Configurable Pin 1 Dot

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   For some components, I often reposition the Pin 1 dot after importing into CAD. 
It would be very convenient if this could be configurable (eg. Top Left, Top Right, etc.) for those parts that have more flexibility with placement like QFNs and QFPs.

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sstallion Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Active User Joined: 31 Oct 2018 Status: Offline Points: 35	Post Options Post Reply Quote sstallion Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Topic: Configurable Pin 1 Dot Posted: 23 Jun 2021 at 7:36am
	For some components, I often reposition the Pin 1 dot after importing into CAD. It would be very convenient if this could be configurable (eg. Top Left, Top Right, etc.) for those parts that have more flexibility with placement like QFNs and QFPs.



Tom H Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 05 Jan 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Status: Offline Points: 5716	Post Options Post Reply Quote Tom H Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 23 Jun 2021 at 7:52am
	My favorite feature is to manually add all Polarity Marking for Silkscreen and Assembly layers. This way you can place any shape, size and location as a 2D-Line. Small parts get small polarity markers and large parts get big polarity markers. Capacitors get + symbols and diodes get diodes with Anode/Cathode and connectors get triangles, SOP's get dots or squares or triangles. They can be filled or unfilled. Here is the current list of symbols, but we're adding more. The auto-move feature in Footprint Expert works on a course grid when zoomed out and a fine grid when zoomed in. Making placement in the perfect location easy.
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sstallion Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Active User Joined: 31 Oct 2018 Status: Offline Points: 35	Post Options Post Reply Quote sstallion Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 23 Jun 2021 at 8:02am
	Thanks Tom! I was hoping for something a little more automated, but that's a good suggestion. Is there a way I can have the symbol respect clearance without needing to manually setup a grid? I usually keep my dots 0.25mm from the pad (or silkscreen outline).

Tom H Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 05 Jan 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Status: Offline Points: 5716	Post Options Post Reply Quote Tom H Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Sep 2021 at 10:27am
	After talking with several Footprint Expert users, every CAD tool has a different approach to handling Pin 1 Polarity dots that are actually attributes and not really 2D line objects. It would be difficult to investigate 25 CAD tools to figure out how each vendor handles moveable silkscreen dots. So the feedback from our users is that they import a footprint into their library and add an automated pin 1 dot to the parts that they want so that it's moveable in the PCB design.
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ckhalleran Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Active User Joined: 22 Nov 2017 Status: Offline Points: 26	Post Options Post Reply Quote ckhalleran Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08 Oct 2021 at 10:08am
	FWIW... I've been adding an indicator to footprints in Altium (after running the script from Footprint Expert). For an indicator, I use text "B" with TrueType font = SWMeteo (which results in a filled dot). A text height of 240 mils gives me about a 40 mil dia filled dot on the silkscreen. Also, I make the dot so it's location is locked. On the PCB, if I want to adjust that dot's location, I can drag it (say yes, because it's locked) and drop it in it's new location. It stays locked though. For some reason, the dot that I have on Assembly layer of the footprint is not filled (when I make a Draftsman Doc)… it's just a circle.