Someone wrote today that the latest version works with zones but not perfectly. I thought I am using the latest version but I am still using traces before filling the zones, so I did not test that.
As to your question, you getting the idea but you need the second half explained. Once you connect your pad to a via, then on your VSS plane you continue your track to any other track in the same VSS node or to the VSS via in you power supply. Just like you would on any other plane. You basically have to have tracks to every via in your VSS plane connected with tracks. Once you have everything connected, you fill the plane/zone and the tracks get overlaid by the zone and appear as one single plane. Martin On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 7:57 AM , Greg Dyess wrote: > I will agree with your assessment that I probably don't understand the > way zones work. I was thinking of a zone as one huge trace that could > be "tapped". This is how the DIPs appear to work. The PCBnew just > connects them to the layer without anything else having to be done. > > If I understand what you are suggesting, to connect the VSS and VDD > pads of my surface mount chips I must start a trace from the pad and > then create a via to the layer where my VSS or VDD zone will > eventually reside and then ??? OK, I am lost now. > > I will play around with what you suggest and see if it becomes > clearer. > > Thanks again, > Greg > > > > ________________________________ > From: kajdas <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Cc: Greg Dyess <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 11:02:38 PM > Subject: Re: [kicad-users] PLEASE help....Anyone out there??? > > I think you do not understand how Kicad works with the zones. > You cannot connect to the zones directly. > First, you have to lay your traces, even for the internal layers, > (VSS, VCC, GND, etc.), connect all your vias to the internal nodes and > traces, and after you are done, you mark your zones and fill them. > When you fill them, you specify which node they connect to and then > Kicad fills the properly by adding spaces for the non-connected vias > and adding connections to the connected ones. > But you always need to have the vias/nodes connected with traces > first. > Martin > > > ---- Greg Dyess <[email protected]> wrote: >> OK, I am confused a little.. I understand your point that the VSS >> layer is not in the routing "pair" and perhaps that is the real >> problem. It would be nice if the autorouter understood connecting to >> underlying zones. I will try autorouting and tell it the layer pair >> is my component layer and the VSS layer and do an autoroute. Then >> try the same with the component to VDD/VCC3/... layer.
