FORUMS DESIGNSPARK

Hi, Many production companies need to have the Board size also as part of a BoM. This helps in multiple ways such as Collecting the PCB in addition to the components in the Production bins. Early Ensuring that the correct PCB is being used for production. The DesignSpark PCB editor already contains the Board and its size in the units chosen. So whenever a BoM (Bill of Materials) or rsbom is created from the PCB editor, it hsoudl be possible for the tool to add a line of PCB with its size etc to the BoM. Shapes may be given as square, recatangle, triangle, circule or custom, depending upon the type of PCB used.This would be a of Great help to design teams that finally offload details to production departments and production service companies.Best Regards,Vishal Sapre

 I would like to know If I can replace the battery that comes with 206-8743 with beston 9V -250 mAH rechargeable battery would the device work properly ? 

Wie kann ich die Körper  an beliebigen Flächen ausrichten  oder zusammen fügen ----------------- How can I align or join the bodies to any surface?

　デザイン中に不要ではあるが残しておきたいコンポーネントにおいて、添付の写真のように非表示にした状態にて、表示状態をロックしておく方法があればご教授ください。

Bonjour, je n'arrive plus à ouvrir DesignSpark. Je travaille toujours avec le même PC. J'ai réinstallé le logiciel, sans succès. Quelqu'un peut il m'aider à résoudre ce pb ? Merci par avance de votre aide.

I come from SketchUp, where loose geometry (lines, surfaces, solids) and groups/components can coexist in the same environment. Once something is a group or component it stays sealed: it never merges with or gets deformed by neighbouring geometry, and I can drag it freely without entering any tree or special mode. In DSM, components don’t seem to stay isolated: operations on nearby bodies can affect them unless I isolate them from the Structure tree. 1) In v6.1, do the new component locks or the Assembly tab keep components permanently isolated, or is the protection lost after a single operation? Is there any workflow in DSM that gives SketchUp-like sealed components? 2) Is there any way to extend DSM with plugins, scripts or add-ins (for example to automate isolation or snapping)? Also: is there any way to export a list of components (e.g. aluminium profiles from STEP imports) with length and quantity to Excel/CSV?

I am trying to work on Vagon remote pc. When I try to open any of my Design Spark work I get the message "Sorry we have been unable to activate your licence" etc etc. Can you Help please.

Bonjour, J'essaie d'installer DesignSpark PCB 13.0.3 sur Windows 11, mais le logiciel refuse de démarrer. Le message d'erreur indique : « Init.dll n'est pas conçu pour s'exécuter sous Windows ou il contient une erreur. État de l'erreur : 0xc0e90002. » Après vérification dans l'Observateur d'événements Windows, j'ai constaté un événement CodeIntegrity 3077 indiquant que "DesignSpark.exe" tente de charger "Init.dll", mais que le fichier ne respecte pas les exigences de signature de la stratégie de sécurité. Le fichier "Init.dll" affiche la version 29.0.4.2 et ne présente aucune signature numérique dans ses propriétés. Smart App Control est activé sur mon PC. J'ai déjà réinstallé le logiciel à partir de l'installateur officiel "DesignSparkPCB_V13_0_3", dont la version du fichier est 13.0.3002.0, sans résoudre le problème. Pourriez-vous m'indiquer comment faire fonctionner cette version sous Windows 11 avec Smart App Control activé, ou me fournir un correctif officiel ?   Merci pour votre aide. ---------------------------------------------------- Good morning, I am trying to install DesignSpark PCB 13.0.3 on Windows 11, but the software refuses to start. The error message reads: "Init.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Error status: 0xc0e90002." After checking in the Windows Event Viewer, I found a CodeIntegrity 3077 event indicating that "DesignSpark.exe" is attempting to load "Init.dll", but the file does not meet the security policy signing requirements. The "Init.dll" file displays version 29.0.4.2 and has no digital signature in its properties. Smart App Control is enabled on my PC. I have already reinstalled the software from the official installer "DesignSparkPCB_V13_0_3", whose file version is 13.0.3002.0, without resolving the problem. Could you tell me how to get this version working under Windows 11 with Smart App Control enabled, or provide me with an official patch?   Thank you for your help.

As the title suggests, every time I launch. Has something failed which will cause future problems, or maybe an issue with the version detection? I get 'no updates availalble' when I check.

hello evrybody i am new here if a make a design and press save in witch does file it save i cant find nothing back i am using now save as .... to bureau desk there have to be a better way but i can t find it regards peter

Hi everyone, I'm a beginner in PCB design, and honestly, I'm finding it a bit harder than I expected! I'm trying to understand things like component placement, routing traces, choosing the right number of layers, and making sure the board will actually work when manufactured. There seem to be so many things to consider, and I'm not always sure what I should focus on first. I'd love to hear about your own experiences, especially anything you wish you'd known when you first started designing PCBs. Thanks in advance for any advice!

