howto
Validate ECAD Areas
Check ECAD area features on a board assembly for interferences and design-rule results before drawing work.
Validate ECAD Areas reviews keep-in, keep-out, and other ECAD area features on the active board assembly. Use it after the board is in Creo and before you rely on those areas for notes or dimensions.
The command is available with an assembly active. The dialog title is Verify ECAD Areas - by CadActive.
Open Validate ECAD Areas
Open the board assembly in Creo.
On the CadActive ribbon, in the ECAD group, select Validate ECAD Areas.
If any Place area has an invalid sketch plane, the command asks whether to continue. Replace those sketch planes and run again when the list is wrong.
ECAD Board Model fills from the board in the assembly. Filter ECAD Area Type to All ECAD Area Types or a single type:
Place - Keep In
Place - Keep Out
Place - Region
Route - Keep In
Route - Keep Out
Via - Keep Out
Flex Region
User Defined
ECAD Areas tab
The first tab is labeled Interferences in the layout and listed as ECAD Areas on the tab strip. The table shows Type, Feature Name, and Details.
Right-click a row to Enable/Disable 3D Volume or Evaluate Volume. Tools on the menu:
Enable/Disable 3D Volumes
Reset ECAD Quilt Transparency
Reset ECAD Quilt Colors
Reset ECAD Feature Colors
Select Show Settings to turn on Filter Only Visible ECAD Area Features (areas on the predominantly visible board side).
Design Rules tab
The command loads design rules and lists Rule Name, Rule Description, Status, Result, Visible, ECAD Area Name, Side, and Message. Typical checks:
Only one Place - Keep In, as the first ECAD area, with a single closed contour.
Only one Route - Keep In, as the second ECAD area, with a single closed contour.
Place - Keep Outs are one-sided.
Components stay within Place - Keep Out height.
No components in zero-height Place - Keep Outs.
Zero-height detection uses organization settings. Defaults: Zero-Height Detection Depth 0.005, Zero-Height Zone Depth 0.01. See Settings for ECAD.
Select Export for a CSV of the rule results. Right-click a rule for Ignore Rule, View Failure List, or View Bounding Boxes. Show/Hide 3D Quilts toggles quilt display.
What this command does not do
It does not rename the board, set thickness, or place sockets. That is ECAD Board Setup.
It does not place drawing notes. Use Add ECAD Component Notes and Add ECAD Area Notes on a drawing.