PCBdesign v7.47

Malcolm Lear continues to update this PCB design software. At the time of writing, version 7.47 has been released. Here’s a list of revisions in recent versions:

7.45 Changes  made  to  correctly  export  and  render  finger  pads composed of multiple polygons. NC  drill  correctly  determines  finger  pads  on single layer boards.

7.46 Revised order of editing control bits in the assembler code. Replacement bombsight symbol created to replace the pad version due  to  its  imminent  deprication  (bombsight is not really a pad).

Edit  mode  order  revised  when dealing with finger pads, now: corner > whole > pad > corner. When finger pads are edited such that they become tracks, editing mode change is: pad > corner.

Polygon  control  directives in the Reference/ID field such as: ‘ko’,’bg’,’pwr’,  and ‘gnd’ now automatically switch visibility off. Drill  hole  sizes correctly selecting on finger pads (via size was not masked out).

Finger  pad  edit  mode  always deselected by finger pad detect routine. Finger  pad holes and slots only appear on correctly identified finger pads. Finger  pad  hole  slot  size and shape can only be modified on correctly identifed finger pads.

7.47 Automatic Gerber export element and drill file logic for 4 or 6 layer  boards  was  a  mess, with many issues including missing intermediate  through  hole pads and incorrect drill files. All these  issues  and  many  more have been addressed with a major rewrite of the export routines. After this rewrite a crosscheck of  export  behavior was performed against the previous release using a complex 2 layer board to ensure correct operation. Input  checks  are now perfomed to ensure only legal layers for vias and elements can be entered.

Solder  resist,  solder  paste  and  plating  masks  can now be created  by  polygons  (zero width tracks) and can be edited as finger pads. Auto  resist  layer  for older designs is now 5 mil larger than the pad. Thermal pads are not drilled.

Download Lear PCB Design from the Graphics programs page on my website at http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/graphics/index.html