Applied Parameters: None
Summary
This command is used to run a Design Rule Check for the current document.
Access
This command is accessed from the CAMtastic Editor by choosing the Analysis » PCB Design Check/Fix command from the main menus.
Use
After launching the command, the PCB Design Check/Fix dialog will appear. The dialog lists a number of size and clearance constraints - including minimum annular ring - and also various DFM (Design For Manufacturing) constraints, such as Power/Ground Shorts, Double Drill Hits, and Net Shorts. Select which constraints you wish to check, enter the permitted tolerance (in mils) and decide whether or not the CAMtastic Editor should attempt to Auto Fix any encountered violations.
Use the Open and Save buttons to load/save DRC settings. Settings are stored in a CAMtastic DRC Settings file (*.drc).
Use the Reset button to restore permitted tolerances to their default settings - 5mil for all size-related constraints, with the exception of Part->Part Spacing, which is 10mil.
After setting up the DRC options as required, click OK to proceed with the check. If you have not yet extracted the netlist for the design, you will be alerted to this fact and netlist extraction will occur before the DRC continues. After the check is complete, an information dialog will appear, providing a violation summary. For each rule check, the number of violations Found, Fixed and Remaining are listed.
Tips
- Permitted tolerances can be directly edited in the dialog. Alternatively, you can use the Analysis » Re-load DRC Rules from PCB command to load the respective tolerances (where applicable) from the design rules defined in the PCB document itself.
- After running a DRC, the Drc tab is made active in the CAMtastic panel and all violations are listed (both fixed and remaining). Click on a sub-folder for a particular DRC category to zoom and highlight the offending objects responsible for that violation in the main design workspace. Right-click on a violation entry in the panel to access a context menu providing a command allowing you to fix the violation automatically, if possible. Right-click at a parent folder level to access a command to fix all child errors of that type (where possible).