X-Authentication-Warning: delorie.com: mail set sender to geda-user-bounces using -f X-Recipient: geda-user AT delorie DOT com To: gEDA User List From: "Matt Rhys-Roberts (matt DOT rhys-roberts AT envinsci DOT co DOT uk) [via geda-user AT delorie DOT com]" Subject: [geda-user] zero soldermask clearance not caught by DRC Organization: Envin Scientific Ltd. Message-ID: <55F1640D.5080703@envinsci.co.uk> Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2015 12:05:49 +0100 User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; rv:38.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/38.2.0 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Reply-To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com (pcb ver. 20110918, Ubuntu 14.04 LTS) I've just submitted final Gerber files for the production of a small run of prototype 2-sided boards, and all went well... except where I'd created a footprint that had zero "soldermask-to-copper-edge" clearance, which was my fault due to my inexperience in creating SMT footprints :) . As there was no time to correct and re-send the files, I'll just physically carve the 20 affected pads away from the ground plane that's enveloped them, on each board. I spent considerable time refreshing the DRC window, as I completed both ground planes and ground vias to the board. I used thermal patterns to connect un-netted vias to top and bottom ground planes, which caused many warnings about traces being too thin, so I kept trying different things until the DRC list cleared. Anyway, at no time did it detect that the ground plane had shorted with nets that it should not have, caused my faulty footprint design. So, I wonder if there's any method of catching this if it happens next time? Should I have had DRC options set differently? Is this detected in later versions? Are shorted nets detectable by some other means? Many thanks, Matt.