When designing a PCB, we usually focus on component placement, routing, trace width, clearances, and signal integrity. But what about solder mask color? Does it make any practical difference in inspection, assembly, or long-term maintenance, or is it mainly an aesthetic choice? Green is still a common choice for production boards, but black, blue, red, and white solder masks are also widely seen in different applications. For example, black can give a product a clean appearance, while white can be useful for LED boards because of its reflective surface. On the other hand, darker solder masks may make some solder joints or defects harder to spot during visual inspection. I was looking into the practical differences between these options and came across some discussions of PCB manufacturing requirements, including the color options offered by manufacturers such as PCBCool. I'm curious about what other engineers have experienced in actual projects. Have you noticed any meaningful difference in visual inspection when working with different solder mask colors? Do you consider solder mask color during the initial PCB design stage, or decide it later based on the product enclosure and appearance? Have you encountered any manufacturing, cost, or lead-time differences when choosing a non-standard color? I'd be interested to hear your experiences, particularly from people who have designed and manufactured boards in production quantities. Are there situations where you'd strongly recommend one color over another?

Hi everyone, I recently came across a Makerfabs development board that combines the Nordic nRF52840 Bluetooth SoC with a DW3000-series UWB transceiver. The combination caught my attention because it offers an interesting platform for exploring wireless ranging, indoor positioning, and connected embedded devices. Key Hardware Features The board combines two wireless technologies with different roles: Main controller: Nordic nRF52840, featuring 1 MB Flash and 256 KB RAM. Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz wireless: Suitable for device communication, configuration, and data exchange. UWB transceiver: DW3210, part of the DW3000 family, for precise distance measurement. Display: An onboard 1.3-inch OLED for displaying device status and measurement results. Interfaces: USB Type-C, USB-to-UART connectivity, and expansion headers. Battery support: Designed to support portable development, with battery charging and fuel-gauge functionality. The board brings several useful components together, reducing the amount of additional hardware needed for initial experiments. Potential Applications One interesting use case is combining BLE connectivity with UWB ranging. BLE can handle device discovery, configuration, and general data exchange, while UWB can provide distance measurements for applications such as asset tracking, access systems, and indoor positioning prototypes. The nRF52840 and UWB transceiver perform different functions, so the overall result depends on the firmware, ranging protocol, antenna design, and system integration. For positioning applications, it is also important to distinguish between ranging accuracy and final position accuracy. A complete positioning system may require multiple anchors, known anchor coordinates, calibration, and a suitable positioning algorithm. Real-world performance will depend on the environment and deployment conditions. Development Questions I would be interested in hearing from engineers who have worked with similar BLE/UWB platforms. Have you implemented a BLE and UWB system on the same embedded platform? What challenges did you encounter with antenna placement, power consumption, or wireless coexistence? For indoor positioning, would you start with two-way ranging (TWR) or investigate time-difference-of-arrival (TDoA) approaches? What testing methods do you use to evaluate ranging performance in environments with reflections and obstacles? I think this type of integrated development board could be a useful starting point for evaluating BLE/UWB architectures before moving to a custom PCB. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences and design approaches.

I'm making a part for a motor mount and need it to be 3Dprinted but it says (Part mesh is not watertight) I dont know how to fix this, I've tried making it solid but i'm new to this and dont know what im doing.

I have encountered a Catch 22 situation a number of times. Here is a simple example that illustrates the problem:- Create a schematic with two resistors and connect them together with a single net: N0001 Translate the schematic to a PCB. Rename the Net on the PCB from N0001 to N0002 Rename the Net on the Schematic from N0001 to N0003 Now try and forward the design change to the PCB. If you try to run Back Annotation as suggested it fails with the following error:- === Back Annotate renames from the PCB design to all Schematic designs in project "Test1". Error: Could not find  Net " N0001". === You are now completely stuck. If you manually change N0002 on the PCB to match the Schematic (i.e. N0003) this is what happens:-. However if you now try to forward design changes from the Schematic you get this:- Attempting Back annotation again gives another error:- === Back Annotate renames from the PCB design to all Schematic designs in project "Test1". Error: Could not find  Net " N0001".Error: Could not find  Net " N0002". === For those old enough to remember the Colossal Cave adventure program: "You are in a maze of twisty passageways , all alike". There is no way out. In this simple example with multiple renames, the user can eventually find a way out by manually trying to match the Schematic and PCB. In a more realistic example it becomes a nightmare. What is needed is to allow the user the option to override the Back Annotation requirement and force renames made to the Schematic to the PCB. You get similar problems if some components on the PCB have newer or older versions compared with those on the Schematic (or vice-versa). It is often unclear whether the user needs to update the component on the PCB or the Schematic. I have found that updating components can have unexpected side effects such as Values dissappearing from the Schematic.