Interactive routing on an angled grid - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 01, 2016, 11:03:00 pm
content: Hi,Does anyone know if you can make Altium do interactive routing correctly on an angled grid?Lets say you have a grid setup at 30deg angle. When interactively routing components on that grid the traces should be at either 30deg, 30+45deg or 30+90deg(but they are staying at the normal 0/45deg mode)Any ideas?

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2016, 12:14:26 am
content: Hmm, doesn't look like it.I don't see any reference for routing angle or grid. It's snapping to the grid, so there's that, but the angles are absolute.Would be a pain to route it right-ways-up, then rotate everything by 30 (who even needs an angled grid?)...Tim

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2016, 05:06:06 am
content: Exactly, its counter intuitive for no good reason.Also it would be nice if parts auto rotated to match the grid as you dragged them over new grids.eg, you might have a normal vertical area on your PCB and another area which will 'be' vertical in the end product (due to rigid flex pcb folding up) but is at 30deg when flat. So you've created a 30deg grid section for that area.Be nice if, when dragging parts between each section, it auto rotated them to match.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2016, 07:11:29 am
content: Even just moving it is fine, because I don't expect my parts to do goofy things as I move them, even if it's between grid domains; but at least snapping the angle when I hit space, that would be nice.I suppose the lesson is, nobody uses it enough to warrant those features. I've never used custom grids, personally.There's also the slippery slope that, since the polar grid is a thing which exists, you'd have to provide routing with straight (radial) and arc segments. (Presumably, limited to 90 degree corner mode, as there's no Gerber primitive for a 45 degree diagonal polar segment -- a spiral.) So, there would be an awful lot of work to bring this rarely-used feature up to a level of consistency that would make sense.And the autorouter has to be aware of it, and...Tim

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 03, 2016, 12:37:49 am
content: Quote from: Psi on August 01, 2016, 11:03:00 pmThe easiest solution has been to select everything on all layers and then rotate around a suitable origin, do the skewed routing, and then rotate everything back. Ugly but it gets it done.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 03, 2016, 01:07:31 am
content: The key is the center of the cross cursorIf you want to do only 90 degree track, must ignore the angles, and make the main track until your desired size, at that point make a mouse click, run 90 degree to the side you want, another click.Resuming ignore the angles, and click anytime you want to make a 90 degre

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 03, 2016, 01:33:30 am
content: Quote from: Someone on August 03, 2016, 12:37:49 amUnfortunately that doesn't work for rigid flex designs in Altium. The select all-rotate and edit/rotate will not rotate the flex boundary areas.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 03, 2016, 02:00:32 am
content: TrySelect any trackRight click mousechose Design,then rulesThe routing cornersYou can chose 45 degree 90 degree and curve