How do you do this in Eagle CAD?

[djnigma]

How do you fill in the blank PCB area around your tracks like in the picture below. Is there some method which will fill in the blank space but keep a certain distant from the tracks, creating a thin outline around them? I have the demo version of Eagle CAD.

Like this:

[mevangel]

Trace a polygon on the layer and then associate it with the proper net. This can be done using the "name" function.
Example: for a ground plane give the polygon the name you used for ground in the schematic (typically "GND").
Please read the Eagle tutorial.
Best regards.
Marco

[djnigma]

Thankyou. I actually got off ym lazy but and dug out the Tutorial and it is there in plain sight - sorry for being lazy.

For those of you who wan't to know, it's on page47 of the tutorial under "copper pouring".

To make a ground plane:

> Goto Board
> Type "RIPUP GND" in the entry box
> Click the POLYGON icon on the toolbar
> Type "GND" in the entry box
> Draw a rectangle around your PCB
> Click the RATSNEST icon on the toolbar
> Hey presto, a pretty groundplane!

[jackinnj]

Ultiboard allows you to do the same thing and attach to a net. The procedure is:
>Traces
>Copper Area
>Place
You can then use the cursor to draw around the areas to place the copper area. When you connect the lines the program asks you to confirm what you have just done.

In Ultiboard you can specify the separation from pads -- very helpful if you DIY boards yourself.

Important -- make sure that you specify the correct layer before starting. For some designs I use the bottom layer for analog and the top layer for digital.