Personal edition PCB fixed to 100 x 80?

[bdinnerv]

Hi All,

I understand there is a limitation of 8000 sqmm in there Personal edition of Fusion 360 PCB designer but is it fixed to that size? 

IE, at present, I have a PCB that is 100 x 80 (8000 sqmm) however I have set a poly on the Dimension layer that is much smaller than this (approx 70 x 33) which is well within the designated size limit but no matter what I try, the inspector still shows the Board Information - Dimensions as 100 x 80 and I cannot seem to produce a board any smaller than 100 x 80.

Is this a bug, or is the Personal edition fixed at 100 x 80 as opposed to a limit of 100 x 80 (2 very different limitations)?

Thanks,

Ben

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @bdinnerv ,

I hope you're doing well. The board size limitation is area based, so you can have a long and skinny board as long as the area is less than 8000mm^2 you are good. Make sure that you only have a board outline on the Dimension layer, you don't want to have a filled rectangle like you do now, nor do you want the board Dimensions to be on that layer(weird I know). If you want to show dimensions that should be on the Measures layer, since it doesn't have any special treatment within Fusion 360.

I don't generally trust the board dimension reading in the Inspector because it looks at the what objects are placed furthest away. In this case it may even be hard coded. I'll bring it up to a developer for confirmation.

Best Regards,

[bdinnerv]

Hi Jorge,

Thanks for responding, Im good thank you - except for a little hair pulling trying to sort this out 🙂

The dimensions were only added for the purpose of the screenshot to attach to this message, the issue still occurred prior to me adding the dimensions. 

I have tried creating the board outline a couple of different ways, both with the same outcome. 

First way was to select the Dimensions layer, the select the Polygon -> Polygon Shape tool to create the outline. Reading the tool tip for that, I now see it will create a "solid shape" hence the fill.

I have also tried using the Board Shape -> Outline Polyline tool which as noted, does not create a filled outline. It does however result in the same outcome. The board dimensions still say 100 x 80 and when I export the board to Gerber and then import the Gerber files into an online viewer (have tried a few) it still shows a board of 100 x 80, despite my board only being ~ 70 x 33 .

I do not see any other way to create the outline within the PCB editor - maybe I am missing something?? I have searched online but all the articles I could find reference Eagle, not Fusion 360 Electronics and whilst they are pretty close, there are a number of subtle changes, this process being one of them.

FYI, attaches is a screenshot of the Dimensions layer showing that there are only 4 lines on it, one for each side of the outline. 

Any ideas?

Thanks, 

Ben

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @bdinnerv ,

I hope you're doing well. Try drawing the board outline using just the line command. Let me know how that works, does the calculation change at all.

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

Best Regards,

[bdinnerv]

Hi Jorge,

I have managed to get this sorted - bit of a face palm moment. I did not realize that there was already a board outline of 100 x 0 in place and I was simply adding another board outline within the original one - I quickly deleted the default outline, added mine and whalla, everything is working as expected 🙂

Cheers,

Ben