Routing Tracks & Creating Polygons
You can keep working with your project or open it from the Workspace and continue from where the previous step is completed.
All signal tracks on the PCB will be placed on two layers: Top and Bottom. For placing tracks, the Route » Interactive Routing command (
) is used. After launching the command, click on the pad from which you want to start routing the track and move it to another pad of the same net. Tracks automatically get the width value that is set in design rules. To switch between the minimum, preferred, and maximum values of the track width, use the 3 key.
Note: For convenience when routing and disabling the display of neighbor layers, you can use Single Mode, which can be switched by pressing Shift+S.
For vias placement, you can use the Place » Via command (
). However, we recommend that you use the + key on the numpad during the routing process.
Note: When routing, it is convenient to see places where it is not possible to route a track between two objects according to the minimum clearance rule. In "Display Clearance Boundaries" mode, it is activated by Ctrl+W at the moment of track creation.
Use the Space button to rotate the conductor while routing.
The result should look as shown below.
Save the project locally and to the Workspace.
Note: When routing tracks, use a smaller grid, such as 0.1mm. Also, while routing, press Tab and select Push Obstacles mode, which allows you to push away existing tracks and make it easier to route.
The PCB consists of four layers. On the free space of each layer, we will create a polygon.
Use the Tools » Polygon Pours » Polygon Manager command to open the Polygon Manager dialog. You can learn more about the Polygon Manager here. Select New Polygon from... » Board Outline.
On the right panel of the Polygon Manager dialog, configure settings as shown below.
In a similar way, create polygons for the other layers. We suggest the following naming of the polygons: GND_Int1, GND_Int2, GND_Bottom. Press ОК.
Additionally, on the Int2 layer, create a polygon for the VCC_3.3 net. To do this, select Place » Polygon Pour and use the mouse to draw a polygon outline that should cover vias connected to the VCC_3.3 net. The settings are shown below.
Note: When making a polygon, use the Space key to change the direction of drawing its sides, and the Shift+Space key combination to switch modes of drawing polygon corners.
After that, select the Polygon Actions » Bring to front from the polygon’s right-click menu.
To form pour, you need to repour the polygons using Tools » Polygon Pours » Repour All. The polygons on the int2 layer are shown below.
Save the project locally and to the Workspace.
Note: For more clarity when working with polygons, go to the View Configuration panel on the View Options tab and in the Object Visibility section set the polygon transparency to 30-50%.
