Operations

How operations work

PlateDesignTools sits next to AutoCAD and drives it over COM. Most operations follow the same four-step pattern:

1. Prepare the input — either select the objects in AutoCAD, or select a cell range in Excel (whichever the action needs).
2. Click the action in the PlateDesignTools window.
3. Answer any prompt in AutoCAD's command line — some actions ask for a size, "select objects", a Y/N, an angle, etc. Type the answer in AutoCAD, not in the PlateDesignTools window.
4. Watch the status strip at the bottom — it shows progress (… N/M) and then the result (✓ …) or an error (✗ …).

Only one operation runs at a time; the other sections are disabled while one is in progress. Default sizes, layer names and Excel column aliases all come from the active settings profile.

Cancelling an operation

Click Cancel in the status strip — the operation stops at its next progress step. If it's waiting for you in AutoCAD (e.g. "Select objects:" or a value prompt), press ESC in AutoCAD; that's treated as a cancellation, not an error. Clicking Cancel a second time force-quits the operation as a last resort (this can leave the AutoCAD COM connection in an odd state — re-check with ⟳ afterwards).

Hole conversion (circle ↔ rectangle)

In the Holes section, the buttons follow the pattern X → Y where X is what you pick (in AutoCAD or Excel).

• Circle → Rectangle — pick circles in AutoCAD. The command line asks for a width then a height (Enter accepts the shown default; ESC aborts). Each selected circle is replaced by a closed rectangular polyline at the same center, on the hole layer.
• Objects → Circle centers — pick the object(s) to copy, then pick the target circles. The whole picked group is copied so its bounding-box center lands on each circle's center.

Default rectangle width/height and the hole layer are configured under Settings → Holes and Settings → Layers. Pin-number labels can be added either at Excel-import time (see below) or implicitly when exporting with CAD → CSV.

Holes & objects from Excel

• Excel → Holes — select a cell range in Excel including the header row. Creates a circle (x, y, r) or rectangle (x, y, w, h) per row; the optional pin no. column adds a numbered label and layer sets a per-row layer.
• Excel coords → Objects — pick the object(s) to place, then select a cell range with x, y columns. The picked group is copied to each coordinate.

Excel data format

Select the data with the header row included. Header names are matched case-insensitively against the aliases in Settings → Excel columns (defaults shown below). Recognised columns:

Logical column	Default header names	Used for
x, y	x / cx, y / cy	position (required)
r	r / radius	circle radius
w, h	w / width, h / height	rectangle size
pin no.	pin no. / no	optional pin-number label
layer	layer / l	optional per-row layer

Provide either r (→ circles) or w + h (→ rectangles). Example (circles with pin numbers):

x	y	r	pin no.
0.0	0.0	0.03	1
0.5	0.0	0.03	2

Clearance / minimum-spacing check (DRC)

Open the Clearance (DRC) section, select the objects to check in AutoCAD, enter the minimum clearance (in drawing units), and click Check. Every pair of objects closer than that distance is found; the violations are highlighted with polylines on the clearanceChecked layer (name configurable). The status strip reports the number of collisions.

Arcs, bulged polylines and circles are polygonised at the resolutions set in Settings → Clearance (DRC); that tab also has the highlight line width and the candidate-region tuning (expand factor, debug-DXF settings).

DUT array generation

Builds a grid ("mask") of DUT cells. In the DUT Array section, fill in:

• Chip W / Chip H — one DUT cell's size.
• Rows / Cols — how many DUTs in each direction.
• Skip Row / Skip Col — empty rows/columns between adjacent DUTs (0 = none, 1 = one empty row/col between each, etc.).

Preview mask draws just the array outline so you can position it; Generate creates the full array. Tick Use Excel data to take each DUT's contents from a selected Excel range instead of the current AutoCAD selection — the range uses the same format as Excel → Holes (x, y + r for circles or w, h for rectangles, header row included); each row is one item, repeated in every DUT cell. Generated rectangles go on the DUT-mask layer (see Settings → Layers); defaults are in Settings → DUT Array.

µm ↔ mm conversion

• μm → mm — pick objects in AutoCAD; their coordinates and sizes are scaled by 1/1000.
• mm → μm — pick objects; scaled by ×1000.

Useful when a pad map arrives in µm but the drawing works in mm (or vice versa). Both positions and sizes are scaled; the operation is destructive — undo with AutoCAD's U command if needed.

Rotation about center

Rotate objects — pick polylines / rectangles; the command line asks for an angle (counter-clockwise, degrees). Each object is rotated about its own center, not about a shared pivot.

Pin numbering

A pin-number label is text placed at the hole's center, on the pin-number layer (Settings → Layers), with height = (hole size) × the ratio in Settings → Holes.

• Excel → Holes uses the value in each row's pin no. column — you control the numbers.
• Hole info → CSV instead numbers the exported holes sequentially (1, 2, …) in the sorted order they're written.

CAD → CSV (hole info export)

Hole info → CSV — pick holes (circles or closed polylines) in AutoCAD; their centers and sizes are written to a CSV (you choose the file). Columns are Pin No., x, y, r for circles or Pin No., x, y, w, h for rectangles. The pin-number column name and the CSV encoding are in Settings → Output.

The export coordinate transform from Settings → Output is applied first: scale → mirror → offset (sizes are only scaled). For example, set scale = 1000 to write µm from a mm drawing, or mirror x = true for a backside view. Defaults are identity (no change).

← All documentation   Next: Settings profiles →