PADS Tips and Tricks - Changing Trace Width While Routing

PADS Tips and Tricks - Changing Trace Width While Routing

This Tip is Shared by Yan Killy, Technical Marketing Engineer

There are technology and fabrication reasons why designers on occasion need to change the width of a trace during interactive routing.  In PADS, you can easily accomplish this with settings in Design Rules and the use of Modeless Commands.

Using Design Rules you set can up the trace width range for all nets or one net in particular. In the Design Rules dialog box, under Clearance, is the Trace width rules, where there are three settings: Minimum, Recommended, and Maximum. When you start routing a Trace it will always start by using Recommended value. To change the width, start routing and place a corner then type ‘W’ on the keyboard and enter different value for the trace width. As you continue routing this trace, it will use this new trace width value until you will change it again.

If your setting for the Trace width were 6 mils for Minimum, 12 mils for Recommended, and 25 mils for Maximum, your Trace will start routing at 12mils and then you can change to any value that satisfy Minimum/Maximum settings by using the “W” modeless command.

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