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edrees
United Kingdom
786 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Jan 2018 : 11:50:33
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Can someone please advise me before I pull all my (remaining) hair out?
New V21.0.3 pcb design.
I have a double sided s/mount component design and have added a Top Solder Paste Layer and a Bottom Solder Paste Layer (along with top & bottom resist layers). Problem is in the PCB Editor, the Top and Bottom solder paste layers take on the colour of [Top] or [Bottom] colours and not the colours I've specified for the Top & Bottom Paste layers in the Display => Layers and Layer Spans, or in the Settings, =>Design Tech=>Layers. The dockable Layers window shows both Solder Paste layers in the colours I would expect. The top & bottom resist colours are as I would expect.
By comparison with an "old" pcb design with identical(?) set-up shows the solder paste colours in the colour I've specified and not in the [Top] or [Bottom] colours. What's changed? Any pointers gratefully received. Thanks.
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1019 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2018 : 21:12:30
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Ed,
I came across this (or similar) a few versions ago. I spoke to Peter Johnston about it where he did give me an explanation but for the life of me I can’t remember the reasons. However there was a work around and I’m not sure if there was meant to be a fix. I do seem to remember everything seemed to correct itself after a bit of faffing around.
I would Phone Peter and run it past him.
Iain |
Edited by - Iain Wilkie on 29 Jan 2018 21:23:57 |
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Peter Johnson
United Kingdom
510 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2018 : 10:29:14
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This is one of those rabbit holes you trip over which with 20/20 hindsight seems obvious. As a rule, paste is smaller than the pad, so it tends to be obliterated by the pad. The problem is that because the pad is layer [Top], the basic pad is valid on all [Top] layers, so you have to make sure that the paste layer is above any others that include the pad. The silk screen is OK to be above as it doesn't show pads, but it's easy to overlook a 'Wire' layer if present, as this does.
Also remember that if you use the 'Reverse Layer Order' function, the same issue will arise purely because the paste layers are now lower than the electrical ones.
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edrees
United Kingdom
786 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2018 : 17:39:02
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Thank you Peter for your answer, and I can see where you are coming from. However, how do I get the (top) solder paste "above" the "top" pad of the component? The Layer "stack" is correct (Design Tech=>Layers), with Top Solder Paste higher up the list than the (top copper) pad. I can't place the the "Side" of the top solder paste higher than Top as the choice can only be Top/Inner/Bottom. My design does not feature a "Wire" layer.
Also this does not explain why my "old" pcb (designed with V20 ) with exactly the same(?) Design Tech appears OK in the PCB editor. I'm afraid I can't see what's different!
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Edited by - edrees on 30 Jan 2018 17:40:20 |
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edrees
United Kingdom
786 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2018 : 08:44:30
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Sorted! The Solder Paste layer cannot be equal in size to the pad. If the Solder Paste is "Oversized" SMALLER (or LARGER!) than the pad, it appears as I would expect. I can now see the resist, the pad and the solder paste as three separate colours. If the Solder Paste layer "Oversize" is set to "None", the Solder Paste colour disappears.
Thanks to Iain & Peter, - a small system "bug" for EasyPC to resolve?
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Scazon
United Kingdom
67 Posts |
Posted - 08 Feb 2018 : 16:37:50
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| More layer colours not behaving as desired... whatever colour I select for bottom side pads, they are displayed in pale blue. Grand for Cambridge types with a Henry Ford temperament I suppose. It's done this for a few versions, and I can't remember when it started because I don't often put components on the back. Not a show stopper but an annoyance. |
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edrees
United Kingdom
786 Posts |
Posted - 08 Feb 2018 : 16:46:50
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Because [Bottom] is set to Light Blue with you and "overrides" the Bottom Copper (track) colour. It is behaving correctly (IMHO). I can get brown bottom tracks and orange bottom pads displaying as I would expect.
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Peter Johnson
United Kingdom
510 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2018 : 10:25:19
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You beat me to it!
Essentially, the [All], [Top], and [Bottom] pseudo layers have their own colour definitions. The only place to see these easily is on the 'Layers and Layer Spans' tab under [View], [Display]. You can also override the colours used for individual cells, but the layer colour won't update to reflect this unless you change the whole row. |
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Scazon
United Kingdom
67 Posts |
Posted - 10 Feb 2018 : 21:06:34
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| Happen it is. But in that case why is there a setting for "sym pads" in Display? What does it do? |
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edrees
United Kingdom
786 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2018 : 14:50:01
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The (rainbow) Display drop down menus (Layers & Layer Spans and Settings and Highlights) are a bit confusing and not very intuitive. (who uses Pads on Top/Bottom silk screen?). In my opinion there are too many settings to figure out, but Sod's Law dictates that if some were removed, I'd want them available for the next job!
I have played with this feature for some time and now can get to see everything I need for every job within the PCB Editor.
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Peter Johnson
United Kingdom
510 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2018 : 12:11:55
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If you look at this dialogue when editing a pcb symbol, you'll find that there's only a 'Pads' column. However, within a design, you've got 'Pads' and 'Sym. Pads', referring to 'free' pads, and pads which are part of a component. Separating these into two categories increases the flexibility when it comes to configuring display and selection.
Regarding the table options - although pads are not normally part of a silk screen, there is a sneaky trick where pads are temporarily enabled in the silk screen layer type as a quick and dirty way of converting the silk to an assembly drawing. With a dialogue which is already necessarily complex (the more so because vias have to be split off because of needing to support layer spans), arbitrarily hiding pad options because the relevant layer type hides them would, in my personal opinion, be even more confusing!
Remember that if you get stuck, <F1> brings up the context-sensitive help.
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Topic |
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Layer Colours