layer 21 as well?

Thanks for the help!

Hi Dan,

In a strange way, that is why I use the Dimension layer set to zero width to outline my boards. I also etch my own and like the small space as a trim line.

You could make your outline a signal (gnd), and it will fill completely to it.

John

Thanks again John, that is a good tip. I guess the small trim around the outside is not such a bad thing, but I'm glad I now know how to avoid it

Dan

danrogers said:

Thanks again John, that is a good tip. I guess the small trim around the outside is not such a bad thing, but I'm glad I now know how to avoid it

Dan

Click to expand...

Actually the dimension layer denotes the dimensions of the board. You should not use it for other purposes, use the mentioned t_place insted which should be used for silk screen or t_docu for other documentation. The fact that your ground plane keeps a set distance from the dimension layer is a feature, not a bug. This is most important on multilayer boards, where if you had all planes going to the very edge and milled or broke out the board out, there is a high chance that different layers will get shorted together.