User manual ALTIUM DESIGNER 6-MODULE 4-PCB DESIGN

[. . . ] PCB Design Training Module Software, documentation and related materials: Copyright © 2006 Altium Limited. You are permitted to print this document provided that (1) the use of such is for personal use only and will not be copied or posted on any network computer or broadcast in any media, and (2) no modifications of the document is made. Unauthorized duplication, in whole or part, of this document by any means, mechanical or electronic, including translation into another language, except for brief excerpts in published reviews, is prohibited without the express written permission of Altium Limited. Unauthorized duplication of this work may also be prohibited by local statute. [. . . ] Objects are placed on the current layer, shown as the active layer tab at the bottom of the PCB workspace. · Electrical layers are added in the Layer Stack Manager dialog (Design » Layer Stack Manager). Figure 24. Define the required electrical layers in the Layer Stack Manager dialog. · Layer display and the control of other non-electrical layers are done in the Board Layers and Colors dialog (Design » Board Layers & Colors). Figure 25. Control the display of layers in the Board Layers and Colors dialog. PCB Design training module 4 - 38 · The current layer (the layer you are placing on) is set by any of the following: 1. Clicking on the appropriate Layer tab at the bottom of the workspace, 2. Pressing the * key to toggle to the next copper layer, 3. Pressing the + or ­ keys on the numeric pad to move up or down to the next layer. 6. 2 Layer definitions Each of the PCB Editor layers is described below. Signal Layers There are 32 signal layers that can be used for track placement. Anything placed on these layers will be plotted as solid (copper) areas on the PCB. fills, text, polygons, etc. ) can be placed on these layers. The signal layers are named as follows: Top Layer MidLayer1 to MidLayer30 Bottom Layer Top signal layer Inner signal layers Bottom signal layer Signal layer names are user-definable. Internal Planes Sixteen layers (named Internal Plane 1­16) are available for use as power planes. Nets can be assigned to these layers and multi-layer pads and vias automatically connect to these planes. Plane layers can be split into any number of regions, with each region being assigned to a different net. Internal Plane layer names are user-definable. Internal planes are designed and output in the negative, objects that are placed on the plane define regions of no copper. Silkscreen layers Top and Bottom Overlay (silkscreen) layers are typically used to display component outlines and component text (designator and comment fields that are part of the component description). Mechanical layers Sixteen mechanical drawing layers are provided for fabrication and assembly details, such as dimensions, alignment targets, annotation or other details. Mechanical layer items can be automatically added to other layers when printing or plotting artwork. Mechanical layer names are user-definable. Mechanical layers can also be paired; use this when creating library components that require side-of-board layer-related information, such as glue dots. Solder Mask Top and bottom Solder Mask layers are provided for creating the artwork used to make the solder masks. These automatically generated layers are used to create masks for soldering, usually covering everything except component pins and vias. You can control the expansions for these masks when printing/plotting by including a Solder Mask Expansion rule, or the manual override feature in the pad/via dialogs. Refer to the Design Rules section for more information on the Solder Mask Expansion rule. User-defined openings in the mask can also be created by placing design objects directly on the mask layer. These layers are designed in the negative, the visible objects become openings in the mask. Paste Masks Top and bottom Paste Mask layers are provided to generate the artwork which is used to manufacture stencils to deposit solder paste onto surface mount pads on PCBs with surface mount devices (SMDs). [. . . ] Output format options are Text, CSV (Comma Separated Variables) and Spreadsheet. You can configure your BOM by rearranging the columns or export it to Excel and use Excel templates to format your report. Figure 56. Bill of Material setup dialog 11. 3. 2 Gerber This option in the Job Output file produces a Photoplotter output in Gerber format. Double-clicking on a Gerber Files output displays the Gerber Setup dialog. [. . . ]