In Fusion, can we lay a Rectangle and and name it as a Signal?

[AutodeskEagleCad]

In Eagle, if we drop a Rectangle on the top layer and try to name it as a signal (GND, for example) it fails.

When we run Ratsnest, it creates space around the Rectangle and isolates it from the very GND plane we're tying to make it a part of. It would have been an EASY fix for Autodesk, but the Cartel sayeth not!

In Fusion, can we draw a Rectangle on a Layer and name it as a Signal (such as GND)?

Just want to know what I'm signing up for if I take the dive off the Autodesk diving board.

Thanks!

[jorge_garcia · Accepted solution]

Hello @AutodeskEagleCad,

I hope you're doing well. So rectangles and circles can't be assigned to a signal. Instead of a rectangle just use a polygon drawn with 90 degree angles to form the rectangle. Make sure to give it the correct name, if you want it to connect to the surrounding polygon you are done. If you need to isolate from the surrounding polygon then you'll have to adjust the rank to get them to isolate. Rank can be accessed through the inspector.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[AutodeskEagleCad]

Heads up to anyone doing this.

If you don't turn off thermals, you don't get the pour you may be looking for.

You can even have a large pour with thermals and create another pour inside or adjacent that pour without thermals if you're trying to match the component manufacturer's suggested layout. 

Example:

In the above example, the capacitor pads can have thermals while completely spanning the subject component's pads if you do it as described above. 

Play around with your polygons by turning thermals off and on until you get the desired result.

[chuck_toddN7PTC]

I used Altium at my previous employer. I would like to see Fusion Electronics support design rules similarly. Not all components require the same design rules dictated by the polygon pour.

I know Fusion Electronics is in the infant stage at this point. It has a long road to catch up to some of the other tools available on the market today.

Some of the Altium design rule features are listed below.

Altium Designer has a variety of design rules for PCB design, including rules for components, routing, and more: 

Component clearance

This rule uses 3D meshing to define the shape and contour of a component, and then calculates clearance between 3D models. 

Routing

This category includes rules for routing width, routing topology, routing priority, route neckdown, etc.

Electrical

This category includes rules for clearance, short-circuit, un-routed nets

SMT

This category includes rules for SMD to corner, SMD to plane, SMD entry, etc.

Mask

This category includes rules for solder mask expansion and paste mask expansion. 

Thermal Relief (This section pertains to this forum post)
Altium designer offers multiple ways to implement thermal relief pads on SMD parts and through-hole components.

These can be applied globally or selectively as follows:

1) Applying a thermal relief style by using a plane or polygon connect design rule. (This is how Fusion does it)
2) Applying thermal relief pads using design rule but with scope set to specific footprints or component classes
3) Applying a thermal relief pad to a specific SMD pad or through-hole pin based in the pad/pin properties

The design rule system and query system in Altium Designer allows you to mix and match these approaches for different types of components or groups of components. If you use the design rules, you will always have the option to manually apply thermal relief on specific through-hole pins or SMD pads.

Design rules in Altium Designer can be defined and managed in the PCB Rules and Constraints Editor dialog, or in the document-based Constraints Editor. The rules are applied in a hierarchical fashion, and the system picks the first rule that matches the object being checked. 

The rules-driven engine in Altium Designer enforces design rules across all design features. The design environment links all design and analysis tools together in a single program.

If you made it this far. Thanks for caring.

BR - Chuck

[AutodeskEagleCad]

Thanks for sharing!

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @chuck_toddN7PTC and @AutodeskEagleCad,

I hope you're both doing well. Keep an eye on the next release of Fusion. We've reworked the DRC and much of the functionality mentioned above has been implemented.

Let me know if there's anything I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[AutodeskEagleCad]

I'm impressed!

[AutodeskEagleCad]

Can you tell us what version that will be, and if there's an expected release date?

Thanks!

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @AutodeskEagleCad,

I can't give an exact date in case something goes wrong and we have to delay it, but it should be out within the next month. 

This is the first release and we have laid enough infrastructure that adding new rules in the future will be much simpler so if you don't see a rule you think we should have please report it once you have had a chance to play with it. I'll be very alert to questions, since I know it will be a different experience for existing EAGLE users.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,