Monday July 10, 2017 at 9:36am
Elite Applications Engineer Patrick Musgrave takes us through SWPCB Pattern Creation.
Component Wizard
Most component patterns can be created from the component wizard, to access it:
1a. Enable the library panel
1b. Right click in the space shown below and choose 'Component Wizard'
![SOLIDWORKS PCB, LIBRARY PANEL, COMPONENT WIZARD](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Component wizard allows you to create various arrays for different component types, simply step through the options and choose the settings as required.
![SOLIDWORKS PCB, COMPONENT WIZARD](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
![SOLIDWORKS PCB, COMPONENT WIZARD](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
![SOLIDWORKS PCB, COMPONENT WIZARD](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
However, some complicated or unusual shapes cannot be created in this manner and require a different approach, below I will highlight methods of achieving linear and circular patterns.
Linear Patterns
As of now there are no pattern tools within SWPCB, and shapes must be created using a copy and paste approach. To do this in a linear fashion is quite straightforward:
1. Set the grid to the desired spacing size using 'Grid Properties' or create a new, finer grid with 'Grid Manager'.
![SOLIDWORKS PCB, GRID MANAGER](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
2. Copy (Ctrl + C, then select a reference point with a left click) and paste (Ctrl + V) the elements as required, you can copy multiple elements at once to speed things up.
![SOLIDWORKS, PCB, GRID MANAGER](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
![SOLIDWORKS, PCB, GRID MANAGER](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Circular Patterns
Creating circular patterns is a little more complicated.
1. To begin create a Polar Grid, set the radial and angle step as required.
![SOLIDWORKS PCB, CIRCULAR PATTERNS](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
2. Then position the original shape into the correct start position.
![SOLIDWORKS, PCB, CIRCULAR PATTERNS](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
3. Finish by copying, with the item's centre as the reference and pasting it directly onto the desired location.
![SOLIDWORKS, PCB, PATTERN CREATION](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
4. Alternatively copy the item choosing the centre point of the grid as the reference point. Then when pasting hit Space, this will rotate by a present amount that can be varied from Preferences -> PCB Editor -> General -> Rotation Step. These two methods will give slightly different results as shown.
![SOLIDWORKS, PCB, PATTERN CREATION](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Rotation step Location
![SOLIDWORKS, PCB, ROTATION STEP LOCATION](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
![SOLIDWORKS, PCB, LOCATION STEP MANAGER](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Patrick Musgrave
Elite Applications Engineer