I don't know if this is the proper category of where I should post this, but I have a small problem.
I have made a simple ArduPilot library for matching the pins on the board.
The idea is that I've made some wrong measurements, and I had to fix it. Till now, okay.
But when I try to replace the part in the schematics I can't. It's like the part is frozen in that place. I cannot move it, delete it, or do anything else on it except the connections.
I haven't had a chance to review the parts in that library, unlikely I will. But here is where i would start looking:
Where are the origins to the part? If the origin (i.e. co-ordinate 0,0 in the symbol or physical library) is far away from the center, then Eagle will select all sorts of other things before you select the right part. The further 'off' the center point is relative to your symbol library, the worse the problem.
Have you tried deleting the entire symbol screen? If it disappears then, situation 1) may apply.
Is the part locked? Do a 'i' command followed by clicking on the part to see if it is locked or not.
Contact cadsoft support and see what they think. Their forums are pretty good.
Now, that I''m at the same topic, I do have an extra question.
How the hack should I find out how much should I iron the board. I mean, if I hold it to much it'll melt the trace, and if not it's not going to stick on the board.
And considering that my traces are quite small (10mil) and the distance between them is 11mil, it could generate a good pain.
You iron your board? For what reason? Are you fabricating it yourself? If so, I'd consult any one of the many YouTube videos that detail DIY pcb manufacturing. I don't bother, I outsource that.
Yes. I'm making my homemade board. It's not for the first time, but the traces are bugging me. The ink needs a certain temperature for a certain time, and it's quite difficult.
Anyway, is there another way of doing it? I mean, a machine that I can buy it from the local store? A special material?
There have been many methods developed over the years to make PCBs at home or in small quantities. I just order mine from an online fabricator, iteadstudio. I'd google DIY PCB manufacturing and I'd see what the options are out there. YouTube also has many videos demonstrating different techniques.
For more accurate results at home, you may want to look at the photo methods. You print your board design on transparent material, use that to expose a photosensitive (usually UV) PCB, develop the board, and etch.
If the boards are small, it's crazy not to look at the hobby fab places - OSH Park is my favorite.
OSH park is great if you're based in the US/Canada. Iteadstudio, Seeeedstudio also deliver great results, though usually with a longer lead time than OSH. I have seen several references to EU-based PCB foundries (Hungary?) that also offered very competitive prices for EU-based hobbyists.
I simply like professional-made products because those guys can guarantee that the boards are good (i.e. in-line testing of traces/contacts), the traces are sealed under a nice coating, you can have nice screen-printed overlays, etc. Much easier to get a great-looking result that will last.
I don't have the time or the inclination to handle dangerous chemicals in my home, install the right ventilation system to handle the fumes, and so on. With multiple small kids, it's only a matter of time before they get in the shop and I want to limit the potential impact that such an unauthorized visit might have.
Sounds very interesting, as well as the prices they have. Of course, I do have too little kids around me and it's..quite dangerous working with chemicals.
This is for the upcoming boards. But for now, once I've started this way, I just should finish the board manually.
I still have some questions:
-is this way of fabricating the PCB's, the exposure to UV light, cheap or expensive?
-I have this header pins for the board, the only way of making the traces is using the double-sided PCB and the problem is that when I try to automatically route the traces, the software doesn't ,,know" that on the top on the board there are headers. This thing makes the soldering impossible. In theory, I should melt the headers to solder something, but that's unlikely to happen. How can I fix this situation?
Yeah...quite interesting, and quite expensive some of them, like the UV exposure method and the CNC machine. Not like buying it from the local store or making your own board with toner transfer.
But I have this problem. I see that there's a similar topic on this in the Arduino's archives.
I want to make vias. I purely select a layer, trace something, and then switch with the middle mouse's button to the other layer. Till now, everything seems alright. But when I select again with the left button it does give me the error "Can't set via at layer 16 (x position, y position)".
Something strange I found is when from the menu I select the button via it gives me the error "No vias are defined in the layer setup".
Does somebody know the problem? Is a matter of schematic or of a board's setup? What's the solution?
Yes. It worked like a charm on a princess. I was using, surprisingly, layers 3 and 4, and in the Design Rule Check layers 1 and 16.
If I want to make a non-4-sided PCB (talking about the limitations), then how can I use the polygon tool to create for instance a hexagonal PCB?
So..it's a problem if I post here instead of choosing the Eagle CAD forum? The reason I choose here is because of the convenience and the fact that is already a topic about this.
If I want to make a non-4-sided PCB (talking about the limitations), then how can I use the polygon tool to create for instance a hexagonal PCB?
Step 1 - check with your PCB fab house and see if they support non-rectangular boards.
Step 2 - draw your outline (0 width line) on layer "20 Dimension".
I've used radiused corners on almost every board I've sent to OSH Park. It's a nice touch, makes it look like you know what you're doing, even when you don't.
