The hole size instruction says if you use a 1mm stroke the hole has to be 1.5mm bigger, because ½ the stroke is inside the circle, but ½ the stroke is 0.5mm, so shouldn’t it be 0.5 + 0.5 = 1mm bigger circle.
PCB view - In Inkscape if I draw a free hand circle of 4.0mm(PCD) with 1.0mm stroke , what size hole will the PCB manufacturer drill it. The circle has PCD(mean dia) - 4.0mm, ID - 3.0mm, OD - 5.0mm -.
I have a 4.0mm hole in the part, but I want 4.2mm in the PCB.
Basically is the drill size the size of the white inside of the drawn circle.
I think this is indeed the case
I’m also looking if there is a better way to do this in inkscape
In this case i would make a 3mm circle then turn on stroke and set it to 1mm
but then going to 4.2mm becomes a bit of a hassle to get to exact sizes.
It seems that Corel is better equipped for this, but Corel is not Linux capable as far as i know, so i can’t use it myself
Inkscape also has drag-able guides. So inside inkscape, click;
File then document properties. Set your preferred/specified measurement units.
Then drag a guide marker out from the side rulers. This gives you the ability to use exacting X and Y coordinates, inside inkscape. You should be able to produce spot on results if used in conjunction with the guides.
THANKS! It’s like finding an easter egg that has been sitting there for a few years. Very nice next to grid and snap functions.
Would also be nice to have in fritzing or 2 grids Imperial AND Metric (in different colours and adjustable opacity) That may make it more easy to draw designs with metric positioned connectors and buttons mixed with metric grid for IC’s and traces
There is probably more to learn in Inscape than Fritzing, for making parts.
You can actually Import a PDF technical drawing into Inkscape for the PCB drawing, scale it so it is dimensionally correct, copy the nodes you need to another drawing, Align gold connectors over the original contacts, and the shuffle nodes in the XML editor.
If you actually learn to draw in Inkscape it is quicker then the above.
Don’t know if you noticed than when you select a node a tool bar appears across the top where you can manipulate everything about that node accurately.
I’m starting to like inkscape more and more. It’s a shame that the soldermask doesnt have a layer in the PCB structure.
BTW i’m in the process of building this part. : pancake coil
I’m investigating if i can edit the gerberfiles manually, i’m sure it can be done. But then there isn’t a last option to check the files anymore. So as a temporary fix that may be an option though i hope i can customise the soldermask in fritzing one day.
i’m going slow, this is just a first idea, I need to simplify it much more, but i like how it looks right now.
BTW, With circles I wish there was a way to LOCK the Stroke width that would solve your question for 90%
