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ErikT
Denmark
9 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Aug 2010 : 22:24:11
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Hi,
I use Easy-PC at home (just upgraded to 14.0.1), and Pulsonix at work. It's a matter of cost...
Now, I've been waiting (in vain, it seems) for a particularly nice Pulsonix feature to appear in Easy-PC. It is a Copper Pour Area setting, called "Act Poured". When this is checked, pads inside (or on the border of) copper areas on the same net act as if they are already connected. If the area is not on the same net as the pad, a short connection line from the center to a corner of the pad shows that only a via to the copper area is needed.
When using the auto-router, the router regards the unpoured areas as being poured when routing that particular net. Thus, pads on that net are connected to the copper area, and other nets can still pass through the copper area with vias and stuff.
In Easy-PC, I make a clumsy work-around to get roughly the same result. Basically, I create a dummy layer for each large Copper Pour Area net, and let them act as power planes on the same nets as the copper pour areas. The auto-router connects pads to the power planes, and ideally, the copper pour areas will make the same connections when they are poured. And then I don't use the dummy layers anymore.
Is this a silly method? Do you know of a more beautiful way to achieve what I've described?
Best regards,
Erik
P.S. There's a number of people on this forum who claim that using auto-routers is not the professional way. I totally disagree. Granted, some things should be routed manually (switched mode stuff, HF stuff, high power stuff, etc.). But in many cases, there is a lot of dull "doesn't really matter" routing, and that's where the auto-router is a lovely tool. And used by professionals. Keeping time consumption (and development costs) down is also a part of professionalism. |
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1010 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2010 : 09:58:35
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I use EasyPC V14 and pro-router. All you need to do is define the copper pour area and associated net, then before routing do a copper fill on the area, then clear it again. The router now knows the coverage of the copper pour and will route vais to it and through it accordingly. Quite straightforward really.
On the use of routers you are aonly saying what we are all saying... routers do have their place in the situation you mention. However nowadays with EMC and SI and the hight speed designs even the mundain tracks need to be considered which usually means routing the whole thing manually. When I do use the router for tidying up a few loose tracks at the end of a design, I always use the highlight feature to look at each track that the router has place in turn to see how its has been routed, and then edit it if it is not to my liking.
Iain
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ErikT
Denmark
9 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2010 : 20:28:08
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Hi Iain,
Thanks for your input. I recall that I used the method you describe a number of years ago. But suddenly it stopped working. I think Easy-PC started to optimize nets just before routing. I'm not sure, but it was something like that. Maybe it was an error that was fixed, and I never found out.
As for the Pro-router, Peter Johnson wrote that it was a third-party router. I wonder if it's the same as the one in Pulsonix. Because that one I think is really good. If Pulsonix was considerably cheaper than an average used car, I'd probably use that instead of Easy-PC.
Yes, your thoughts on routers are pretty much the same as mine. But I've noticed some members who seem to be militantly anti-auto-routing.  But hey - that's their problem. 20 years ago, teachers who taught mechanical design (technical drawings and stuff) said that using AutoCAD was not the "right" way. Drawings should be done by hand! What did some students do? Print the dam'n thing from AutoCAD, put a clean sheet over the drawing, and trace the lines by hand...  Now drawing by hand isn't even taught anymore. It's only a matter of time...
Sorry about my long and boring posts. I don't know why, it just happens that way.
Erik
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1010 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 09:33:56
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I am pretty sure (but don't quote me) that "probably" Prorouter is the router used in Pulsonix and is a Spectra product.
I have looked at Pulsonix, and to be honest the only real benefit I could see in it was its ability to import from may different layout tools. As for features/usability, there may be one or two things that impressed, but on the whole I found it more difficult to drive that Easy-PC and realised I was happier with EasyPC.
Iain |
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Getting auto-routers to use copper areas