How to adjust endcap styles of static shapes, dynamic shapes, and clines

Allegro PCB Editor offers a feature, endcap style, to avoid acid traps during the PCB etching process. This feature helps mitigate the risk of acid traps by adjusting the design to ensure smoother transitions and rounded corners where needed. This results in a more reliable and manufacturable PCB layout.

 Two types of endcap styles are available in Allegro PCB Editor: av_endcapstyle and av_endcapstyle. You can set these using Setup > User Preferences and choosing the Shape > Voiding category.

av_endcapstyle: Setting this variable will determine the shape of a void around a cline for static shapes. There are three styles available: round, square, and octagon. Once set, you can see the shape voids, as shown below:

dv_endcapstyle: This variable specifies the geometry of the void created around the endpoint of a cline for dynamic shapes. There are two styles available, round and octagon. By default, it will be round.

You can also set up the appearance of “Connect Line Endcaps”, which means how the endpoint of vertices of lines and clines are displayed on the screen. To set this, go to Setup > Design parameters > Display and enable “Connect Line Endcaps”.

You can see that the clines will now have rounded vertices compared to 90-degree vertices when this option is not enabled.

The choice between 90-degree and rounded vertices can significantly impact the visual outcome of the design. The “Connect Line Endcaps” option provides flexibility in how these vertices are rendered, allowing designers to customize the appearance to suit the specific needs of the project.