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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1016 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Dec 2013 : 11:07:01
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I completed a complicated layout with multiple pours both internally and externally in October whilst probably using V17.0.1. This went out for a first spin. I am now required to do various mods to this board and an now on V17.0.2.(November). If I open the original design (without making any mods) I now cannot clear and re-pour the board properly ! Some areas do not pour at all and other areas pour over nets and cause shorts. I have had this sort of thing before but have always managed to sort it by tweeking pour line widths etc etc. However in this situation I just cannot get it to pour properly at all.
In desperation I have re-installed V17 and hey presto all is now ok. So there seems to have been some major problem introduced from V17.0.1 to V17.0.2.
I will email Numberone and hopefully this can get sorted after the holiday.
Iain
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Benno
Netherlands
79 Posts |
Posted - 28 Dec 2013 : 09:33:58
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It is strange that in a professional software company like NumberOne/WestDev it can appear earlier bugs come up in new releases.
I would expect a proper version control in the software department and after so many years or product development also a large number of regression tests to prevent these kind of issues coming up again.
I am still at V15.x but recently also had major issues in a 4 layer board with shorts on the inner layers.
Hope they solve it fast, since you are a power user Iain and probably make far more complex boards then I do.
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1016 Posts |
Posted - 28 Dec 2013 : 10:31:07
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I don't think we can complain .... microsoft just did a firmware update for their surface pro that they had to pull after a couple of weeks as it was riddled with problems. So even the big boys have upgrade problems. The copper pour is very powerful and will be extemely complex, so its easy to understand how errors can arise especially when it may be dependent on a set of circumstancies within a particular design. The main thing for me is that it is investigated and sorted asap. In the past Numberone have been very good at this and long may it continue.
Iain |
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edrees
United Kingdom
779 Posts |
Posted - 28 Dec 2013 : 12:30:42
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Iain, my only concern is that I'm not stuck witha zillion completed pcb assys that I've paid for that don't work as a result on an internal short that cannot be re-worked.
Microsoft have always been despised for shipping software prematurely. Hadly an excuse just because Microsoft got (or used to get) away with it. |
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1016 Posts |
Posted - 28 Dec 2013 : 20:43:54
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Ed, The problem causes failures in the drc checking, so no real problem of bad boards.
Also software has a bad habit of catching you out in unexpected areas. I remember I did firmware for a machine and it was tested rigorously. Worked fine for months and then crash it failed. I had a typo in the code that used a wrong register that was associated with the month of the date of the real time clock, and when it change to month 10 then it caused such a bad error in another part of the program it caused a serious crash. So I can sympathise.
Iain |
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edrees
United Kingdom
779 Posts |
Posted - 29 Dec 2013 : 13:00:20
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Hi Iain.
The problem I have is that I no longer have 100% confidence in the DRC these days. Similar recent postings 19 Nov 2013 onwards) by JohnB regarding copper pours, show incorrect pours with shorting pads etc and these have not have been picked up by DRC/Copper Shape Verification.
quote:
"There's already a design rule check function for identifying potential problem areas. That's what the 'Copper Verification' check does, in case you've all been wondering."
Well, we now know it doesn't always work, -and there's been no enlightenment from No1 Support since!
This may or may not be a related "bug" (i.e. Gerber resolution 2.3, -but not 2.2, 2.4 or 2.5!) but I'm beginning to believe that there is something sinister with these copper pour issues, which, you'll agree, have been going on for some time now.
Lets hope that No1 can get to the bottom of these issues very quickly. |
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1016 Posts |
Posted - 29 Dec 2013 : 14:10:37
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Hi Ed,
Drc I have never had any issues with, happy with that. The gerber output is the one we need 100% confidence in, that is agreed.
The copper pour issue I have at the moment does appear to be just that and is more an irritation rather than the kiss of death.
However the gerber problems that John is experiencing do need to be resolved as a matter of utmost urgency albeit there appears the fix of 2.5 seems to cure this.
Iain |
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1016 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jan 2014 : 15:48:47
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My copper pour problem is now fixed with a patch from numberone. No doubt this will be included in the next update.
Iain |
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Topic |
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V17.0.2 Copper Pour is Broken !!!