Defining a PCB Board Shape
You can keep working with your project or open it from the Workspace and continue from where the previous step is completed.
Before you start defining the board shape, it is necessary to make minimal settings, and set the PCB document units to metric. To do this, go to the Properties panel that is opened similarly to other panels, and select mm in the Units section.
You can learn more about the Properties panel of the PCB editor here.
To control the display on the PCB, use the View Configuration panel, which opens the same way as the other panels.
The PCB has the dimensions shown below.
The following steps are necessary to create a Board Shape:
Switch to a suitable grid (e.g. 1 mm) by using the G shortcut and select the desired grid from the menu.
Switch to the desired layer where the board shape will be defined (Mechanical 1). This can be done by clicking the layer tab at the bottom of the design space.
Select the Line tool using the Place » Line command (
). It is convenient to use the value of dXdY (in the Heads Up Display at the top left of the design space) to create lines of the desired length.
Note: Sometimes you realize that you have selected the wrong layer to place the object on. To quickly switch between layers, with the tool already on, you need to press and hold Ctrl+Shift and rotate Scroll to select the desired layer. This method is also convenient when you need to work with the same tool on different layers.
After defining the desired shape, it is necessary to select it and run the Design » Board Shape » Define from selected objects command. The shape must be closed and have no overlapping primitives.
Finally, change the position of the origin using the Edit » Origin » Set command and specify the bottom-left corner of the board.
Note: To create simple board shapes (rectangles, rectangles with chamfers or roundings) you can also use the Place » Rectangle tool: simply draw a rectangle of any size, select it, and in the properties select the type of angles you want. Then set the exact dimensions. Next, use the command Design » Board Shape » Define from selected objects.
