Em Sáb 14 Jan 2006 16:30, Jose, Marshall escreveu: > I'd like to clear a polygon in a soldermask, because I'd like to have the > option of soldering some sheet metal to the surface later. Has this > recently been made possible in PCB, either through a key command, a command > window entry, or even editing the layout file? > > I searched for an answer for this on geda.seul.org and the only thing I > found was a a thread in the mailing list which concluded that it couldn't > be done. So here I am asking again. > > Marshall
No, there are no tools to do it. But you can. I finished yesterday a board that have such a feature (to solder a shield over an A/D converter). I did the following. First, you must route all the board and let some space for your solder area. Check the DRC, drill, and everything else until you can say your board is finished and OK (with a smile in your face :D ). Save. Then, I made so: Draw a line (not a polygon) where you want your solder area (or just a part of it) in a layer you are not using. Increase the size until it matches the width and leght you need. Copy the line to outside the board area, change it to layer 1 (press 1 and then M over the line), select it, press the button on the mouse to open the popup menu (in my mouse is the middel button, I always change the buttons in the pcb resource file) and click on Convert Select to Component. The line changes the color (the default is dark grey). Press Q over it co make it rectangular, and you have your solder area. Place the solder area over the line you crated, delete the line and voilá. If you need more solder areas, just create more. You can add vias to connect the solder area with the ground plane. If you want, I can send you my .pcb to take a look. It is important to know that pressing O will get you erros, so it is important to finish the board before placing that pads.
