ToolsBuildCentroid

Applied Parameters: None

Summary

This command is used to create and group identical parts in the current design image, ultimately allowing you to generate a parts list that can subsequently be exported.

Access

This command is accessed from the CAMtastic Editor by choosing the Tools » Parts » Create & Group Parts command from the main menus.

Use

First, ensure that only a single top or bottom layer (e.g. Top or Bottom Solder Mask layer) is visible in the main design window, with all other layers turned OFF.

After launching the command, the cursor will change to a small square and you will be prompted to select a footprint. The procedure involves the following sequence of actions:

1. Use the cursor to select all pads in a particular footprint, either by clicking on each pad individually, or by dragging a selection box around them.
2. Right-click - the Assign/Group Parts dialog appears. Use this dialog to give the footprint a description (e.g. DIP14), specify its rotation, and define its type (Thru Hole, or SMT).
3. After defining the properties of the footprint as required, click OK. The software will look on the same layer only for identical footprints, searching in terms of size, shape, and orientation. Each identical part will have a rectangle drawn around it, with a cross running through its center. These cross-filled rectangles are added to a new layer - Refdes_Top or Refdes_Bottom - depending on whether the layer you are using to create the parts is on the top or bottom. This layer is added to the Layers list in the CAMtastic panel.
4. Continue selecting and grouping further footprints, or right-click, or press Esc, to exit.

Tips

1. You cannot group parts that have already been grouped. Therefore, selecting a footprint that has been grouped, and giving it a new description, will result in no change. You can however add a footprint of the same type to the parts list, by selecting the footprint and giving it the same description.
2. The part information is listed in the Export Part Centroids dialog (File » Export » Part Centroids).