Author Topic: Errors with KiCAD and Ground Planes  (Read 4126 times)

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Offline LoveLaikaTopic starter

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Errors with KiCAD and Ground Planes
« on: November 17, 2021, 08:09:46 pm »
This has been bugging me for hours, but I can't seem to solve it. I laid out a PCB. It's a 4-layer PCB using OSHpark's template. Everything checks out, except I get the following errors shown in the image.
The thing is that I don't understand how these errors occur. From what it seems like, some vias and pads are not connected to ground. However, that doesn't make sense. I have zones on all four layers which are tied to ground (GND), and the zones are filled before running DRC checks. The pads are clearly connected to the ground plane, yet DRC labels them as not. The same goes with the vias. The error shows that the zone outline on the back isn't tied to a via, but the via is clearly labeled as for ground. A via should stitch the four ground planes together, as they are all the same net, but this error still occurs.

This has been bothering me to no end. Can someone help me understand why these errors occur?
 

Offline Doctorandus_P

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Re: Errors with KiCAD and Ground Planes
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2021, 09:57:34 pm »
There are 3 T shaped zone sections on the "Back" layer that are connected to a few footprints, but not to each other or to "everything".

KiCad does not know how or where you want to make the connections, but it does detect that a group of pads is isolated from the rest of the PCB. Therefore it just pics some random item from each of the groups that should be connected but are not and makes an error message out of it.
 
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Offline LoveLaikaTopic starter

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Re: Errors with KiCAD and Ground Planes
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2021, 10:48:49 pm »
That solved it. Thanks a lot! Isolated copper islands are quite troublesome to identify.
 


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