Lernen Sie DesignSpark PCB

It would be very helpful if it was possible to define multiple Top Silkscreen layers, and also multiple Top Documentation layers.   This would allow us to put Ref numbers on one silkscreen layer, certain sizing labels on another silkscreen layer, and human labeling on a 3rd silkscreen layer.   When designing we can turn each of these off individually, but then when we produce outputs, we could then select which of these silkscreen layers are produced into the final Silkscreen layer output.    This would also allow me to produce prototype boards with sizing and Ref# labels and then later produce production boards that only show the human readable labeling without needing to edit the layout and remove labels or move them to a different layer.   It seems that the UI is already set up to possibly support this but if you try to do it, it is restricted. 

Trying to frame select something, but I am too close to the object so it just drags the object instead of initiaing the selection box. In other words- There is a distance parameter someplace in the software that establishes how far the mouse needs to be away from an object (PCB, Trace, Component, etc) before it will draw the selection box instead of just assuming that you are wanting to move the nearest said object. Where do I adjust this? Is this dynamic? meaning a ratio of the part / item size? Functionally, I have to have my mouse more than .1" away from a silkscreen feature before the selction box will appear instead of just dragging the letters. 

A relatively common question raised with our support team relates to the PCB layers and the view which is controlled by the Layers Bar. Users often toggle a layer on/off to view an underlying layer, particularly to view the paste mask. This is unnecessary if you change the layer order in the Design Technology.An important note is that the layer order when working in the design editor does not affect the PCB stackup. This is controlled by the Gerber plot layer naming. As an example, this PCB does not display the paste mask opening. It is selected, but as the openings are smaller than the top copper pads, they are not visible due to the viewing order assigned. In the Design Technology <Shift>+T, and then on the Layers tab, you can change the displayed order.Here is the current order and the displayed order is shown by the green arrow: Selecting the Top Solder Mask and using the [Up] button, it can be moved above the Top Copper layer as shown: The resulting PCB Editor view displaying all the layers is now: Full details of this and customising the PCB Editor can be found here. Note that if you started your design using a standard design technology file, it will not contain the solder or paste mask layers in the layer view. These will be auto-generated when producing the manufacturing plots. To add a layer to the layers list/bar, follow this article, which covers the solder mask layer in detail. The paste mask will be similar. You may also be interested in controlling the amount of paste applied when using a wide range of pad sizes; this is detailed here. Within the Engineer subscription, you have complete control of the pad parameters and masks as detailed in this article when producing fiducials.

Today I designed a PCB and suddunly SparkPCB ver 12 was shutdowned suddunly. At past , simular case was happened. So Renamed ~.pcb to .pcb and tried to open it. But backup file and current pcb file are can not opened.  On the other hand, ***.sch file can be open. I’ve spent three days working on this, so I’m in a real bind.  Please help.    

I am trying to make a keepout but the 'clear copper' button is greyed out. And I need to keepout of all layers. I will also need to rerout after keepout.

Bonjour à tous   Lorsque j'exporte mon fichier pour un pcb flexible, pas de soucis, tout se passe comme d'habitude. Lorsque je passe le fichier gerber dans un logiciel de visionnage, les trous sont devenus plus gros. Lorsque je fais produire le pcb les trous sont effectivement plus gros.  Quelqu'un a t'il déjà eu ce problème ?  et si ou a t'il été résolu ?   Je joins un petit exemple : en haut fichier dessiné, en bas fichier lu par le lecteur de gerber.   Merci de vos réponses. -------------------------------------------------------- Hello everyone. When I export my file for a flexible PCB, there are no issues; everything goes as usual. However, when I view the Gerber file in a viewer, the holes appear larger. When the PCB is actually manufactured, the holes are indeed larger. Has anyone else encountered this problem? If so, was it resolved? I’ve attached a small example: the top shows the original design, and the bottom shows the file as displayed by the Gerber viewer.  Thanks for your replies.

Is it possible to export the 3D model of a project to a file, STEP,DXF,IGES or other type of 3D CAD file? Design Spark Engineer V13.0.2

I have a project using a display sub-board. How can I offset the vertical position say 8mm with reference to the mother board?

Hello I am using V13.0.2. I have multiple SCHs in this project. Each sch has a list of compents starting at 1 ie: L1,R4, C2. When I try to renumber them in SCH B the program won't allow it and reports it is aready used. It is used in SCH A. How do I make the component number unique to each individual SCH. I need SCH A, B & C to have an L1 and be a different value. Regards Ian

Zoom and Pan features. Just in case you missed it, this is a very good short article that shows options that you may not be aware of.I have been using DSPCB for many years and have missed the feature to control the zoom step!It's such an integral tool when designing, so I recommend a quick viewing.

Hi. I have problem with 13.0.2 to generate gerber files of a pcb with 4 layers.I see correctly the layers in the editor, and the setting parameters seem correct. But when I see the generated gerber files with a Gerber file viewer (like jlcpcb) the inner layers are showed like Vcut layer. How can I solve this issue? Thanls in advance. 

I want to move component without the click point being forced to move origin.   1. I press (= click & hold) left mouse button to drag component.   2. If move mouse to drag component,  to press point was forced to move to origin of component.   3.  This setting "place item center" exhibited similar behavior.this case, to press point was forced to move to center of component. Thanks.

I have started a project in DS 13 using a PSoC chip. I loaded the IC information to the user library along with a couple of memeory chips and I added the PSoC to the schematic. But I cannot place the memory chips onto the schematic and if I try to add the PSoC again to the schematic (as a test) I get "cannot find component in any library" which is the same error I get when trying to add the memory to the schematic.  I have ticked 'Enable all folders' in the manager.

Dear forum member. I am getting an error when trying to log in, and I cannot proceed.The same error occurs even when I run the shortcut as an administrator.Do you happen to know any solutions for this? Best.regards

First, the critical issue. It doesn't occur in previous versions (12 and earlier). It's simple: click on Utilities with the Start page active. In my environment (new Windows 11), it crashes 100% of the time. I looked at some older forum logs and it seems they're churning out critical issues again with V13. This is a tradition with this software, happening almost every time since V7. https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/designspark-pcb-13-0-crashes-and-backwards-compatibilityhttps://www.rs-online.com/designspark/designspark-pcb-not-generating-drl-file The most ridiculous bug recently is that copy and paste doesn't work. It was suddenly discovered in V11.0.0. They released the official version without even testing copy and paste. That's their development approach. https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/no-copy-paste In previous versions, there was always a bug in the copper foil filling process. Especially in new version x.0.0, it was always the case. I still don't trust their software. I always need older, stable versions of the installer, but some have been lost forever. All I have now is V12.0.0. I really need V12.0.2 and V11.0.1, but I don't have them. https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/design-spark-pcb-is-not-worth-the-subscription So I copied the V11.0.1 program files from my old PC to my new PC where I installed V13. So far, it's working. I'll check for detailed issues later, but it's likely to have fewer bugs than the countless unresolved issues in V13. What the DS team should do immediately is save and release past stable versions. Not everyone needs the new features. Please consider the right to continue using stable, problem-free versions. I hope this information is helpful to someone.