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National Instruments Corporation
5-1
5
Working with Traces and Copper
The following sections describe how to work with traces and other copper
elements in Ultiboard.
Some of the described features may not be available in your edition of
Ultiboard. Refer to the NI Circuit Design Suite Release Notes for a list of
the features in your edition.
Placing Traces
You can place the traces on the board by using one of the methods
explained here, or by using the methods described in Chapter 7,
.
The manual methods used to place traces are:
•
Manual trace
—This method allows you the maximum control in trace
placement. You select the pads and vias to be connected, and dictate
the path the trace takes to the next connection.
•
Follow-me router
—This method allows you to select the next pad or
via to be connected by having Ultiboard follow your mouse movement
as it places a trace. Ultiboard routes the resulting trace around most
obstacles.
•
Connection Machine
—This method connects two pads or vias with a
trace that is automatically routed around obstacles.
All methods of placing traces support the ratsnest selection method. This
method starts the trace when the ratsnest is selected and auto-connects the
trace to the nearest destination pad.
All methods except
Connection Machine
support continuous trace
placement; when a trace is placed between two pads, the trace placement
will continue from the last pad connected.
As you place a trace, and before you click to place it, you can always
remove a segment by backing up over it. Each time you click while placing
a manual trace, or each time a
Connection Machine
trace changes
direction, a separate segment of that trace is created. When performing
